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PEOPLE HAVE BEEN advised to not leave the tap running for the entire time they are washing their hands and to not throw wipes down the toilet amid the coronavirus crisis.
Irish Water has also advised businesses to make sure there is “no unnecessary use of water” while their premises are vacant.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Yvonne Harris, Head of Customer Operations at Irish Water, said: “We often ask householders to turn off the tap while they’re brushing their teeth.
“Now we’re washing our hands for lengthy periods, so if we could turn off the tap during those periods while we’re soaping our hands, turn it back on to rinse, that would really, really help given the large volume of people who are now at home and constantly washing hands.”
Harris said it’s also “hugely important” for people not to flush wipes of any kind down the toilet in order to avoid blockages.
“Please bin those wipes, if they go down into our sewerage system we will have big problems there,” she stated.
Advice for businesses
Harris noted that, “in these very uncertain times, a number of businesses have had to make decisions either to completely close or to reduce their activity”.
She said Irish Water is appealing to business owners and landlords of premises rented to business owners to ensure “that there is no unnecessary use of water while the business is vacant” during the Covid-19 situation.
Harris advised business owners to check if there are any leaks on their premises, which could see a large amount of water wasted, and to make sure that items such as automatic-flushing toilets and urinals are switched off.
Any leaks should be reported to Irish Water on 1850 278 278. More information about leaks and conserving water can be read here.
Harris said Irish Water is monitoring the supply of public water and wastewater services every day and hasn’t yet seen “any huge peak” on demand but that this is likely because schools and many businesses are not open as normal.
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People really need to be told everything these days. Sigh.
@Larry Whack: thanks for telling that. Appreciate it
@Daniel O’Connor: Good one! You must be fierce craic on a night out.
@Larry Whack: next up, how to successfully wipe your butt
Try to use elbows where possible, or the heel of your hand to turn taps on and off – likely to have picked up less germs on these areas than fingertips so better chance of avoiding cross contamination. Hard to believe people still throw wipes and kitchen paper down toilets.
@Karen Lord: There’s a difference between ‘clean’ and ‘sterile’, right now we’re trying to get things sterile where clean was sufficient, and in many cases it still is.
Cleaning doesn’t require a team of industrial cleaners with steam hoses then scrubbing down your house with belt sanders for good measure. You can clean an area with ordinary detergent using a disposable cloth and hot water, this will get rid of dirt and visible stains.
If you’re anxious and want to sterilise areas like door handles, taps etc. but are worried about dragging out the flame thrower every couple of hours (the neighbours are talking) and the supermarket’s are sold out of surgical gel and wipes, there is an alternative. Bleach. Yup, ordinary household bleach can kill anything. All you have to do is mix it 100ml to 1 litre of water, don’t use hot water or the fumes will go everywhere. Again use a disposable cloth and wipe down any surfaces you’ve cleaned and want to ensure are sterile, don’t soak them, just wipe them down. If you can’t find bleach Milton will do the same job. Some words of caution. Bleach will stain so be careful where you use it, wear old clothing and don’t wipe down your new three piece with bleach.
Bleach solutions begin to loose their effectiveness after about 30 minutes, so discard it and, when needed, make a fresh solution. Don’t forget to keep this away from young children, older ones can help. Don’t be tempted to put solutions like this in a sprayer as the aerosol mist tends to get into the air and you’ll end up breathing it, trust me it’s not a good idea, if you don’t have respiratory problems you will have.
I’m sure others have cleaning and sterilising ideas, maybe they’d post some?
@Boyne Sharky: great advice
@Boyne Sharky: White vinegar and wash up liquid mixed 50/50 is also excellent especially on sanitary fittings like bathtubs ,amazing how they come up white if you spray this on and leave for 30 mins then quick scrub and like new.
@Boyne Sharky: Great advice , Bleach is inactivated if there is dirt . So you clean first (the surfactant in the washing up liquid is very effective against dirt). Once dirt is removed by cleaning you have removed most of the problem. Always clean from Top to Bottom , Clean to dirty and dispose of cloths (or wash at 90 degrees if using microfibre). Do not cross contaminate kitchen and bathrooms (which you should never do anyway). Clean hands. If your hands are cracked/dry make sure they are moisturized so germs can’t get into skin .
@Honeybee: It you don’t remove dirt /limescale the bleach will only dye stain white …..the dirt will still be there .
@Gemma Quinn: This isn’t quite accurate. Physical dirt won’t render a bleach solution inactive but, time will, as you say if an area is dirty it’s advisable to clean it first and bleach isn’t a cleaning agent.
We used to be told to clean from top to bottom and the dirty water would streak downwards. This was incorrect. We should clean from the bottom upwards, taking care to mask off sockets and switches, any water running down is now clean and won’t leave streaks.
As you say it’s advisable to never cross contaminate, disposable cloths can be bought in several colours, use one in the kitchen, one for the toilet another for sinks, showers etc. and and one for family areas.
There are products containing strong acids, these will dissolve limescale. As you may have gathered, I’ve been trained in this, it was my job for years in a different lifetime.
Who in there right mind flushes wipes down the toilet anyway???
@Olive Tierney: Company’s sell flushable wipes which still form fatbergs in sewers.
@SilexFlint: Wipes aren’t made of ‘fat’ and can’t form fatbergs. They snag on anything at all.
Everyone will have OCD by time all this is over
If you keep touching tap you just cross contaminate…but if we run out of water…
@SFAnkleTapper: Here’s a novel idea, wash the tap handle, ordinary soap will do it, no need to leave it running!
@Rachel O’ Meara: wash the tap.handle with your infected hands…
@SFAnkleTapper: The soap will disable any virus present so it’s actually ok
@SFAnkleTapper: sanitize the tap handle before you use it. common sense!
@SFAnkleTapper: ever hear of spray? flippin hell
But we can still flush the ashes down the toilet, right?
Leaving the tap running while you brush your teeth is a contemptibly wasteful thing to do.
I can’t believe that some idiots still flush wipes down the toilet.
@Keith Mac Suibhne: these are the same people who leave public toilets looking a disgrace they are worse than animals
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