If your business water hasn’t been used for more than one week, it is highly recommended to flush both the cold and hot water lines before using the water again. The disinfectant running through the building’s water could have dissipated over the course of a week and caused the water to become stagnant, which can easily lead to bacteria growth.

The purpose of flushing your pipes is to clear the lines of stagnant water and replenish them with a fresh supply of water containing disinfectant. Set aside about 30 minutes to flush your pipes and use these 10 easy steps:    

1. Make sure all faucets in the building flow to a drain. If you have any water filters installed, bypass them.
2. Remove aerators and screens from every faucet.
3. Using the cold-water handles, turn on all faucets (including kitchen and bathroom sinks, utility and mop sinks, bathtub and shower, etc.) and allow them to run during the entirety of the flushing process:

• Start with the lowest floor of the building. If the building has a basement, start there.
• Move to the next highest floor and turn on all faucets.
• Continue until all faucets are turned on in the building.

4. All faucets should be running at the same time.
5. Let water run until the water is clear and the temperature has stopped changing at the last faucets turned on. If you do not have a thermometer, flush for at least 30 minutes. Larger buildings may need to flush for a longer time.
6. Turn off the first faucet you turned on (lowest floor) and continue turning off faucets in the order they were turned on.
7. Repeat steps 3-5 using the hot-water taps.
8. Clean and reattach aerators to the faucets.
9. Flush or run a cycle of all appliances (ice maker, dishwasher, coffeemaker, laundry, etc.) for 10 minutes each.
10. Replace any filters and return equipment to service, if applicable.

Flushing your building’s plumbing is highly recommended to provide employees and customers with safe, disinfected water.