Do You Know What You’re Drinking?
Healthy Home Environmental Services can tell you – a simple water test can restore your confidence in the safety of you and your family. More importantly, testing may reveal contaminants that you have unknowingly been living with for many years.
Healthy Home Environmental Services offers water testing for drinking water and well water in the Greater Orlando area. Houses with well water should be tested annually for bacteria and chemical contamination.
Water Testing Packages
Includes: Total Coliform and E. coli
Includes: Total Coliform, E. Coli, Lead, Nitrates, Nitrites, Turbidity
Includes: Total Coliform, E Coli, Lead, Nitrites, Nitrates, Turbidity, Iron, Manganese, and pH.
**Individual tests can be performed as well, call for pricing and turnaround times.
Important Information: It is the responsibility of the person requesting the test to know exactly what test is required for their particular situation, loan etc. It is always best to obtain the required test in writing from the Lender.
Legionnaires disease is a form of pneumonia caused by bacteria, called Legionella, that live in water. A similar disease, Pontiac Fever, is a milder, influenza-like illness without pneumonia that is also caused by Legionella bacteria.
Legionella are commonly found in aquatic environments, and some species have been found in soil. The organisms are found in a wide range of environmental conditions and are relatively resistant to low pH, dissolved oxygen levels, and routine chlorination techniques for drinking water. Temperatures above 104 degrees F promote the rapid multiplication of the organism. The organisms are consistently found in the biofilm that forms in aquatic environments, cooling towers, and potable water systems. Transmission occurs from contaminated water that becomes aerosolized and inhaled by a susceptible host.
Outbreaks of Legionella has increased at least 400% over the last 15 years. Healthy Home Environmental Services will help facilities develop and implement a water management program to reduce Legionella growth and spread that is specific to your building.
Monitoring testing should be completed once a year, every quarter, or even monthly.
Symptoms of Legionnaires’ Disease Can Include:
- Shortness of breath
- High fever
- Muscle aches
These symptoms usually begin 2 or more days after being exposed to the bacteria, but can take two weeks to begin.
The key to preventing Legionnaires’ disease is to make sure that building owners and managers maintain building water systems in order to reduce the risk of Legionella growth and spread. Examples of building water systems that might grow and spread Legionella include but are not limited to:
- Hot tubs
- Hot water tanks and heaters
- Large plumbing systems
- Cooling towers (structures that contain water and a fan as part of centralized air-cooling systems for building or industrial processes)
- Decorative fountains
Legionella grows best in warm water, like the water temperatures used in hot tubs. However, warm temperatures also make it hard to keep disinfectants, such as chlorine, at the levels needed to kill germs like Legionella. Disinfectant and other chemical levels in hot tubs should be checked regularly, and hot tubs should be cleaned as recommended by the manufacturer.