Water safety and Legionella

A clean water supply is vital to your health and well-being, and it is important to know how to prevent problems in your home. Most water systems contain bacteria and other organisms. If these are allowed to multiply, they can cause people to become ill. The most common and high-risk bacterium is Legionella.

What is Legionella?

Legionella is a bacterium that can cause pneumonia-like illnesses, including Legionnaires’ Disease, which is a form of pneumonia.

Legionnaires’ Disease cannot be caught by drinking contaminated water. To be harmful, the bacterium needs to be inhaled through small, unseen droplets of water suspended in the air.

Some people are at a higher risk of Legionnaires’ Disease, including:

  • People over 45 years of age
  • Smokers and heavy drinkers
  • People suffering from chronic respiratory or kidney disease
  • Anyone with an impaired immune system

What role does Brunelcare play in keeping water safe?

As a landlord, Brunelcare carries out water hygiene risk assessments and monitoring regimes across all of its properties as required. If there are any remedial works identified as part of these assessments, Brunelcare will complete them and inform you of any action which has been taken.

How can you reduce the risk of Legionella in your home?

The risk of Legionella is small. However, you should take the following actions in your home:

  • Run your shower or bath continuously for a minimum of five minutes at least once a week. This may already happen when someone is bathing, but if you mostly use either the bath or shower, remember to run the other, which is used less often.
  • Keep your water cistern covered, insulated, clean and free of debris.
  • Maintain hot water storage temperatures at a minimum of 60 degrees. However, although hotter water can control Legionella growth, it also increases the risk of burns and scalds. Please take care
  • Shower heads and taps should be clear of excessive lime scale and cleaned and descaled regularly.
  • Ensure any taps which are not normally used are flushed regularly (for example, outside taps).
  • External garden hoses should be disconnected from the tap and drained when not in use for over a week and stored in a cool place. When used for the first time after being stored away, the hose should be flushed through without producing aerosol (fine breathable water droplets). You do this by removing the hose spray attachment.

Find out more information...

You can see how Brunelcare helps ensure that water is safe in our properties by reading our full Water Safety Policy. 

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