There’s a sneaky threat lurking. It’s ready to strike… just when you think the crisis is over.
It’s not cash flow. Or regaining lost contracts or lost productivity. Oh no!
It’s something you will never think of. Not in a million years.
Ignore it and it could cause you downtime. And expense. Just when you’re trying to get back to normal.
Luckily, it’s easy to fix.
Loo Break
Before I reveal the hidden threat, a question. How many toilets do you have at your premises?
10, 20, 30 or just 2. Whatever it is, there’s one thing they have in common, right now.
Stagnant water.
All those cisterns that have not been flushed for 3 weeks now contain stagnant water. And that means…
Bacteria.
It thrives in stagnant or low flow water. And causes disease. Or more scientifically…
Increases biofilms and free living bacteria. These may include pathogenic bacteria such as Legionella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Three weeks of bacteria. Hanging about where you can’t see them.
Waiting to hit you and your business with a second wave of health issues. And downtime. And expense.
Ugh!
But it’s not just your toilet cisterns! If your building has been in lockdown, there will be stagnant water in:
- Hot and cold water systems.
- Irrigation systems.
- Cooling systems.
- Cold water storage tanks.
Double ugh!
Experts at toxin flushing – what you need to do
Nigel Richardson of Collaton Consultancy, specialists in managing water treatment says:
All companies should have a Water Safety Plan for premises that are left empty for any period of time.
A way to ensure that you manage no or low flow is to have a flushing regime. This means that once per week you run every outlet on a hot and cold water system and flush all toilets. It also may mean running recirculating pumps on process waters and cooling water systems.
If the building is a high risk building such as a healthcare site or aged persons home, then the flushing should be twice per week. And if it is an Augmented Care ward this flushing should be daily.
How long flushing should take depends on your system, the official advice is until the outlet water temperature equilibrates with the supply water (hot water or incoming cold water mains) however this can also depend on the layout of the water system. It is a good idea to start flushing outlets closest to the source and then move away from the source, in this way the ‘fresh’ water will follow you and therefore will not take so long to flush.
It’s all very well telling you this but what can you do about it? Your staff are all on furlough or may be quarantined or unwell.
Flushed with success – the easy fix
But some industries ARE STILL WORKING. Mobile Security Guards. You may not have considered this option in the past because, well, you never needed one. Someone was always at the office keeping an eye on things. But these heroes are available to check everything is secure outside your building AND inside.
They can run the taps and flush the loos, check the smoke or fire alarm is working. And do all sorts of other things that are required to keep your insurance policy valid whilst your property is empty.
It is the easy way to keep the hidden threat at bay.
Speak to an accredited professional in your area and get a quote by clicking on this link. Fix it now. Avoid a second crisis for your business after lockdown…
Speak to an expert about keyholding and on site visits for your premises
