Keeping your water safe

Keeping our water safe at home is really important.

What is legionnaires' disease?

Legionnaires' disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia, which can affect anybody. It’s caused by certain types of legionella bacteria, which can lurk in contaminated water.

For some people, especially those with underlying medical conditions or weakened immune systems, infection with legionella bacteria can be fatal.

How it spreads

The bacteria spreads in small droplets of water which are inhaled (for example, if water is sprayed/splashes). The bacteria multiply in slow-moving or standing water.

Although the risk of getting Legionnaires' disease in a domestic home is low, it's important to take care.

Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease

Initial symptoms can include a high fever, chills, headaches and muscle pain. Around a third of infected patients also develop diarrhoea or vomiting.

Seek medical advice as soon as possible if you have any concerns. Legionnaires' disease can be treated effectively with antibiotics.

Things you can do

If you've been away for a week or more and not used your taps and toilets, follow this advice:

• Set the thermostat on your hot water to at least 65 degrees Celsius – but be careful you don't scald yourself if you don't have mixer taps
• If you've not used a tap for a week or more, run it for at least two minutes to flush it through – take care to avoid splashing
• If you've not used your shower for a week or more, flush it through at both maximum and minimum temperatures
• Flush any toilets that haven't been used for a week or more – keep the lid closed as you do so to avoid splashing
• Clean and disinfect shower heads regular to make sure scale and bacteria don't build up over time.

Top tip: To protect yourself from being splashed by water droplets, you could secure a plastic bag with a corner cut off over the shower head to allow water to escape or place the shower hose over the drain.

Get in touch

If you have any concerns or questions about your water safety, you can call our Customer Service team on 0800 013 8555