It’s important to make sure that water supply used within your home is fresh and free from harmful bacteria. If water sources aren’t used regularly, like shower heads and outside taps, then harmful bacteria can develop including Legionella.

What is Legionella?

Legionnaires’ Disease is a form of pneumonia which is caused by inhaling the Legionella Bacteria which can be found in water systems. It can affect anybody but some people are at higher risk than others.

What we do to reduce the risk 

We carry out risk assessments and regular checks within our communal blocks where we have water tanks or other sources of stored water. Before any property is re-let we carry out thorough health and safety checks as pat of the void property programme. These checks allow us to keep any Legionella risks to a minimum.

What you can do to reduce the risks

Contracting Legionnaires’ Disease from a domestic mains supplied water system is very rare, however, these are just a few simple steps you can take to reduce the risk.

—    If you have any water outlets you don’t use regularly (shower, bath, internal/external taps and hose pipes), run them for around five minutes at least once a moth to help prevent water becoming stagnant.

—    Clean your shower head and hose regularly to prevent lime scale and any build-up of bacteria.

If you would like to find out more about Legionella, please visit the Health and Safety Executive website.