--- title: "Little-Used Outlet Flushing Round: An Operative's Field SOP" source_url: https://legionella.io/articles/little-used-outlet-flushing-round-field-sop/ canonical_url: https://legionella.io/articles/little-used-outlet-flushing-round-field-sop/ pillar: "Monitoring, Flushing & Sampling" summary: "The step-by-step field method for the weekly flushing round: run each listed outlet for its set time, keep spray down, sign off and flag any problem you find." primary_keyword: "little used outlet flushing procedure" date_published: 2026-06-27 date_reviewed: 2026-06-27 author: "Legionella.io editorial team (REMOTE TECH LTD)" reviewed_against: "HSE L8 and HSG274 guidance" region: "United Kingdom" license: "CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Quote, adapt or republish with attribution to REMOTE TECH LTD and a link to source_url." license_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ --- # Little-Used Outlet Flushing Round: An Operative's Field SOP You have been handed a schedule, a set of keys and a job that comes round every week: open the taps and showers that hardly anyone uses, run them, and sign to say you did. This is how to do that round properly, so the water in those forgotten pipes does not sit still long enough to grow Legionella. The point is simple. Water that sits warm and stagnant in a rarely-used pipe is where the bacteria multiply. Running each outlet pulls that old water out and brings fresh, moving water through. Do it on time, do it fully, record it honestly, and flag anything odd. This is the field method for the task itself. How the schedule was built, and the record template you fill in, are separate jobs covered elsewhere, your job is to carry out the round on the list in front of you. ## Before you start: what you need and who can do it You should have been shown how to do this round and signed off as competent for it before working alone. If nobody has walked you through it, stop and ask, flushing is a control measure the responsible person relies on, and it counts only if it is done correctly [1]. Take with you: the flushing schedule or asset list for your building, the log to sign (paper or device), a watch or timer, gloves, and any PPE your site requires. If the round includes showers, your site method may call for extra aerosol controls, check before you start, not at the showerhead. Know your boundaries. You run the outlets and record what you find. You do not adjust temperatures, dismantle taps, or decide whether a fault matters. If something is wrong, you note it and report it up. ## The flushing round, step by step Work from the schedule, outlet by outlet, in a sensible order through the building. Do not flush from memory, the list exists so nothing gets missed. Here is the sequence for each outlet on it. 1. **Find the outlet on your schedule and confirm it is the right one.** Match the location and asset reference before you touch anything. *Done when:* you have the correct line on the log open and ready to fill. 2. **Check the area is clear and safe to run.** Make sure nobody is at the basin or in the shower, and that running water will drain away, not flood. *Done when:* the outlet can run without splashing a person or pooling on the floor. 3. **Open the cold tap first and let it run for the time on your schedule.** Run it gently, a steady flow, not full blast that throws spray everywhere. *Done when:* it has run for the full documented duration for that outlet. 4. **Then run the hot tap separately, for its documented time.** Hot and cold are flushed as separate runs, not mixed, so each pipe actually clears. Be aware the hot can come through hot enough to scald, keep your hands clear of the stream. *Done when:* the hot side has run for its full set time as well. 5. **For a shower, control the spray before you start it.** Your site method may have you run it at low flow, hold the head down into the tray, or fit it in a way that keeps the fine mist down. Breathing in that mist is the route that matters, so keep aerosol to a minimum. *Done when:* the shower has run for its set time with spray kept down throughout. 6. **Watch and feel the water as it runs.** Note whether the cold runs cold and the hot runs hot, whether the water is clear or discoloured, and whether there is any smell, slow flow or dripping. You are not testing. You are noticing. *Done when:* you have a clear sense of whether the outlet behaved normally. 7. **Turn off, and record that outlet on the log straight away.