A legionella infection in your hotel can have serious consequences for the health of your guests. A major risk factor is especially stagnant or inadequately heated water in pipes. "For the safety of your guests, it is therefore essential to be aware of these risks and take the right preventive measures in time," says Quality Manager Michael Ovaere of Valor Services Group, which specialises, among other things, in technical maintenance of sanitary facilities.
Legionella is a type of bacteria found in natural water sources such as lakes and rivers, but it can also thrive in artificial water systems such as water pipes, boilers and air-conditioning systems. Infection can occur when inhaling the bacteria through very small droplets - called aerosols - that occur in the air after atomisation, such as during showering. The consequences of this cannot be underestimated, warns Ovaere: "Infection can lead to severe pneumonia, known as Legionnaires' disease. Every year, several hundred people in the Netherlands contract legionella infection, several dozen of whom die."
It is advisable to flush taps properly, infection can occur when inhaling the bacteria, such as while showering.
In the Netherlands, legislation on legionella prevention is contained in the Drinking Water Decree. "In practice, this means that the Inspectorate for the Environment and Transport - ILT for short - supervises owners with collective drinking water installations, often with shower facilities. This includes hotels," Ovaere continued. "Hotel owners are therefore obliged to have a risk analysis carried out and a management plan drawn up by a certified company, such as Valor Services Group, for example. A management plan states which measures are mandatory to prevent the growth of legionella bacteria. In addition, a hotel must have the water checked for legionella at least twice a year by an approved laboratory. Are there 100 colony-forming units per litre or more in the drinking water? If so, a hotel must take additional measures to reduce the number of legionella bacteria."
Apart from the above legislation, hotels can also take the necessary preventive measures themselves to avoid legionella contamination, Ovaere stresses. "A common breeding ground for legionella bacteria is stagnant water, for example in pipes of hotel rooms that are used infrequently. The presence of a slime layer and nutrients in the water supply system also increases the risk of contamination. Therefore, in such a room, it is advisable to run the taps for about 10 minutes every day to flush the pipes thoroughly. Another dangerous breeding ground for legionella that we often encounter are boilers in which the water is insufficiently heated. This is because the legionella bacterium thrives best in water with a temperature of between 20 and 55 degrees Celsius. That is why we recommend always heating the water in a boiler to above 65 degrees Celsius. What you also often see in a technical room is that the pipes for hot and cold water are close together; this is also a risk factor. Therefore, it is important to apply insulation around those water pipes so that no cross-pollination of heat can occur. However, the most important thing is and remains that all installations are technically sound. If not, there is a high chance of stagnant water forming and Legionella will always return."
According to Ovaere, especially during the corona crisis, many hotel establishments were struggling with legionella contamination. "After all, during that period everything literally stood still, including the tap water in hotels. By now, those problems have largely been remedied again, thanks in part to the chemical cleanings we carried out at these companies. Such chemical disinfection is also done, for example, if a water measurement reveals a form of Legionella pneumophila, a type that is very dangerous. Our experts then add chlorine dioxide gas to the contaminated water network, which is then temporarily shut off. Afterwards, the pipes are flushed and released. This is a very effective method of controlling legionella, with a success rate as high as 99 per cent."
Should chemical cleaning not be technically possible, an anti-legionella shower head may also offer a solution, Ovaere concludes: "The micron filter in this shower head traps legionella particles, thus preventing contamination with 99 per cent certainty. The only thing you need to pay attention to is to replace the showerhead filter every three months."
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