Property Maintenance
- Thread starter Bob Mehew
- Start date
bill chadwick
Member
When we are finally allowed and want, to reopen our huts we will hopefully have some govt advice to follow. We will probably have to attend to cleaning more than we have in the past. It might be helpful for club officials to share ideas for best practice and even perhaps coordinate the supply of materials and services.
Thinking ahead my club has just invested in some of the spray-gun surface disinfectants (they also come as aerosols) and will be putting them in washroom, toilets, showers and kitchen areas with a notice with the wording:
PLEASE HELP US TO AVOID INFECTION
USE
DISINFECTANT
SPRAY
Use the disinfectant spray provided and spray all close contact surfaces before and after use.
If necessary, wipe dry with a paper towel and dispose of it in the bin afterwards.
Read the instructions on the product before use.
It's not much but it is a start.
Mind you, anyone who uses a caving club hut regularly must be pretty well proof against all infections known to man - especially if you are a former Eldon member, reading the tales of the old Eldon hostel in Buxton.
PLEASE HELP US TO AVOID INFECTION
USE
DISINFECTANT
SPRAY
Use the disinfectant spray provided and spray all close contact surfaces before and after use.
If necessary, wipe dry with a paper towel and dispose of it in the bin afterwards.
Read the instructions on the product before use.
It's not much but it is a start.
Mind you, anyone who uses a caving club hut regularly must be pretty well proof against all infections known to man - especially if you are a former Eldon member, reading the tales of the old Eldon hostel in Buxton.
Bob Mehew
Well-known member
I think thank you Jenny. 
My original task was just to cover advice on reopening a hut by checking, cleaning and such like. Advice for running a hut is a major task in its own right and will depend upon the state of advice for social contact. My sailing club has had to do a lot more work than just providing sanitiser but that is for opening to just use the toilets and not change rooms (or even the bar!). Having done all that they still can't use the lake. So it is not just frustrated cavers.
My original task was just to cover advice on reopening a hut by checking, cleaning and such like. Advice for running a hut is a major task in its own right and will depend upon the state of advice for social contact. My sailing club has had to do a lot more work than just providing sanitiser but that is for opening to just use the toilets and not change rooms (or even the bar!). Having done all that they still can't use the lake. So it is not just frustrated cavers. 
Bob Mehew said:I think thank you Jenny.
I was thinking that the Covid-19 virus is supposed to have a life-span of anything between half an hour and a week, depending on the surfaces it lands on. So, theoretically, there shouldn't be any live virus in a toilet that hasn't been used for a couple of months. So a good clean round with a disinfectant surface cleaner should be OK at least to start with. After that it's ongoing maintainance to keep it clean - but how long should you wait between "visits" to allow for the accumulated droplets to fall to the floor after someone has breathed or sneezed in there?
However, Legionnaire's is a possibility I hadn't thought of and have no idea how you could test for that. Bit tricky also in that just dumping gallons of strong disinfectant into the cysterns and down the toilets would most probably kill any "good" bacteria which lurk in the septic tank, leading to further problems!
JohnMCooper
Member
Jenny - pm sent re Legionnaires
Bob Mehew
Well-known member
Sorry, I have 20 topic headings in the draft that I have managed to produce. (They cover vermin, services, cleaning and such like. Legionnaires is but one small part, first make sure your water is drinkable.) If any one is prepared to comment on it, then PM me with an email address and I will pass them a copy. I don't want to release it without BCA's acceptance after that.
JohnMCooper
Member
minion's original post refers only to drinking water.
PeteHall
Moderator
My building services colleagues have recommended looking at the CIBSE guidance: https://www.cibse.org/coronavirus-covid-19/emerging-from-lockdown
There may be some useful nuggets in here, though most of it is probably not relevant.
There may be some useful nuggets in here, though most of it is probably not relevant.
Russell Myers
Member
Legionella is the one to look out for when re-opening huts because it is off most folks' radar especially showers with the potential to create breathable aerosols. HSE L8 covers all the essentials; the bottom line being to think it through before blasting any water out of outlets especially on the hot water side that may have been stagnating for however long we haven't been using facilities, it feels like a lifetime.
The subject came up at our Club Friday night virtual pub gathering and our resident expert suggested a likely source of infection could be your car/vehicle screen wash bottles as it may become colonised by Legionella if you don't use screen wash additive! Something to check out.
If it ain't one bug it's another that will get you!
The subject came up at our Club Friday night virtual pub gathering and our resident expert suggested a likely source of infection could be your car/vehicle screen wash bottles as it may become colonised by Legionella if you don't use screen wash additive! Something to check out.
If it ain't one bug it's another that will get you!