Water safety
Why is water safety at home important?
Having clean water in your home is essential for your health and wellbeing. Most household water systems contain some bacteria and other organisms which don’t cause any problems. However, if bacteria have the right conditions to multiply, they can become a issue.
What we do to prevent water issues
- The Health & Safety Executive guidance document requires all water systems must undergo a legionella risk assessment. This assessment is important for identifying and evaluating the risk of legionella exposure from hot and cold water systems.
- It is our duty to ensure we carry out this assessment to prevent legionella exposure in water systems and minimise exposure to aerosols and water droplets as much as reasonably possible.
What is legionella?
You can get Legionnaires’ disease if you breathe in tiny droplets of water containing bacteria that cause the infection. It’s usually caught in places like hotels, hospitals or offices where the bacteria have got into the water supply. It’s less common to catch it at home, but it can happen.
How to minimise exposure to legionella
- When you first move into your home, run the bath and hand basin taps continuously for at least five minutes.
- Flush out infrequently used outlets (including showerheads and taps) at least weekly
- Clean and de-scale shower heads and hoses at least quarterly
- If your shower has not been used for a week or more, run water from both hot and cold supplies through the shower hose and showerhead for two minutes.