Wall charts & posters

The figures

• Store hot water at 60 °C or above
• Hot reaches 50 °C (55 °C healthcare) within ~1 min at the tap
• Cold stays below 20 °C within ~2 min
• Legionella multiplies fastest 20–45 °C

Every month

• Check sentinel hot & cold outlets
• Record the readings
• Investigate anything out of range: do not just tick it

Good condition

• Close-fitting lid, no gaps
• Insect/vermin screens on overflow and vent
• Insulated; water below 20 °C
• Clean base: no sediment, scale or debris
• No light getting in

Act if you see

• Missing or damaged lid/screens
• Sludge or rust in the base
• Warm or stagnant water
• A tank far bigger than the building needs

Routine

• Inspect at least annually (risk-assessment led)
• Clean and disinfect if condition requires

Good condition

• Stored at ~60 °C; outlets reach ~50 °C within ~1 min
• Base drained periodically — drain water runs clear
• Internal surfaces, anode and coating sound
• Insulated; flow and return both holding temperature

Act if you see

• Cloudy, gritty or cool drain-off water
• Drain temperature drifting down month on month
• Sediment, scale or corrosion at the base
• Far outlet slow to reach temperature

The base, not the body

• Crown gauge reads the hottest, least useful point
• Sludge at the base sits warm — Legionella's favourite zone
• Log the DRAIN temperature, not just the gauge

Routine

• Internal inspection commonly annual — risk assessment sets it
• Periodic drain-off / blowdown between inspections
• Record findings, defects and next due date

Why it matters

• Showerheads hold warm water still, then spray a breathable mist
• Scale and biofilm shelter bacteria inside the head and hose

The job, in order

• Isolate the outlet; gloves and eye protection on
• Remove the head AND the hose — the hose is often worse
• Soak in descaler per instructions; brush spray holes clear
• Disinfect, then rinse to waste
• Refit, run to temperature, keep spray low
• Log outlet, what you found, next due date

Don't

• Skip the hose because the head looks clean
• Treat a clear sample as proof a furred head is fine
• Strip a head down with people in the room

How often

• Commonly quarterly (HSG274) — your risk assessment sets it
• Shorten on hard water or if scale returns fast
• Low-use showers also need flushing between cleans

What it's doing

• Blends hot and cold to a safe delivery temperature
• That blended water sits in the 20–45 °C growth band
• Fit close to the outlet; keep the blended run short

Measure here

• Check the HOT supply at the valve inlet: should be hot
• Check the COLD supply at the inlet: should be cold
• A warm cold supply can mean a failed check valve
• Pull low-use TMV outlets into the flushing round

Don't

• Read the blended outlet and wind the valve up
• Run the whole system cooler and trust the TMV
• Forget the accessible bathroom used twice a month

Service & fail-safe

• Inspect, clean and descale the strainers and valve
• Fail-safe test: valve shuts off if cold supply is lost
• Interval set by risk assessment (HTM 04-01 in healthcare)

Why

• Water that sits still loses temperature control and disinfectant
• Little-used outlets are a classic risk-assessment finding

How (commonly weekly: set yours by risk assessment)

• Run each low-use outlet until the temperature stabilises
• Keep aerosol (spray) to a minimum
• Record the date, outlet and who did it

Watch for

• Outlets slow to reach temperature: report them
• New dead legs after fittings are removed

Before anyone arrives

• Restore hot and cold temperatures first
• Flush thoroughly through every outlet
• Disinfect and sample where the risk assessment calls for it
• Sign the system back into service

Don't

• Flick everything on the morning people return
• Drop the heat to save energy while it sits idle
• Pause flushing because the building is empty

Don't forget the quiet assets

• TMVs, spray taps and drinking-water dispensers
• Ice machines, eyewash and emergency safety showers
• The far wing you reopen a fortnight later

The habit

• Plan the reopening when you plan the shutdown
• A closure is a change of use: review the risk assessment
• Flushing frequency during closure set by the assessment

Your water-safety jobs (commonly weekly: follow your schedule)

• Descale and disinfect shower heads and spray taps
• Wipe and clear tap aerators and nozzles
• Run taps and showers in unused rooms

Keep the spray down

• Take the shower out of use before stripping it
• Minimise aerosol while cleaning
• Wear gloves and eye protection

Empty or unused rooms

• Flush hot and cold before re-letting
• Run each outlet until the temperature settles
• Record the date, room and who did it

Report, don't fix

• Tell the responsible person about a warm cold tap
• Flag heavy scale, slime or a dripping head
• An unrecorded clean didn't happen

Do

• Tell your Responsible Person immediately
• Cooperate fully with public health (UKHSA / health protection)
• Preserve the system: do not flush or disinfect before sampling unless told to
• Pull together your risk assessment and recent records

Do not

• Disinfect "to be safe" before investigators sample
• Brief staff or the public with speculation
• Ignore an HSE notice or its deadline

Who to call

• Your appointed Responsible Person / competent help
• For health concerns: NHS 111 or a GP
• Full steps: legionella.io/respond

Duty holder — the legal accountability

• Usually the employer, or whoever controls the premises
• Assess the risk, control it, keep records, review
• A legal status, not a job title
• Cannot be signed away to a contractor

Responsible person — runs it day to day

• A named individual with authority and competence
• Their name belongs in the logbook, not a department
• Manages the written scheme of control
• Briefs and challenges contractors, doesn't just file reports

Competent person / contractor — the technical work

• Right training, knowledge and experience for the task
• Sampling, monitoring, remedial work, cleaning
• A person matched to a task, not an old certificate

The line that never moves

• Outsourcing the task never outsources the duty
• Appoint a real person, not a job family
• A full logbook with nobody accountable is the classic gap

Landlord / freeholder

• Holds the duty for the parts they control
• Communal tanks, risers, plant and shared systems
• A risk assessment is expected, kept and reviewed

Managing agent

• Holds the duty only as far as the contract gives control
• Get who-does-what in writing — don't assume
• Appointing a contractor doesn't remove the duty

Inside the let flat

• Landlord assesses the risk in their rental property
• Simple systems often need simple, proportionate checks
• Tell tenants to flush outlets after time away

The common gap

• 'Agent has it' / 'landlord has it' — nobody does
• Name who holds each part, in writing
• Leave no tank or system unassigned

What it is

• Bacteria that grow in warm, still water
• Breathed in as a fine spray from showers, taps and sprays
• Can cause Legionnaires' — a serious lung infection
• Not spread person to person

How we keep it controlled here

• Keep hot water hot and cold water cold
• Keep water moving — don't let outlets sit unused
• Flush little-used taps and showers
• Keep shower heads and spray taps clean

Spot the warning signs

• A cold tap that runs warm
• Hot water that never gets properly hot
• Scale or slime on a shower head
• A room or wing left out of use

See something? Say something

• Report it to your Responsible Person
• Don't wait for the next inspection
• Health worries: call NHS 111 or a GP