Integrated
Annual Report 2016

Drinking water hygiene

Invisible threat

OKT
20
Nobody has been here for some time.
When buildings, building sections or even just individual apartments are unused for weeks or months on end …
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… bacteria can multiply in the unused water supply lines. This can be dangerous, particularly with showers.
How can this be prevented?
Die Geberit Hygienespülung
The Geberit sanitary flush unit. Concealed behind the wall, it regularly rinses unused water supply lines.
And what does this achieve?
The sanitary flush unit ensures that you can shower without risking your health, even if you have been away for an extended period.

Protecting lives

In the drinking water systems at hotels, sports stadiums, hospitals and holiday apartments, entire pipe sections can go months on end without being used. Geberit offers a clever solution to prevent microbial contamination of these water supply lines when they are not in use.

Potable water is never completely germ-free. However, the concentration of bacteria and germs is normally so low that it does not pose a threat to the human immune system. Only when these pathogens are able to multiply does a serious health risk arise.

Water temperatures of 25 to 50 degrees Celsius and water systems that are not used for extended periods of time provide optimal conditions for bacteria such as legionella. They cannot multiply in colder, warmer or flowing water. This is precisely how Geberit tackles the problem: To prevent germs from forming, a programmable device – the fully automated Geberit sanitary flush unit – rinses the pipes when required, thus ensuring that stagnating potable water is regularly replaced and that potable water that is too warm is cooled down.

The Geberit sanitary flush prevents stagnation in water pipes by automatically flushing them when required. All settings on the unit can be programmed via smartphone.
A real threat
After a short time, a biofilm forms on all surfaces where water is present. Its occurrence is dependent on the water’s nutrients, flow velocity, quality and temperature. Biofilms provide a habitat for pathogens such as legionella or pseudomonas. With prolonged stagnation phases, these microorganisms can multiply in the biofilm and later contaminate the potable water.

Legionella bacteria claim the lives of thousands of people in Europe each year. The only way to become infected with these bacteria is by inhaling them, which can occur in the shower, for example. By installing a sanitary flush unit, plumbers and sanitary engineers can play a decisive role in reducing the health risk caused by legionella bacteria.