Water safety checks

By law, we must check that water systems, including tanks and heaters for legionella bacteria.

We normally do this when a property is empty, before the new resident moves in.

Legionella is a bacteria that grows in water and can cause a form of pneumonia called Legionnaires' disease. 

Small amounts of legionella are not harmful. It only becomes dangerous if the conditions are right for the bacteria to grow and if you inhale water droplets from a contaminated water system. 

Legionella rarely occurs in homes, but here are some tips to make sure your water is safe:

• Run the taps
  When you first move into your home, run the bath and basin taps continuously for at least five minutes. This will flush through any bacteria.
  
  If your taps haven't been used for more than a week, run them with both hot and cold water for two minutes. Also run the water in the shower. 
• Disinfect the showerhead 
  If your shower hasn't been used for two weeks or more, disinfect the showerhead. Remove the showerhead and let the shower run for two minutes. Disinfect the showerhead before refitting it, by soaking it for at least an hour in a solution such as Milton. You should disinfect your showerhead about four times a year. 
• Descale taps and showers
  Legionella can grow and multiply on scale or rust, so de-scale taps and showers every three months, or when there is an obvious build-up of scale. 
• Raise the water temperature to 60°C or higher
  Temperatures above 60°C will kill legionella bacteria, so make sure that the temperature of the hot water in your boiler is set at 60°C or higher. Take extra care of hot water if you have children. 
• Flush the system after a holiday
  If your home has been empty for a while (for example, after a holiday), flush the whole water system for two minutes or more. First flush your toilet, then let the kitchen taps and the hand basin taps run for at least two minutes to let both hot and cold water pass through. Then run the shower as described above and any other taps run for two minutes. 
• Check the water tank, if you have one 
  If you're in a rented home and the water tank lid is missing, let us know. 

Further advice can be found on the Health and Safety Executive website.

If you have any concerns about water safety in your home, please get in touch.