Article 100 Laundry Area.

A “laundry area” is area containing or designed to contain a laundry tray, clothes washer, or clothes dryer.
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A “laundry area” is area containing or designed to contain a laundry tray, clothes washer, or clothes dryer.

Code Change Summary: New code definition of a “laundry area”.

For years, the NEC® has contained rules for electrical wiring in laundry areas but has never defined what a laundry area is. For a room to be considered a “laundry area”, does it have to have receptacles for both the washer and the dryer? Do the actual appliances need to be present at the final inspection?

In the 2020 NEC®, a “laundry area” is basically any area that contains or is designed to contain a laundry tray, clothes washer, or clothes dryer whether or not the actual appliances are in place or not.

Below is a preview of the NEC®. See the actual NEC® text at NFPA.ORG for the complete code section. Once there, click on their link to free access to the 2020 NEC® edition of NFPA 70.

2017 Code Language:

This code definition did not exist.

2020 Code Language:

Article 100.

N Laundry Area. An area containing or designed to contain a laundry tray, clothes washer, or clothes dryer.

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Article 100 Laundry Area.

Below is a Real Question from our Electrical Continuing Education Courses for Electrical License Renewal:

Refer to the image:

Based on the 2020 NEC, which of the following is true?

A: The image is of a laundry area.
B: The image is not a laundry area at all.
C: The washing machine must be present for the room to be called a “laundry area”.
D: The clothes dryer must be present for the room to be called a “laundry area”.
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