Dead-legs, Dead-ends and Disease

From time to time, you may encounter terms in water treatment or plumbing that leave you puzzled – terms like dead-legs and dead-ends. Both can harbor biological organisms, potentially leading to infections or diseases such as Pontiac Fever or Legionnaires‘ disease. Now, let’s explain dead-legs, dead-ends and how Wet Work can help keep your water system safe.

Dead-legs are areas of a water system that are low use- generally speaking any outlet (toilet, faucet, shower etc) that is not used for 5 days or more. This happens most often in facilities that have multiple points of use. People tend to favour the most convenient points of use while the others can be neglected. Examples may be a bathroom in an infrequently used section of a building or a garden hose bibb in an inconvenient location. Because the water is not being turned over or disinfected, microorganisms may be able to flourish- even if the water is chlorinated. These organisms can either make their way back through the water system or be released if someone decides to use the dead-leg’s point of use. Although not as common, dead-legs can happen in homes as well. Think of a home that once housed a large family but is now occupied by empty nesters that dot not frequently use the spare bathroom or, what if someone leaves on vacation for a week or more? The water fixtures of their homes are potential dead-legs.

Dead-ends are areas of the water system that have been capped off and the water has nowhere to go. This mostly happens during renovations where fixtures are removed but the pipework that once supplied them remains. In industrial or hospital settings, broken or removed equipment are common causes. Although rare, dead-ends are possible in a home after renovations.

To deal with dead-legs and dead-ends, the best yet most expensive and intrusive solution is to fully remove them. If removal is not an option, for dead-legs a weekly flush would be ideal. Commercial facilities should be on a documented weekly flushing schedule. For dead-ends that are impossible to deal with, deep disinfection with little to no byproducts would be the solution.

Wet Work can help you identify and create a solution for suspected dead legs or dead-ends. Our disinfections can break up the most stubborn biofilms, penetrate pipework, and help protect your facility from waterborne illness. For more information contact us for support.