Why does bath water conduct electricity

Rich Kraft. Time and again, we at Wire Craft Electric have been consistent in warning our clients — and you, our beloved followers — against exposing electrical components to moisture.

This is especially critical in moisture-prone areas such as the kitchen , bathroom , and the outdoors. In its purest form, water is an electrical insulator. The danger lies with the components dissolved in water, specifically the ions in it. In fact, most of the water that we come into contact with — tap water, bottled drinking water, or rain water — contain ions from varying sources.

Ions are particles that are electrically charged in their natural state and are good conductors of electricity. These particles turn the inert water into a natural electrolyte that allows current to pass through in the presence of an electric voltage. The best safety tip is to keep water and electrical components away from each other.

Electrolytes can conduct very small currents, which is why they are so important to the human body. They can also conduct very large currents. When lightning hits a pool, stream, puddle or even wet ground, it momentarily charges all the water with millions of volts of lethal electricity.

A hair dryer operates at much lower voltage, but if you drop one in your bath tub while you're in it, it can be just as lethal, because the electricity continues to flow as long as the appliance is plugged in and the breaker doesn't blow.

Distillation produces water that is free of the dissolved impurities that make it an electrolyte, and in this state, water is actually an electric insulator. In laboratory conditions, scientists have found that distilled water has an insulating capability comparable to glass, plastic, ceramic and air.

But before you think a tub or pool filled with distilled water could actually provide some protection from electricity, remember that while air is an insulator, it can't stop lightning, and the water probably couldn't either. A tub of distilled water might prevent you from being electrocuted by your hair dryer, but keep in mind that distilled water doesn't stay pure for long when salts from the body, or a dirty tub surface, start to dissolve in the water.

Chris Deziel holds a Bachelor's degree in physics and a Master's degree in Humanities, He has taught science, math and English at the university level, both in his native Canada and in Japan. He began writing online in , offering information in scientific, cultural and practical topics.

His writing covers science, math and home improvement and design, as well as religion and the oriental healing arts. More current will flow through you if your hands or body are wet because it makes a better electrical contact.

Better for electricity, but worse for you! Water conducts electricity only if it has dissolved ions e. Tap water has some, sea water has more, but rain water has very little, unless it is mixed with sweat from your skin. Lightning is a spark, a channel of plasma that is formed as the voltage separation of the thundercloud overcomes the electrical resistance of air.

Lightning doesn't really care what it hits as far as the amount of electricity delivered is concerned because this plasma channel is a perfect conductor, and if anything else isn't a good enough conductor, the lightning will ionize it too.

Almost anything is a better conductor than air.