How To Clean Shower Head To Prevent Legionnaires Disease

To prevent any additional spread of infection and cases of legionnaires disease from popping up the hospital decided to install medical grade water filters on all of the hospital s shower heads and taps.

How to clean shower head to prevent legionnaires disease. Stagnant water favours legionella growth. In tests 30 per cent of shower heads contained mycobacterium avium a bug linked to lung disease. It doesn t take long and it could potentially be a life saver given the evidence from the public health england investigations. Flushing showers could prevent life threatening legionnaires disease. Regular cleaning of the shower is important.

Combine 3 cups of very hot water and 1 cup of white vinegar in a large bowl. Furthermore if you have been away on holiday run your shower for a few minutes before using it. Remove the shower head from the pipe. Within a few minutes the limescale should start to dissolve. Protect the fixture s finish with soft rags or towels while you re working.

Place the shower heads and hoses in a bucket and cover with neat solution of showerhead plus. The slime protects the germs from the chlorine in the water which is meant to eliminate them. Doctor who runs his shower for 20 minutes every time he comes back from holiday says this habit could save you from life threatening legionnaires disease. If the scale deposits are visible we recommend you carry out the following. Clean and disinfect the shower head regularly to prevent the build up of limescale minerals and other residue.

Bacteria such as legionella will multiply in temperatures between 20 and 45 degrees celsius but is killed once the temperature goes above 60 degrees celsius. Use an old toothbrush or bottle brush to scrub the showerhead inside and out. Take apart the shower head and remove all detachable parts including the filter screen. Reattach the showerhead to the shower arm using the wrench. Ideally you should be descaling and disinfecting your shower heads every three months or more often if scale is visible.

To reduce the risk you should remove dead legs dead ends in pipe work flush out infrequently used outlets including showerheads and taps at least weekly. By victoria franks acop l8 hsg274 legionella water zetasafe. 5 ways to prevent legionella in your shower. Remove your showerhead usually by unscrewing and shake out any excess water. Dismantle the shower head remove any limescale other debris and disinfect it on a regular basis.