Water hygiene safety
Find out what bpha does to maintain good water hygiene and what you can do to keep you and your family safe
There are sensible precautions you can take to reduce the risk of bacteria growing:
- Regularly use all the taps/showers inside and outside your home (both hot and cold).
If you have been away for over a week gently run all taps/ showers to flush them through - If the shower has a flexible hose, lower the showerhead towards the plug to reduce the water spray
- Keep shower heads clean and de-scaled
- Make sure that if you have a cold-water storage tank in the loft, the lid is on and the tank is insulated.
Please call bpha if you notice any problems with either the hot (hot water system is not heating properly) or cold (the cold water system is not running cold) water or if you notice debris or discoloration in the water.
If you would like to find out more or have your say on water hygiene safety please get in touch with the team here.
Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia caused by the legionella bacterium. It is contracted when people inhale small water droplets suspended in air that contains legionella bacteria.
Legionella bacteria can be found in natural water systems, such as rivers and lakes, and artificial water systems e.g. storage tanks, pipework, taps and showers. The risks increase if the bacteria are left to multiply.
It can affect anybody, but some people are at higher risk, for example those suffering with chronic respiratory or kidney disease.
Although we usually associate legionella with larger water systems, e.g. in hotels, hospitals and cooling towers, the bacteria can also live in smaller water supply systems used in homes and other residential accommodation.
Legionella can survive in low temperatures but thrive at temperatures between 20C and 45C. High temperatures of 60C and over will kill them.
