The temperatures are rising and we are happy about the cool water. But legionella bacteria also feel particularly at home at temperatures above 22 °C and can lead to serious illnesses in an emergency. Legionella infections are on the rise worldwide, with an increase in the months of July to October. Here you can find out what dangers lurk especially in summer and what to look out for...
Own well water is often used to fill pools or operate outdoor showers.
56% of our microbiologically tested well water samples show bacterial contamination. In order to prevent infectious diseases, it is essential to disinfect the water in such cases.
However, tap water can also become problematic, as bacteria and germs can multiply particularly well with prolonged stagnation, water temperatures between 22 and 55 °C, and rubber and plastic materials used.
The turbulence of the water, as is the case with whirlpools and outdoor showers, can promote an infection with Legionella in contaminated water.
One of the most common sources of infection are air conditioning systems and cooling towers. Here, fresh air is usually drawn in from outside, filtered and distributed cooled in the building. If the intake air contains fine water droplets in which legionella are present, these can settle in the filter material, multiply further and are then distributed in the room via the ventilation.
Regular maintenance of cooling systems is therefore strongly recommended.
When the outside temperatures rise, it is also significantly warmer in our living spaces. This is particularly noticeable in attic apartments or rooms with strong sunlight.The heat build-up can cause poorly insulated cold water pipes in particular to heat up, so there is also a risk of legionella here. The cold water should show lower temperatures than 25 °C at every tapping point (even after prolonged stagnation) after only 30 seconds.
Our statistics have shown that 17% of the tap water samples tested showed contamination with Legionella.
To save energy costs, the heating is often turned down in summer. However, it should be noted that sufficient heating of the hot water is still ensured.
The hot water temperature should be at least 60 °C in the boiler and at least 55 °C at all tapping points.
Summertime is vacation time. You are entitled to some time off, but you should make sure in advance that friends or acquaintances not only take care of your flowers and pets, but also flush your piping system. After 3 days of stagnation at the latest, the entire pipe system should be completely flushed once in order to counteract a strong increase in bacteria. This should be done starting with the most distant tapping point. Successful flushing can be checked by the temperature. The cold water suddenly becomes completely cold when the fresh water from the drinking water supplier reaches the tap.