Henry's tap water was 27 degrees - increasing the risk of legionnaires

SVT's consumer editorial Plus is currently examining problems with housing and one of many that has been editorial is Henry Landström in Umeå. He discovered that the cold water in the apartment was not cold enough and began to investigate why.

- When I talked to neighbors then they had noticed the same thing. It was thought that would be so, says Henry Landström.

After the VVS-Forum magazine wrote about incorrect pipe insulation, Henry located the cause of the hot cold water to a warm shaft inside the bathroom. There, both cold and hot water pipes were located close to each other.

When he then examined the water pipes, he discovered that the pipe insulation was not at all of the thickness described in the construction documents. The framework description for the construction of the house states that it must be 40 millimeters thick insulation in warm shafts. It has also been described that 16 millimeters of insulation can be used in confined spaces.

But in Henry's apartment, the insulation around the pipes is only 13 and 15 millimeters thick, respectively.

- It's scandalous. That's not how it should look, says Henry Landström, who measured the temperature of the cold water to 27 degrees.

That figure can be compared with current regulations from the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning that say that stagnant cold water must not get warmer than 24 degrees during the eight-hour period.

The rules for this type of installation have been tightened in recent years. The reason is to prevent the spread of legionella, which is a bacterium that grows best between 20-55 degrees. The bacteria can cause severe pneumonia, which affects 100-150 Swedes every year.

The plumbing engineer Östen Edén, who is certified to control such facilities, believes that the pipe installation also violates the building regulations that were relevant when the house was built.

- The insulation is not enough at all. The framework description specifies which insulation is to be used and even insufficient. But at least it had been better than the insulation that is there now, says Östen Edén to the Plus editorial.

Östen Edén thinks that you should not draw cold and hot water in the same shaft at all, but if you do so he thinks that there should be at least 60 mm insulation on the pipes.

- The rules are there for a reason. It has been established that there are risks with too hot cold water and that risk I believe exists here.

The Riksbyggen, who had the house built, believes that there is no fault with the installations or water temperatures. But has nevertheless offered SEK 100,000 to the tenant-owner association to resolve the dispute. Henry Landström and his neighbors have refused.

- This is a health risk. Money cannot be replaced. They have to redo and do right, says Henry Landström.

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