Environmentally friendly disinfection against Legionella - which meets EU requirements
In recent years, the EU’s requirements for property owners to prevent the spread of Legionella have been tightened, and today every property owner must act preventively against bacterial attacks to meet the requirements. It is therefore no longer enough to simply check the hot water temperature and then act reactively in the event of a confirmed Legionella outbreak. Anolytech’s unique system acts preventively by continuously adding small doses of the environmentally friendly disinfectant AnoDes to the water. By installing Anolytech’s system in the property, both bacteria-free water and compliance with EU regulations are guaranteed.
Bacteria-free and safe water systems
Being able to guarantee bacteria-free water is a basic requirement in a property. Hotel, spa and restaurant guests should be able to feel safe drinking and using the property’s water without the risk of ingesting harmful and unhealthy bacteria. But even if the incoming water is of high quality, there are no guarantees that the water cannot be contaminated inside the property and spread dangerous infection further.
Legionella bacteria can, among other things, cause Legionnaires’ disease, which is a serious form of pneumonia. The bacteria are spread to the lungs via water mist, i.e. when water jets are broken in e.g. shower nozzles, whirlpool baths, air mixers on water taps etc.
Anolytech’s environmentally friendly system disinfects the water continuously as a preventive measure, thus creating security for people in all environments where water is used.
Shower and bath
Pools, spa environments and shower rooms are spaces that generate a lot of water mist. Continuous dosing of AnoDes in the water is a guarantee that Legionella bacteria do not spread in the facility and in the hotel room showers. The constant presence of AnoDes also means that shower heads do not need to be changed as often.
Anolytech’s system replaces disinfection with traditional chemicals such as chlorine and acid. Instead, only water, salt and electricity are used to disinfect the water.
With Anolytech’s environmentally friendly system, the staff does not have to handle dangerous chemicals, which also contributes to a reduced use of chemicals in line with the global sustainability goals in Agenda 2030.
Kitchen and restaurant
With AnoDes in the water, it is guaranteed that harmful bacteria are not spread when rinsing salad and other food items. Self-produced ice also does not run the risk of containing harmful bacteria, and the ice machines do not need to be disinfected as often – which saves a lot of working time for the kitchen staff, who also do not have to handle chemicals.
Tightened rules around Legionella within the EU
The WHO has classified Europe as a problem area for Legionella, which has prompted the EU to tighten the rules on how to combat the bacteria.
In the past, it was sufficient for the property owner to regularly carry out self-inspections to ensure that the requirements in the rules were met. However, in many cases the checks were not done frequently enough, with the result that measures were not put in place in time. Regularly measuring the water temperature in water heaters/VVC is no longer sufficient in terms of law.
Today, it is required that the property owner works preventively to prevent outbreaks at all, and that there are predetermined plans for measures should an outbreak still occur. The tightened rules are part of the new drinking water directive, in combination with the EU’s “Right2Water”.
Difficult and expensive to fix
It does not matter if the property’s water system is new or old, Legionella bacteria can still find their way into both cold and hot water pipes. And even if the water is heated to over 70 degrees in the water heater/VVC, the water system may still contain Legionella.
Flushing the system with hot water is also not sufficient as the flushing does not address bacteria in the system’s endpoints, such as shower hoses, shower heads and faucets. If the water system also has problems with biofilm, this means that the bacteria can get a hold of the biofilm where they multiply and spread to the surrounding water.
Avoid large costs
A Legionella outbreak is not only potentially dangerous to human health, but is often time-consuming and costly for the property owner to remedy. For those who run businesses in the property, the outbreak can mean major financial problems, both in direct loss of income and damaged reputation, if they need to close for cleaning. With AnoDes constantly present in the water, the risks of Legionella are radically reduced and it becomes easier to ensure the quality of the water. The presence of AnoDes also means that shower nozzles and shower hoses do not need to be changed to the same extent as before.
Save water and energy
Anolytech’s preventive system means that reactive measures, in an attempt to flush pipes and lines clean of bacteria, are no longer needed, which saves large amounts of water. The system also means significant energy savings. As Anolytech’s system does not require high temperatures to kill bacteria, the temperature of the hot water can be reduced by 10-20 degrees with significant savings in both energy consumption and costs. Reducing energy consumption makes the property and the hotel, spa and restaurant operations conducted there more sustainable as they can live up to the authorities’ requirements for reduced energy consumption and thereby contribute to achieving the global sustainability goals in Agenda 2030.
Effective against bacteria and biofilm
Anolytech’s unique system ensures bacteria-free water through continuous dosing of Anolytech’s disinfection solution AnoDes in the water pipes. Even in small doses, AnoDes effectively kills bacteria, viruses, spores, mold and fungi and stops the growth of biofilm that otherwise risks clogging the water system and in turn constitutes a breeding ground for bacteria.
Because AnoDes is made from only water, salt and electricity, it does not contain any dangerous chemicals. This makes AnoDes both environmentally friendly and completely harmless to humans. AnoDes also does not affect the taste or smell of the water. The production of AnoDes takes place on site in a facility that you rent from Anolytech and which is connected directly to the property’s water system.
Anolytech and Anodes comply with the Swedish Food Agency’s regulations (2001:30) on drinking water and the EU’s drinking water regulations.
Preventive protection and long-term effect
Anolytech’s system differs from traditional methods where the disinfection is done only when the problems have arisen and wires and other parts of the system have to be replaced or flushed clean, not infrequently with the help of harmful chemicals. The interventions remove the symptoms for the time being, but do not solve the basic problem that bacteria can constantly be added and spread in the water.
With Anolytech’s system, the problem is completely eliminated because small amounts of the bactericidal AnoDes are constantly present in the water pipes. AnoDes also acts as a safe barrier if the incoming water were to deteriorate temporarily. AnoDes then provides preventive protection so that bacterial growth cannot occur.
Before the installation in the property, we can test the water and see if there is already Legionella in the pipes. Once Anolytech’s system is connected, AnoDes kills any possible bacteria.
Become self-sufficient in hand and surface disinfection
Since AnoDes is produced on site in the property, you can make your own hand sanitizer by pouring AnoDes into a bottle. Cost-effective, environmentally friendly and better for the hands because AnoDes does not dry out the skin like alcohol-based hand sanitizers do.
Producing your own hand sanitizer also saves large amounts of water. Each liter of traditional hand sanitizer requires approx. 2800 liters of water during the production process. AnoDes uses only 1.5 liters and thus contributes to the goals of reduced water use in Agenda 2030.
AnoDes can also be used to disinfect walls, work surfaces, loose objects and tools.
- There are approximately 60 different species of Legionella bacteria. With AnoDes in the water system, you can reduce water usage and chemical consumption, as well as save energy.
- The bactericidal effect of concentrated AnoDes is 200 times higher than that of chlorine.
- Among other things, AnoDes attacks proteins in the cell membranes of bacteria and other harmful microorganisms so that the cell ruptures and dies.
- Disinfection efforts made after problems have arisen can be expensive and time-consuming. With AnoDes, disinfection occurs continuously and preventively, saving both time and money.
- When AnoDes is consumed, it returns to its constituents: 99.5% water and 0.5% biodegradable substances. This makes AnoDes completely risk-free for both human and nature.