The Hidden Dangers Inside Shower Heads

Daily, millions of us step into our showers at home expecting a cleansing and refreshing experience, totally unaware of the well documented risks to health. What we can’t see is a microscopic breeding ground just inches away from our faces, where waterborne bacteria are found thriving, including those harmful to health - even those responsible for fatalities!

The Perfect Breeding Ground

Shower heads have been shown to collect water borne bacteria; if not millions - billions of bacteria are often hidden inside, harbouring in warm, moist and slimy conditions - a perfect haven for microorganisms multiplying rapidly.

The Silent Health Threat

When turning your shower on, you’re not just releasing water sprays, you’re also creating aerosols - fine mists carrying microscopic bacteria, which are easily inhaled deep into your lungs. Worryingly, contaminated aerosols pose a health risk to just about everyone, especially older adults, smokers, people with health conditions and those with weakened immune systems.

The Reasonably Foreseeable Risks To Health

Bacteria lurking in shower heads have been implicated with a wide range of illnesses. Ranging from freshers flu-like illnesses, to serious ear, eye and skin infections, even scalp conditions such as chronic dandruff - also deadly infections such as Legionnaires’ disease, widely- believed to be often misdiagnosed as pneumonia.

Caution - Shower Types Increasing Risks To Health

Adjustable Spray Heads

Complex mechanisms encouraging bacteria collection, providing havens for slimes, which may be dislodged into water sprays when adjusted. National Health Authorities advise against use in healthcare.

Flexible Shower Hoses

While convenient, have been shown to lose resistance to bacteria growth with age and should normally be replaced at-least annually. Fereno shower heads attached to hoses offer superior bacteria control benefits when operational procedures are met. However, for ultimate health protection, always upgrade to rigid shower pipework, when practical.

Oversized Shower Heads

Encouraging bacteria collection by increasing surface areas for slimes to thrive. Shower spray requirements described by British Standards can be met with spray plates having a 60mm diameter, or even less. Avoid unintentional risks to health, driven by the popular demand for fashions.

Dual Shower Head Installations - A Perfect Storm

Significantly increasing the potential risks to health; creating much uncertainty about individual shower use, increasing bacteria collection, increasing stagnant water when not in use, increasing surface areas for slimes to thrive and increasing the maintenance / cleaning requirements. Staying at hotels - which shower head is safest? Impossible to answer without inspection, however, our hygiene experts normally avoid using handheld showers whenever possible.

Shower Head Filters

Health & Safety Authorities refer to Point of Use (POU) membrane filters, which should be used primarily as a temporary control measure while a permanent safe engineering solution is developed. Continuous long-term use of POU filters is not recommended, except when needed in specialist healthcare situations. When fitted, caution should be exercised to avoid retrograde-contamination, where legionella may back up dead leg pipework, contaminating other parts of the water system.

FERENO The Sustainability Benchmark

Best Practice
Fereno not only abides with best practice principles - our decades of extensive research and development has helped to establish them.

Water and Energy Use
Fereno shower heads are designed around stricter business sector sustainability requirements. RefreshFlip shower heads deliver water sprays between 7 - 10 litres per minute; for all round comfort, ranging from relaxing to invigorating.

SafeFlush
A more efficient method of flushing bacteria from underused showers - requiring less water and energy.

Reducing Maintenance
Designed for reducing bacteria collection and impeding the growth of bacteria and slimes. Avoiding the use of flexible materials whenever possible and allowing practical access for inspection and cleaning.

Minimising Environmental Impact
Fereno shower heads are optimally sized for bacteria control and comfort. High quality and recyclable ABS plastic material is specified, having a durable and an exceptional finish, favoured by those regularly inspecting and cleaning shower heads - for healthier and sustainable showering.

Health Matters

Everyone deserves a shower that's not just refreshing, but is also safe to use. RefreshFlip shower heads can give you both

For additional information about controlling the risks to health from showering:

Independent study - Contaminated household showers.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6470800/

Health & Safety Executive
Describing control measures for the workplace, however, a useful source of information.
https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg274part2.pdf

Department of Health
A more detailed source of information about showers.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/DH_HTM_0401_PART_B_acc.pdf