Keeping underused buildings legionella free

“Secondary disinfection is key in the fight against legionella and general bacterial proliferation within water systems…”

 …says Ian Wedd

Secondary disinfection, used to control legionella in commercial buildings, has come to the fore over the past few years due to lockdowns and ongoing low occupancy in office spaces in particular – recent research shows that 20% of the office space in the South East is unused and 75% of workers are doing some work from home.

Ian explains the importance of secondary disinfection and the industry-leading solutions Guardian Water Treatment is bringing to the table.

“Secondary disinfection is key in the armoury against bacterial proliferation, something that has become increasingly important over the last few years of the pandemic; empty buildings and the consequent acceleration of working from home culture, leave our buildings vulnerable – where water systems are underused, the risk of legionella and other pathogens increases.

“The new range of secondary disinfection products we can now bring to the market allow our clients to truly benefit from world class, 21^st century solutions that are highly effective, eco-friendly, safe to use and money saving.

“We are championing Hypochlorus Acid, which offers considerable benefits in terms of storage and handling in particular. There is no need for PPE and no reduction in quality when stored for a period of time or exposed to sunlight. Environmental benefits include the fact it has lower CO2 emissions, less wastage and low production costs – all in all it represents the perfect choice for many buildings.

“Chlorine dioxide is the perhaps the most conventional choice, which still has its place, particularly in systems where bacteria is already well manifested. The problems lie in the fact that it is tricky to maintain efficiency. It can also be corrosive and involves the handling and storage of harmful chemicals so presents some undesirable complications.”

“We will always choose the best solution for a particular job, dependent on the building, its usage, any pre-existing contaminant and risk factors. I support sales teams across the WCS Group, providing technical know-how and helping them sell-on the benefits of Hypochlorus Acid in particular; an approach which is currently not widely used in our industry, but one which I am excited to be spearheading.”

To find out more about Guardian’s secondary disinfection solutions, contact us.