We know how important it is to recycle and reuse wherever possible, and as a nation, we are getting much better at this at home. But you may not have considered doing this when it comes to your water hygiene equipment, including your cold water storage tanks.
If your cold water storage tank is old, if the lining is degraded, it if it rusty, it is an issue for all kinds of health and safety reasons. One of those reasons – the one we’re focusing on because we deal with water hygiene London and surrounding areas – is legionella bacteria. When a tank is in poor condition, legionella bacteria can proliferate, can enter the water system in the building, and it can cause health issues to those who are at risk not only within the building but in the wider community as well.
If a regular tank inspection or legionella risk assessment (both of which you need to be doing as part of the legionella control of your building – both of which Assured Water Hygiene can carry out for you) brings up the fact that your cold water storage tank is in poor condition, it is crucial that you do something about it. Simply increasing the temperature within your calorifiers and cleaning your showerheads isn’t going to be enough.
But replacing a cold water storage tank can be expensive. And it can be difficult; some tanks were built into the space in which they sit, and that makes removing them and replacing them with new tanks incredibly hard to do.
This is often why building managers don’t replace their cold water storage tanks. Yet by not acknowledging the problems, they are potentially increasing the risk of legionella within the building, and if someone were to become ill or even die because of this, the courts would not accept a defence of ‘too expensive’ or ‘too difficult’.
However, it is possible to mitigate the risk as much as possible by attending to the tank’s issues without replacing it. Of course, eventually the tank really will need to be replaced, and in some cases there is nothing that can be done to fix the problems, but if you start from a ‘reuse and recycle’ point of view, it may be possible to save money and ensure people are kept safe at the same time.
One way to do this is to replace only the tank lining. This is a great option as the price is much less than replacing the whole tank, and it causes a lot less disruption. Once the work is completed, the tank should be just as good as new.
Even if the tank is corroded, it may be possible to fix the corroded areas, add a new tank lining, and give the tank a new lease of life. It will still need to be replaced eventually, but putting this task off can help with your budget and keep you in line with legislation.
If you aren’t sure of the condition of your tank, then it must be time for a tank inspection or perhaps a full legionella risk assessment. Contact Assured Water Hygiene for water hygiene London and surrounding areas, and we can give you a quote for the work that is required.
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