Hi all.
Ok this is way off topic but i thought it might be of use for you to read anyways.
As some of you know i am a Health and Safety officer. I work a lot with different contageous diseases.
FIRST A LITTLE HISTORY!
Due to a huge outbreak of legionaires disease just outside of Oslo last year there was a all public places that offered shower facilities, or garages that had high pressure jet washers were legal bound to check the bacterial quality of the water they had in their warm water supplies.
As a result of this there were 2 buildings run by the local government offices here that were foud to contain relatively high amounts of legionella pneumophilia or serietype 2-14 ( i am not a Dr but my understanding is that this is one of the nasty ones!)
One of these places was a residential nursing home come hospice and the other a childrens nursery school.
Up to date
Thursday of last week saw a 91 year old man admitted to hospital after contracting legionaires disease from the shower unit he used in his room. All water was supplied from a central tank in the care home whene he lived .
It has just been reported today that a woman in Trondheim is critically ill after contracting Legionaires disease from Her PERSONAL SHOWER in a normal house!
This is scary guys and girls. The symptoms of legionaires start the same as a common cold and then worsen until they cause acute respiratory problems ( hence the latin name PNEUMOPHILIA)
BUT there are things that can be done to stop this from happening.
1. Make sure that the hot water tank in your house is set at not less than 70 degrees, if you have the chance to get to 80 then even better.
Even if the shower is in daily use it does not mean that it is free from legionella. Legionella bacteria thrive in something known as a biofil that forms on the inside of pipes etc.
2 I would recommend that you take the time to clean your hot water system properly at least once every 6 months. this is done in the following way.
*Open one or 2 hot taps at a time, let the hot water ( at least 70 degrees)run through the system for a minimum of 10 minutes.
* Shower heads shouls be taken down ( along with the flexipipe) and placed in a washing up lquid solution of 200 ml washing up liquid in 7 litres of water. It should stand for at least 20 minutes and should be mechanically cleaned with a bruch where possible before rinsing off.
* After rinsing it should be placed in a bleach solution of the same strength ( 200ml :7L) for a further 30 minutes before being thoroughlyly rinsed in running hot water.
* If you are away for long periods of time and the weather is thought to be warm during that period then empty the shower head and pipe for water and leave it hanging down.
Ok so i know some of this info may sound weird.
For those that are not familiar with the disease it is transmitted in droplets and is only contractable via inhalation. Showers and jet washes produce a fair amount of aerosols whilst in use and it is this that causes the problems.
Legionella is not only confined to Air conditioning and cleasing units!
Now the first bit of advice says tp screw the temperature up to at least 70 degrees right?. This is actually more than enough to scold most people quite badly so you may wish get a hold of taps that have a build in antiscold system.
Please remember that most tanks work with the warm water being taken from the top of the tank, at the same time the tank fills with cold water at the bttom of the tank. The more Hot water used, the more cold water i takenin and the lower the temperature sinks.
For the record, we managed to get rid of the legionella problem in my district and there are no reported cases of the disease on my district.
Disclaimer:- I am not a doctor or a medicl professional and ask for any wrong medical information to be corrected. I am a practicing health and safety/Environmental Protection officer and my recommebdations are based on courses etc.
__________________
Ok this is way off topic but i thought it might be of use for you to read anyways.
As some of you know i am a Health and Safety officer. I work a lot with different contageous diseases.
FIRST A LITTLE HISTORY!
Due to a huge outbreak of legionaires disease just outside of Oslo last year there was a all public places that offered shower facilities, or garages that had high pressure jet washers were legal bound to check the bacterial quality of the water they had in their warm water supplies.
As a result of this there were 2 buildings run by the local government offices here that were foud to contain relatively high amounts of legionella pneumophilia or serietype 2-14 ( i am not a Dr but my understanding is that this is one of the nasty ones!)
One of these places was a residential nursing home come hospice and the other a childrens nursery school.
Up to date
Thursday of last week saw a 91 year old man admitted to hospital after contracting legionaires disease from the shower unit he used in his room. All water was supplied from a central tank in the care home whene he lived .
It has just been reported today that a woman in Trondheim is critically ill after contracting Legionaires disease from Her PERSONAL SHOWER in a normal house!
This is scary guys and girls. The symptoms of legionaires start the same as a common cold and then worsen until they cause acute respiratory problems ( hence the latin name PNEUMOPHILIA)
BUT there are things that can be done to stop this from happening.
1. Make sure that the hot water tank in your house is set at not less than 70 degrees, if you have the chance to get to 80 then even better.
Even if the shower is in daily use it does not mean that it is free from legionella. Legionella bacteria thrive in something known as a biofil that forms on the inside of pipes etc.
2 I would recommend that you take the time to clean your hot water system properly at least once every 6 months. this is done in the following way.
*Open one or 2 hot taps at a time, let the hot water ( at least 70 degrees)run through the system for a minimum of 10 minutes.
* Shower heads shouls be taken down ( along with the flexipipe) and placed in a washing up lquid solution of 200 ml washing up liquid in 7 litres of water. It should stand for at least 20 minutes and should be mechanically cleaned with a bruch where possible before rinsing off.
* After rinsing it should be placed in a bleach solution of the same strength ( 200ml :7L) for a further 30 minutes before being thoroughlyly rinsed in running hot water.
* If you are away for long periods of time and the weather is thought to be warm during that period then empty the shower head and pipe for water and leave it hanging down.
Ok so i know some of this info may sound weird.
For those that are not familiar with the disease it is transmitted in droplets and is only contractable via inhalation. Showers and jet washes produce a fair amount of aerosols whilst in use and it is this that causes the problems.
Legionella is not only confined to Air conditioning and cleasing units!
Now the first bit of advice says tp screw the temperature up to at least 70 degrees right?. This is actually more than enough to scold most people quite badly so you may wish get a hold of taps that have a build in antiscold system.
Please remember that most tanks work with the warm water being taken from the top of the tank, at the same time the tank fills with cold water at the bttom of the tank. The more Hot water used, the more cold water i takenin and the lower the temperature sinks.
For the record, we managed to get rid of the legionella problem in my district and there are no reported cases of the disease on my district.
Disclaimer:- I am not a doctor or a medicl professional and ask for any wrong medical information to be corrected. I am a practicing health and safety/Environmental Protection officer and my recommebdations are based on courses etc.
__________________
