As part of our commitment to keeping your home safe and healthy, we would like to remind you of a few simple steps that help reduce the risk of Legionella bacteria in your water system, particularly after periods of low usage.
What You Need to Do To maintain clean, safe water in your home:
- Run all taps for at least 5 minutes, especially if you’ve been away for more than a few days.
- Do not interfere with the settings on your boiler or hot water system. The thermostat should be set at 60°C.
- If the temperature of your hot water changes, either the hot cools down or the cold temperature goes up please notify us.
- Ensure any taps or showers within a property that are not used regularly, i.e., for one week or more, are flushed* every seven days.
- Ensure taps and shower heads are clean and free of limescale by regularly descaling and cleaning the shower head and hose every three months.
- Inform us if your hot water is not working properly, particularly if there is no hot water.
- Avoid inhaling spray mist during flushing, close toilet lids when flushing.
If you are away from your home for more than seven days, on your return:
- Run every tap for at least five minutes.
- Slowly flush* cold taps until the water is really cold.
- If you have a shower, remove the shower head before flushing* and lower the hose to the base of the shower.
Why It Matters
It is important to make sure water is fresh and free from harmful bacteria, such as legionella. Most household water systems contain some bacteria and other organisms which do not cause any problems. However, if the bacteria have the right conditions to multiply, they can become potentially harmful and can cause people to become ill.
If you notice any unusual smells, discolouration, or issues with your taps or showers, please report it to us via our customer service team on 020 8778 6699 or email us at propertysafety@hexagonhousing.org.uk
Thank you for helping us maintain a safe and healthy living environment.
*flush/flushing – run the water for a minimum of five minutes