Commercial Water Testing

Legionella is a potentially fatal bacteria and can cause Legionnaire’s disease, a form of pneumonia, which is caused by inhaling small drops of contaminated water. Legionella can be found in water and multiplies heavily in certain conditions, between 20-45°C, with the right nutrients available. Anyone can develop Legionnaire’s disease so undertaking regular testing to ensure your property’s water supply is not contaminated is essential.

Some small businesses may be unaware of their responsibilities to test for Legionella so we advise that you get in touch with us today for a risk assessment and to ensure that appropriate testing is carried out if required.

When to Test

It is recommended to test for Legionella when:

• There are areas subject to low usage, stagnation, excess storage capacity, dead legs, or other similar issues.
• The limits of a control regime (e.g. temperature or disinfectant concentrations) are not being consistently achieved.
• The premises has high-risk areas or personnel with increased susceptibility (e.g. healthcare premises or care homes).
• The water system is suspected or identified in a case or outbreak.
• Hot-water is stored or distributed at lower temperatures.

Prevention

To reduce the risk of contamination:

• Infrequently used water outlets should be flushed on a weekly basis
• Hot-water storage units should be temperature checked on a monthly basis
• Sentinel hot and cold-water outlets should be temperature checked on a monthly basis
• Aerosol generating outlets and attachments should be descaled and disinfected on a quarterly basis
• Hot and cold-water storage units should be serviced on an annual basis
• Thermostatic mixer valves should be serviced on an annual basis