Safety Advice
Asbestos
Asbestos is a building product that was used extensively prior to 1999. If your home was built prior to 1999 asbestos could be present in your home. Asbestos materials are safe as long as they remain sealed in a good condition and are left undisturbed. However, the asbestos can be damaged and people could be exposed to it during DIY work. For this reason it is very important that you obtain permission from us before doing, or getting anyone else to do any alterations or work on your property. Asbestos can be a problem because when asbestos materials age or become damaged they can release fibres into the air. These can be breathed into the lungs, possibly causing damage. When very high levels of these fibres are breathed in this may cause medical related problems.
Legionella
Legionella is a bacterium that can form where stagnant water occurs, for example in pipes that are no longer used. To avoid the risk of this bacteria forming, although the risk in domestic properties is very small, the following regular operations are advised:
- Shower heads and hoses should be dismantled and descaled using a proprietary domestic descalant every three months or when shower rose shows signs of blocking.
- If not used for more than one week the bath, basin, and sink taps should be run for a minute. Similarly, the shower hose and rose should be flushed through in this manner.
