Legionaires disease in home water systems??
Question:does anybody know whether or not this is true.
our heating engineer came to do some work & noticed the thermostat on our tank in the airing cupboard was set at 40 degrees.
he said this is dangerous & it needed to be between 55-60 degrees water temperature as legionaires disease will live in our pipes & water system if it is not hot enough. i thought that made sense...
my husband says that is nonsense..but i am now paronoid about it..and always keep the temperature high...and my husband turns it down...its SO annoying!!
anybody know the truth?? i would be grateful for any serious answers. thank you.
Answers:
Fact is:
Legionaires will multiply at lower temps, Government guidelines and Industry Standards recommend Hot water should be stored at above 60 degreees C. 60 deg is hot and can scald quite badly, there is a recommended upper limit of 65 deg C I think. Being a Commercial heating engineer I can tell you that most Local Authorities are storing water at 62 degs as Legionairres can not survive at this.
An average Bath temp is around 40 deg and that is quite hot if you just dive in. Most Care homes are Bathing residents at about 32, and this still warm enough to feel comfortable. A "warm" swimming pool is probably around 26-27 degC
Hope this helps
it MAY be dangerous. But if you regularly use your water systems, the risks are much lower. The bacterias will develop into rarely used water pipes, where water stay.
Remember also that this disease will be transmitted by the vapor of water (like a shower).
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