Services | Cleaning & Disinfection of Water Systems
Cleaning & disinfection play an essential role in the control of legionella.
We offer a highly specialised water system cleaning service conforming to British Standards.
Regular cleaning and disinfection of water systems is essential to control water hygiene as sludge, sediment and scale can build up in a water system and provide favourable conditions for the legionella bacteria to multiply.
A cold water storage tank before and after our cleaning and disinfection process.
Hot and cold water services should be cleaned, flushed and disinfected in the following situations, as specified in BS 8558:2015:
- on completion of a new water installation or refurbishment of a hot and cold water system;
- on installation of new components, especially those which have been pressure tested using water by the manufacturer (see the manufacturer’s instructions);
- where the hot and cold water is not used for a prolonged period and has not been flushed as recommended or the control measures have not been effective for a prolonged period. For example, this could be as little as two or three weeks, but will depend on the ambient temperature, condition of the water system, potential for exposure to aerosols and the susceptibility of users considered in a specific risk assessment;
- on routine inspection of the water storage tanks, where there is evidence of significant contamination or stagnation;
- if the system or part of it has been substantially altered or entered for maintenance purposes that may introduce contamination;
- following water sampling results that indicate evidence of microbial contamination of the water system;
- during, or following an outbreak or suspected outbreak of legionellosis linked to the system;
- or where indicated by the risk assessment.
H2o LCS can undertake thermal and chemical disinfections and upon completion issue a Certificate of Disinfection in line with BS 8558:2015.
H2o LCS can also undertake microbiological sampling to confirm effective disinfection although we recommend samples should be taken between two and seven days after the system is refilled as samples taken immediately after a disinfection process may give false negative results.