# Two Questions About Hotel Bathrooms **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653 "2013-09-12T13:12:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/61 "2013-09-13T02:31:18Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Are you helping the British Oppressors we fought against, or what? > No bathrooms without representation! > > šŸ™‚ No reproduction without copulation! ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/62 "2013-09-13T03:40:09Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > In every residential bathroom Iā€™ve been in, you put your hand out to the left and there is the switch. The hallway light also illuminates the bathroom to a certain extent. You must not have been in any 80+ old buildings that may or may not have been built with electricity when they were new. Lots of the vintage apartments around here, built in the 20ā€™s and before, have switches in weird places. Sometimes depending on when they were re-wired for modern electricity/circuit breakers, depending on how cheap the contracting was, the switches and outlets remain in weird places. My bathroom switch is on the right because the door is hinged oddly on the left, so it bangs into the toilet instead of opening flush against the wall. The bathroom light switch is combined with an outlet, so things are plugged in 5 feet up. My kitchen light/ceiling fan switch is on the shared wall on the living room side, with an outlet exactly opposite (yes, at switch level) where my fridge is plugged in on the kitchen side. I didnā€™t think any of these things was particularly weird, but many friends and I tend to live in vintage buildings so Iā€™m used to wacky electrical stuff. I think itā€™s kind of fascinating. And now to sort of tie back to the OP, my ceilings are all 9.5 feet, including the bathroom, except for the shower/bathtub, which is indeed soffited down to 7.5 feet. But Iā€™m on the top floor, thereā€™s no ductwork, all the plumbing and heating pipes, electrical, are from below, I canā€™t imagine what would be up there that would need to be concealed, so maybe it is just because a shower with a 9.5ā€™ ceiling is weird? Part of making it an ā€œenclosureā€ when they drywalled in the old tub and shower fixtures? Something to do with condensation? No idea. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/63 "2013-09-13T07:10:53Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > This was what I had assumed as well. The lowered ceiling allows air conditioning ducts and so on to be concealed. +1 Remember, hotel rooms have individual heat and air conditioning - those HVAC units tend to be mounted in the ceiling space so it can have direct outlets in both the bath and the room. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/64 "2013-09-13T08:46:44Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Itā€™s a unit that contains a powerful water heater and a pump. It does not draw from the general hot water supply, but heats cold water pretty much instantly. Iā€™ve heard about the pumps, but Iā€™ve never seen one in any of the countries Iā€™ve lived in. What kind of water pressure do you get from the mains? Around here, 300-500kPa is pretty normal. Tall buildings always have pumps to gravity-feed tanks. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/65 "2013-09-13T08:52:42Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > We would plug our laptop and cell phone chargers into the bathroom outlets in the UK since they were 110V, but I believe that the amperage must have been pretty low because it took awhile longer than usual (the US being usual of course). šŸ˜‰ Was told that we risked damaging the devices but never did. Do standard US plugs fit straight into the UK two-pin shaver sockets then? I knew they looked similar but I didnā€™t think theyā€™d be exactly the same. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/66 "2013-09-13T08:59:07Z")
BTW **Melbourne** , mains pressure in the UK is typically 4-5 bar (400-500kPa). The problem with electric showers is that even with a powerful (10kW) heater, when the incoming water is very cold, as it is in winter, it struggles to heat a decent volume. The temperature control basically just adjusts the flow, so for hotter water you have to have less of it. In really cold weather, to get it hot you have to have a fairly pathetic flow. When I finally move or renovate one of my main priorities is proper high pressure hot water for my shower! ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/67 "2013-09-13T12:59:17Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Do standard US plugs fit straight into the UK two-pin shaver sockets then? I knew they looked similar but I didnā€™t think theyā€™d be exactly the same. Yes, they normally do. US ungrounded plugs have flat blades as opposed to the round pins on UK shaver plugs. But if you look at the holes on a shaver point, they have a wide part that takes US plugs. You can see it on the pic I posted upthread. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/68 "2013-09-13T19:24:29Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Ok - putting a light switch in a UK bathroom (here you should understand that our bathrooms are rooms with a bath in them) is not actually illegal. Most of the bathrooms we are discussing here, specifically hotel bathrooms, have a bath in them. My previous apartment and current house bathroom are very similar (my current one is slightly smaller), both have a bath/shower in the commode room and a light switch on the wall inside the door, as well as power plugs on the wall next to the sink for shavers, hair dryers, etc. The plugs have GFCIs, the switches do not AFAIK. > [@](#): > > It would, however be illegal for an electrician to fit one within three metres of the bath. The regulations are far too complex for this forum but in general everything has to have 30mA RCD protection. And that gets back to my question, why? Is it damp hands hitting switches, or moisture from the bath/shower getting the air wet, and soaking into the switch? I understand the point of having GFCIs on power outlets. Accidentally drop your hairdryer in the tub/sink with it active and it keeps you from getting toasted. But whatā€™s the deal with switches? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/69 "2013-09-13T19:31:37Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > But whatā€™s the deal with switches? I would venture a guess that it regards the worst case scenario of the switch plate being removed. