Scared of using shower after 2 weeks

[Bexx24]

I’ve been away from home for 15 days. I’m back and want to have a shower. I have a round rainfall shower head and it’s so difficult to take off. The shower hasn’t been used in the whole time I was away. I’m so scared of catching legionnaire disease as I’ve heard this can happen

I run the legionella programme at work. You’re being ridiculous, just run the bloody thing for one minute before getting in.

You contract legionnaires by breathing in water aerosol droplets, not by ingesting it

We have two showers. One is only used when we have guests so we run it on hot for about ten minutes the day before they arrive. We’ve never had a problem.

The risk from Legionella is water spray being inhaled into lungs, so you could drink it perfectly safely even if it had Legionella in it. This is why taps and showers are a particular risk. As others have said turn it on and run if for a few minutes before getting in just to be safe but, especially at this time of year where cold water is very cold, the risk is minute and would normally need a lot more than two weeks.

I never knew this was a thing.

If this is necessary, why doesn’t everyone know this? I’m in my 50s and have never heard of this in a domestic setting. I know the tanks are tested at work( school) annually .

This is a very good point - if it happened that quickly in domestic settings then there would be a big uptick in cases during/after summer holidays, and there would be publicity about it everywhere.

If you want to reassure yourself, as others have said, just run it hot for a few minutes, but it would never even occur to me to worry about Legionnaire's in a domestic situation after a few weeks, it's just not A Thing.

The level of paranoia on this site is nuts!

I'd let the shower run for at least 15 mins, ideally the shower head needs to be taken off and soaked with dilute disinfectant though. My former partner moved home many years ago, and cleaned everything in the house, except the shower head, and guess what? He became ill the next day with what he thought was pneumonia, and was hospitalised, but it was probably Legionaires.
Moral is, if you move home, replace, or at least clean the shower head.

Have also heard of people becoming ill with pneumonia after inhaling the spores off compost, or hay.

My father had legionnaires after using a hot spring in Pammukale, Turkey. I didn't think it was all that common in the UK. That said, I would avoid pubic hot tubs unless chlorinated and so much crap is being dumped in our rivers now, who can really be sure?

I do hope that you wear that 'French hat thing' with the serviette hanging down at the back of your neck while you are patrolling the office.

I would.

People go on holiday for longer all of the time.

Do you think they’ll get this every time they’re home?

Are you going to never use your shower again?

You’ll be fine.
If you’re worried, then run the shower first.

People are such fucking idiots.

I think the above post is computer generated, the user name is typically a series of initials in capitals.

The only place I’ve ever been at risk of Legionnaires was in a condemned military block that was magically ‘fine’ when an extra 100 people needed to be put somewhere at short notice. We drank water from the mess and somehow miraculously managed to be both clean using the showers and disease free.

Legionnaires is transmitted through inhalation of water spray or mist just for awareness.

I used to work for housing. We had a test quarterly. The shower in the laundry room was never used. It never came up positive. Not saying that it can't. But I'm.sure it's mostly stagnant water left in bowls or recesses.

I would avoid pubic hot tubs

Wise advice.

Yes this happened to my uncle in Australia.