** Mark it flushed, with the date and your initials, and write any concern in the notes against that specific outlet. *Done when:* the line is signed and any issue is written down before you move on. Then move to the next outlet and repeat, until every line on the schedule is done. ## How you know the round is finished The round is complete only when **every outlet on the schedule has been flushed for its full time and signed off**, not when you run out of time or get bored. A round with three lines left blank is an unfinished round, and it should be reported as such, not quietly closed. The durations and the weekly (or other) frequency are set for your site by the risk assessment and written into your schedule. Do not shorten a run to save time, and do not extend or invent one [2]. If a run-time looks wrong, raise it, do not guess. ## When something is not right You will sometimes find an outlet you cannot flush or one that behaves oddly. Handle it like this rather than skipping it. - **The outlet is out of use, capped or removed.** Do not just leave the line blank. Note what you found and report it, a dead leg or a redundant outlet may need work that is not yours to do. - **You cannot get access** (room locked, occupied long-term, key missing). Record that you could not reach it and why, and report it the same day so it can be flushed another way. - **The water runs warm on the cold, cold on the hot, discoloured, smelly or barely flows.** Record it against that outlet and report it promptly. Temperature and water quality are warning signs the responsible person needs to act on, and running outlets is exactly when scald and quality issues show up [3]. - **A whole area was missed this week.** Tell your supervisor rather than backdating the log. An honest gap that gets actioned is safer than a tidy record that is not true. Never sign for an outlet you did not actually run. The log is a legal record that the control was carried out, and signing for work not done is the one thing that undermines the whole programme. This is a general field method to follow alongside your own site's documents. The outlets on the round, the run-times, the frequency and the aerosol and scald controls for your building are decided by a competent person's site-specific risk assessment, follow your schedule and your site method statement, and ask if anything on them is unclear. ## Finish the round properly today Before you hand the log back, read down your own sheet. Is every scheduled outlet ticked and initialled? Is every concern you noticed written against the right outlet, not just remembered? If yes, the round is done. If there is a blank line, an access problem or an outlet that ran wrong, make sure that is reported before you walk away, a flagged problem is a job half-solved; an ignored one is not. ## FAQ ### Which outlets count as "little-used" and need flushing? Any tap, shower or other water outlet that is not used often enough to keep fresh water moving through its pipe, a basin in a rarely-occupied room, a spare shower, an outlet on a wing that is shut for part of the year. You do not decide which ones qualify; they are identified by the risk assessment and listed on the schedule you work from. Your job is to flush everything on that list. ### What do I do if I miss a week? Tell your supervisor as soon as you can, and record the gap honestly rather than backdating it. A missed flush means that water has sat longer than the programme allows, which is exactly the situation the round exists to prevent. The responsible person may want it flushed straight away and may want to review whether anything more is needed. ### Do I record only that I flushed, or other things too? Both. Mark each outlet as flushed with the date and your initials, and also note anything you observed, discoloured water, a smell, slow flow, a warm cold tap, an outlet you could not reach. Those notes are often more useful than the ticks, because they are the early warning the person managing the system relies on. ### How long should I run each outlet, and where does that come from? For the time written against that outlet on your schedule, which is set for your site by the risk assessment, it is not a single number you carry in your head, and it is not something to shorten or make up. If a run-time is missing or looks wrong, flush for what the schedule says and report the query; do not guess a duration. ## Related reading - [How to implement a flushing programme](https://legionella.io/articles/how-to-implement-a-flushing-programme-for-legionella-control/) - [Flushing little-used outlets: best practices](https://legionella.io/articles/flushing-little-used-outlets-best-practices/) - [Flushing record sheet for little-used outlets](https://legionella.io/articles/legionella-flushing-record-sheet-free-template-for-little-used-outlets/) - [Routine monitoring and flushing basics](https://legionella.io/articles/routine-monitoring-and-flushing-the-basics/) - [Building shutdowns and low-use monitoring](https://legionella.io/articles/building-shutdowns-flushing-and-monitoring-during-low-use/) ## Sources [1] HSE, ACoP L8 (2013), “Carrying out a risk assessment”, p.12. https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l8.htm [2] HSE, HSG274 Part 2 (2024), “Operation and inspection of hot and cold water systems”, p.70. https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg274.htm [3] HSE, "Hot and cold water systems". https://www.hse.gov.uk/legionnaires/hot-and-cold.htm