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/70 "2013-09-13T20:15:40Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > And that gets back to my question, why? Is it damp hands hitting switches, or moisture from the bath/shower getting the air wet, and soaking into the switch? > > I understand the point of having GFCIs on power outlets. Accidentally drop your hairdryer in the tub/sink with it active and it keeps you from getting toasted. But whatā€™s the deal with switches? Until fairly recently in the UK, lighting circuits generally werenā€™t earthed. My house was built in the 1960s and has a lighting circuit like this. Touching a switch on an unearthed circuit with wet hands is probably not very wise. Most bathrooms in houses tend to have pull cord switches inside the bathroom, in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/71 "2013-09-15T12:53:18Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Yes, they normally do. US ungrounded plugs have flat blades as opposed to the round pins on UK shaver plugs. But if you look at the holes on a shaver point, they have a wide part that takes US plugs. You can see it on the pic I posted upthread. But note that a UK shaver will not fit most ā€œuniversalā€ adapters, even though it looks like it ought to. It is different enough that if you have a UK shaver, you should specifically buy a shaver adapter to plug it into. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/72 "2013-09-15T17:50:28Z")
Whatā€™s all this concern about electric shavers? Blade shaving is far superior. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/73 "2013-09-15T17:59:27Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Whatā€™s all this concern about electric shavers? Blade shaving is far superior. I have never used an electric razor that did not seem to have tiny strong hands grabbing whiskers and painfully trying to yank them out. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/74 "2013-09-15T19:27:38Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > We would plug our laptop and cell phone chargers into the bathroom outlets in the UK since they were 110V, but I believe that the amperage must have been pretty low because it took awhile longer than usual (the US being usual of course). šŸ˜‰ Was told that we risked damaging the devices but never did. Iā€™ve done that too, with European two-pronged plugs. They charged slowly, too. But shh, you can also stick a pencil in the top prong of a UK socket and then plug in your two-pronged device. > [@LawMonkey](#): > > In Europe, theyā€™ve got a different approach to making sure that most of the water winds up outside of the shower: rather than any sort of shower curtain at all, theyā€™ve got a little glass partition-door thing that covers, at max, half of the bath enclosure. The shower is usually of the handle on a hose type. And thereā€™s nothing to actually secure the little glass enclosure door, so if you nudge it, it swings. And like I said, half the bathtub tops. 1/3 is probably more like it. This one I donā€™t understand at all, and canā€™t even speculate on. Thatā€™s just one kind of partition door. If it didnā€™t work well it was just a shitty kind, like shitty kinds of anything. Hotels have all kinds of shower partitions, sometimes full screens, sometimes a built-in wet room areas, sometimes a shower cell. Rarely a shower curtain, that would usually be in a cheap hotel. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/75 "2013-09-15T19:53:07Z")
UK electric razors are 110v? I thought everything was 220v. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/76 "2013-09-15T21:15:33Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > UK electric razors are 110v? I thought everything was 220v. Or 115v? [This](http://static.fosketts.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/UK-Shaver-Socket.jpg) is what they always look like. Always with the little picture and the text ā€œshavers onlyā€. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/77 "2013-09-15T23:17:52Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > In every residential bathroom Iā€™ve been in, you put your hand out to the left and there is the switch. The hallway light also illuminates the bathroom to a certain extent. One of my bathrooms has the switch to the left. Another has it straight ahead, and Iā€™ve lived in places where the switch was to the right. In any case in a residential bathroom you can be expected to figure it out eventually. In a hotel bathroom it will all be new. My master bath, btw, has four switches - one for the overhead light, one for the over-sink light, one for the ceiling night light and one for the fan. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/78 "2013-09-16T09:57:12Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > BTW **Melbourne** , mains pressure in the UK is typically 4-5 bar (400-500kPa). The problem with electric showers is that even with a powerful (10kW) heater, when the incoming water is very cold, as it is in winter, it struggles to heat a decent volume. The temperature control basically just adjusts the flow, so for hotter water you have to have less of it. > > In really cold weather, to get it hot you have to have a fairly pathetic flow. When I finally move or renovate one of my main priorities is proper high pressure hot water for my shower! You could also just mount the water heaters in serial formation I guess - round here, theyā€™re only 'round $100 each. As to switches in the bathroom - I always understood it was to do with condensationā€¦but Iā€™ve never read the code so that answer is not worth much ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/79 "2013-09-16T11:19:25Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > You could also just mount the water heaters in serial formation I guess - round here, theyā€™re only 'round $100 each. > > As to switches in the bathroom - I always understood it was to do with condensationā€¦but Iā€™ve never read the code so that answer is not worth much In AUS, weā€™ve always understood that our desire to have different wiring rules to the rest of world was to protect local industry, and to demonstrate, in a quiet, laconic, understated kind of way, our technical superiority. As a Aus/American Iā€™ve translated that to American for you. That is NOT how an Australian would express it. And they would take a different meaning from those words that I expect Americans to take. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653/80 "2013-09-16T11:38:45Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > As a Aus/American Iā€™ve translated that to American for you. That is NOT how an Australian would express it. And they would take a different meaning from those words that I expect Americans to take. Explain? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-questions-about-hotel-bathrooms/668653.md?page=5)