The pack we send out to you will contain a sterile bottle and full instructions on how to take the sample.

Each kit comes with a minimum of 1 sample bottle and 1 laboratory delivery envelope for free transfer of the sample to our laboratory. It is possible to purchase additional sample bottles for this kit so multiple systems can be sampled and returned at the same time.

If samples are to be taken at different times then buy multiple kits of 1 bottle.

This kit can be used to test:

Hot water heaters/calorifiers
Water tanks
Hot water outlets
Cold water outlets
Showers

The cost includes:

Water Testing Supplies sending out the test pack
Instructions on filling the sample bottles to ensure correct sampling technique
Return pre-paid postage to return the samples to our laboratory
Laboratory analysis and Certificate of Results
Interpretation of analysis results plus recommendations to rectify any which show legionella are present

Once our laboratory receive the returned water sample, it will be incubated for 10 days to allow any Legionella bacteria to grow. If Legionella bacteria are present they can often be recognised within 7 days, in which case we will contact you directly by phone to alert you.

There are over 50 different species of Legionella and some are much more pathogenic than others. Whenever we find Legionella bacteria we will perform additional analysis (at no extra cost) to identify the exact type and provide professional advice on the risks posed.

Our analysis is highly accurate and will detect very low numbers of Legionella and as such it is possible to sample more than one hot water heater into one sample bottle to reduce costs. However, it is not best practice as it will reduce the chances of finding Legionella where there are low numbers of bacteria and will not provide identification of the specific system contaminated.

Therefore we do not recommend the use of consolidated sampling when testing water heaters and that all water heaters are tested individually. As such we offer a discount on multiple test purchases.