Water Safety

Most water systems can grow bacteria if water is left to sit for too long.

The main concern is Legionella, which can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a rare but serious illness. It’s more likely to affect older people, heavy smokers and drinkers, and anyone with a weaker immune system. 

We manage water safety across our homes, but there are simple steps you can take too. The key thing is to keep water moving, especially if taps or showers aren’t used often.

It’s also important to look out for problems with your hot water system, as faults can sometimes cause water to become dangerously hot.

Make sure you use all water outlets every week for at least two minutes.
Keep any taps or water outlets clean and free from debris and limescale build up.
Clean showerheads and hoses thoroughly every three months.
Flush water outlets you don’t use much or showers for a few minutes every week to keep the water in the pipes flowing.
Don’t adjust the temperature on your water storage heater. Stored water needs to be kept at 50 degrees minimum.
If after running the cold tap for a few minutes the water is warm let us know.
If after running the hot tap for a few minutes the water isn’t heating up sufficiently, or it’s running very hot, let us know.
If after running your taps for a few minutes it smells and/or is discoloured, please let us know.
If you’re away for more than a week, flush all outlets for a few minutes when you return.

If you live in an independent living apartment

The risk while living in one of our schemes is low. This is because we manage and monitor our water systems.

The water is stored above 45°C which will not allow legionella bacteria to grow, and, the water is used daily, which does not give time for the bacteria to grow to significant levels.

Risk can increase if your property is empty for long periods of time, when you go on holiday, stay with family or are in hospital for over a week.

If you follow this simple advice, it will drastically reduce the risk from Legionella bacteria in your apartment:

If you're going away for any amount of time, you should always tell your scheme manager or community support worker.
If you're away for over a week, you should run hot water from each hot water tap for two minutes on your return.
If you have your own hot water boiler make sure the thermostat is set between 50C and 60C.
If you've been away from home for over a week and you have a shower in your bathroom, you should remove the shower head when you get back and place it in hot water for ten minutes.
Shower heads and hoses should be removed and cleaned every three months.
If you're unable to do any of this yourself, you can ask for help from your scheme manager or community support worker.

Hot‑water safety

Hot‑water systems are usually very safe, but like any appliance they can fail due to age, wear or misuse.

If that happens, water can heat up more than it should and cause burns or scalds. Serious incidents are rare, but it’s important to know the warning signs.

Look out for:

Very hot water coming from hot taps.
Loud bubbling or banging from the hot‑water cylinder.
Hot water coming from cold taps.
Steam or damp around the cylinder cupboard or loft area.
Warm or hot water from an overflow pipe outside your home.

If you notice any of these, turn off the appliance or immersion heater straight away and call us on 0345 8 507 507.

To reduce the risk of burns and scalds, keep your hot water thermostat set to 55°C, run cold water first when filling baths or sinks, always test the water temperature, and never leave hot taps running unattended, especially around children.