Why We Created Fereno

35 years fighting shower bacteria in hospitals. Now we brought it home.

For over three decades, we kept other people's families safe from shower bacteria. Then we had to do the same for our own.

Steve Bennett and the company's founder Tim Jones have spent 35 years working in institutional Legionella control. Their company supplied antibacterial shower systems to hotels, hospitals, the military, care homes, universities and even royal residences. The science was never in doubt: shower heads breed bacteria, and those bacteria make people ill.

But at home, Steve's kids kept getting sick.

Ear infections. Chest infections. The kind of recurring illness that parents put down to bad luck, or school, or just one of those things. When Steve started looking at the shower heads in his own house, he found exactly what he had spent 35 years warning commercial clients about.

The problem with every standard shower head

Shower heads trap warm, damp water after every use. That warm, stagnant water is close to ideal for bacterial growth, including Legionella, but also dozens of other bacteria and fungi linked to ear infections, skin flare-ups, sore throats, chest infections and eye problems. When you switch the shower on, those bacteria become airborne in the fine mist you breathe in. Every single day.

Commercial buildings have legal obligations to manage this risk. Homeowners have nothing. No guidance, no product, no solution. Until now.

35 years of research, built for your bathroom

Their commercial shower technology has been endorsed by the UK Health and Safety Executive, featured in NHS training videos, and adopted by major hotel chains and hospitals across Europe. The RefreshFlip offers similar protection, but redesigned for the home. A spray plate that flips open every two weeks, exposing the surface to air. Bacteria die through natural drying and cleaning, no chemicals, no maintenance, no plumber.

It took 20 years to perfect a version simple enough for home use.

What most families don't know

31% of UK household showers test positive for Legionella. Legionnaires' disease has a 12% death rate. Pontiac fever, caused by the same bacteria, has a 95% attack rate and is widely believed to be misdiagnosed as seasonal flu.

But beyond the serious cases, millions of families are dealing with the everyday consequences: kids who keep getting ear infections, adults who can't shake a winter cough, skin that never quite clears up. The connection to their shower head never occurs to them.

We built Fereno because it occurred to us.

Steve Bennett, Co-Founder, Fereno

Our History

1987

Our sister company, AHP, founded to research new ways of improving traditional Legionella control procedures and through the advancement of showering technology.

1995

Independent scientific trials conducted by the Royal Liverpool University Teaching Hospitals; Safepurge Legionella control principles-technologies-procedures proven.

1997

AHP incorporated. Manufacturing and testing facility established.

1998

Safepurge control procedure announced during a state of the art lecture at the International Symposium on Legionella, Edinburgh.

2001

The Health & Safety Commission & Executive advocate the Safepurge Legionella control procedure, described in ACoP & Guidance (L8, technical guidance, paragraph 166).

2003

HSE’s audit check lists describe the Safepurge procedure. Safepurge showers feature in the HSE’s Legionella control videos, filmed at Holiday Inn Hotels and at the Royal Liverpool University Hospitals.

2005

Preventing Legionellosis (USA publication); Safepurge references. Author, Doctor William F. McCoy.

2006

Department of Health (HTM04-01: part B), describes the Safepurge Legionella control procedure as an effective control means and how it should not be confused with other shower types.

EWGLI (European Guidelines), Health & Safety Authorities, National Health Authorities and leading scientists around the world have published the Safepurge Legionella control procedure.

2009

Scientific trials carried out at Catterick Garrison, England; 56 Safepurge showers successfully trialled against other shower types; leading to a Safepurge military roll out program. AHP principles, technology & procedures confirmed suitable even for the very largest property estates.

2014

DoH, Health Technical Memorandum 04–01: 7.44. HSE, HSG274 Part 2; 2.167, 2.168; describes the Safepurge control procedure as an effective control means.

Many thousands of Safepurge showers sold worldwide - supporting projects ranging in size from just one installation to those requiring several thousands, e.g. UK Gov ministerial departments.

2017

Published - Independent studies identifying a large proportion of household shower heads found contaminated with legionella bacteria.

Fereno Research Programme - launched by Director Steve Bennett. Mission - to invent and develop an improved engineering approach for addressing persistent legionella control challenges inherent in traditional household shower head design.

2020

RefreshFlip Shower Head program successfully completed; closing the Legionella control loop for the traditional shower head type. Incorporating principle-based and interconnected innovations for sustainable Legionella control and for when showers are in regular use, littler use and during disused periods.

2024

RefreshFlip shower head product launch - commercial sectors; continuing the traditional shower head theme expected by hotel guests and encouraging the wiser and wider-use of legionella control procedures, through the promotion of cleaner-fresher showers - for healthier and sustainable showering.

2025

Fereno showers launch. Continuing a long term commitment to making safer showering available for all. And now for households.

Providing much needed Public Health Information, helping those take practical steps to protect themselves from the well documented and reasonably foreseeable potential risks to health from traditional showering methods.