Eco Queen.

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Washing powders have 'builders' which keep the limescale down to a minimum. Home made stuff doesn't.

Pretty much. Her husband lived in the house for 6 years before she moved in 8 years ago.

He dropped a bollock then didn't he? That kind of witch will just be after his house. These man women who have crazy ideas about global warming and cellphone masts are all as crafty as a cartload of monkeys when it comes to ripping blokes off. They are usually feminists as well so so think it's quite fair to steal everything from a bloke.

Bill

Turn on a tap and you create enough of a spray to be a hazard if the bacterium is present. However, as you suggest, while it is not impossible, there is not a particularly high risk of it being present in fresh mains water. Nevertheless, it would be safer to get 45C at the tap by mixing hot water at over 60C with cold water at under 20C.

Colin Bignell

Just out of interest, I wonder how many people catch Legionaire's disease at home compared to non-domestic infections? You don't hear a lot about "home grown" legionella.

Tim

:-)

I assumed not. What about a couple of metres of shower-head hose, that

I've only every heard of legionairs in the context of big buildings and showers+tanks or air conditioning (where the water is added to humidify the air).

I won't dispute the principle of what you're saying, but it's not going to be high on my list of things to worry about - or I'd never dig in the garden due to the anthrax spores ;->

Cheers,

Tim

That's similar to my situation. The domestic hot water comes direct from the main into the combi, then direct to the taps. The shower flexible is drained after every use.

The combi DHW is set to 45C, which gives me 41C in the bath, and "hand hot" at the sink, shower and basin. There's a kettle for really hot water. The CH is set for 60C.

At the last two places where I lived, the water went into a tank in the loft, and the hot water tank was kept at 65C to keep down the bacterial count in the hot water pipework.

People with legionella in their home plumbing will be immune. It would only be a problem if their immunity is impared for some other reason, or they have a visitor with no immunity. I suspect part of the problem comes when people super-sanitise their home plumbing, lose their immunity, and then get exposed to it somewhere else. Often, when there's an outbreak somewhere where the public visit, it's only the visitors who are infected, as the staff are found to be immune already from previous low level exposure.

You also get low level background exposure in rain, but again, lots of people don't go out in the rain to the same extent people did 50+ years ago.

It is likely that more people than recognised have had some form of Legionaire's disease without knowing it. In one form, it is like a mild flu infection which goes very quickly, and will pretty well always be misdiagnosed as flu unless there's been a reason to have a set of tests done (but it will be gone by the time the test results come back).

If she was a true eco-warrior she would wash clothes infrequently, wear only colours that can be washed together to save separate washes. She would also not iron or tumble dry.

Didn't people used to be stitched into their clothes in the olden days?

"They used to sew their children in during the autumn. They had a sewing-in day. They sewed them into their clothes and left them there till spring. They were sewn in for warmth. They thought they would die of cold otherwise. With only enough freedom left to answer the calls of nature, the sewn-up children soon smelt very distinctive:

Doesn't this suggest that worrying about HW tank temperatures in a domestic situation is a waste of time then?

Tim

That is one reason The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 require all water storage cisterns to be insect-proof. Insects are the primary vector for infecting cisterns with legionella.

That is probably because they are the ones that result in major outbreaks, which make the news.

The risk is not particularly high. There are probably around 21 cases per million population per annum and only 10-15% result in death in healthy victims who are able to develop immunity. If you are a male smoker, who is also a heavy drinker and are over 50, the chances of recovery are much worse.

Colin Bignell

with outside toilets the order of the day, there was good reason to sew people in....

Not unless you want your drains to end up like this.

Mmmm, remember hot water draw may be quite low in some households re chlorine levels in the CW tank.

Washer pulls from cold. Electric shower pulls from cold. Dishwasher pulls from cold.

In this situation a conventional CW & immersion tank may have old stagnant water in it, since it is refreshed so rarely. It is these circumstances where ironically filling the toilet from the CW tank can be an idea (quieter too although slow).

I know this has caught out some district nurses finding "manky" hot water because the amount used is a few litres per day (maybe 10) with the CW tank holding some 250-300 litres. They tend to take cold water that has been boiled by the kettle. Takes nearly a month to turn over the CW tank with the chlorine level probably far below useful levels?

So do not assume the CW tank is "fresh", it may not be.

BTW, the usual "lurker reminder" - CW tank should be heatproof, covered re birds & insects, working safety stat on the immersion or a stat changed to a dual temp/safety version.

You almost certainly have a trap. You may not have a standpipe. Without a trap you would get smells from the foul sewer as its been illegal to connect to the rain water drain for years in most places.

Sounds like we've got one in the local pub then...

Tramps are very eco friendly. Their carbon footprint is very low. Most of their furniture gets recycled regularly. :)

Well, subject to the caveats, yes. I'd rather preserve my immunity to it.