Welcome to the Ultimate Guide to Legionella Testing

This series will provide the knowledge to give you the confidence to collect your own legionella water samples. It’s a really simple process that can be completed in a few minutes. Better still, it will save you time and money. After you’ve successfully completed testing for legionella, you can check the quality of other water systems, too.

We’ll start with the basics.

Chapter 1: Legionella Testing Explained Simply

1. What are Legionella Bacteria?
2. Where does this bacteria live?
3. How dangerous is it?

Chapter 2: Types of Legionella Testing

1. The traditional culture method is currently the gold standard but for how long?
2. qPCR is quicker but is it better?
3. What may future legionella testing look like?

Chapter 3: How do you take a legionella sample?

1. A simple, straightforward guide of how you collect a water sample for legionella analysis.
2. If it’s this easy, why have we been paying so-called “experts” so much in the past?

Chapter 4: Where do you take a legionella sample?

1. How do you choose a suitable location?
2. Are there locations you should never test?

Chapter 5: Completing the submission sheet

1. This is the form you send to the laboratory, it tells them the info they need to have so they can test the sample.
2. What information does the laboratory need?
3. Why do they need to know the time the sample was collected?

Chapter 6: Pre or Post Flush Sampling?

1. What is the difference between a pre-flush sample and a post-flush sample?
2. Will the results be different?
3. What do the different results tell me?

Chapter 7: What happens if the legionella results are positive

1. About 5% of the water we test has active legionella bacteria in it – help!
2. What is a bad result?
3. What is a really bad result when testing for legionella?

Chapter 8: How to disinfect your water systems

1. What is the best disinfectant to use?
2. What concentration do I need?
3. How long does it need to be in the water?
4. How soon after a disinfection should I re-test?

Chapter 9: Point-of-Use Legionella Filters

1. Do they work?
2. Where do you fit them?
3. How long will they last?

Chapter 10: How to test Swimming Pools

1. What tests are required & how often?
2. Does it matter where in the pool I take the sample?

Chapter 11: How to test Hot Tubs

1. Do they have to be tested every month?
2. Why are my results always poor!

Chapter 12: How to test Cold Water Storage Tanks

1. What is “Drinking Water Quality”?
2. Why are there no fixed maximum levels for TVCs?
3. Do I test a tank for legionella?

Chapter 13: How to test calorifiers & hot water cylinders

1. How do you get a sample from a cylinder?
2. The drain valve is seized, what should I do?

Chapter 14: How to test drinking water units

1. Shouldn’t the quality from these units always be perfect?
2. Why are the results always worse than ta water?

Chapter 15: How do you take a water sample from a shower?

1. How do you get the water into the sample bottle?
2. Can I remove the shower head to make sampling easier?

Chapter 16: How to test an ice making machine

1. Surely no bacteria can survive in ice?
2. How do I collect a sample?