Domestic hot-water boilers harbour active thermophilic bacterial communities
... distinctly different from those in the cold-water supply
Recent publication
Researchers analysed drinking water samples from Austrian and Swiss buildings and compared their microbial profile before and after heating. While the cold drinking water from the building supply pipes showed a high bacterial diversity but no significant growth in batch cultures, the opposite was true for the water heated to 50 to 60 °C. Only selected bacterial strains and significant growth in the batch cultures were found in the samples heated in the building boilers. The work, in which researchers from the Division of Water Quality and Health at KL were involved, was supported by Microbes-in-Water GmbH, bNovate Technologies SA, the Interuniversity Cooperation Centre Water & Health and the Eurostars project MultiSense Aqua, among others, and has been published open access in the journal "Water Research".
Egli T, Campostrini L, Leifels M, Füchslin HP, Kolm C, Dan C et al. Domestic hot-water boilers harbour active thermophilic bacterial communities distinctly different from those in the cold-water supply. Water Research. 2024 Jan 1;121109. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121109
Dr. Mats Leifels
Scientific Staff (PostDoc)
Division of Water Quality and Health
DI Dr. Claudia Kolm Bakk
Scientific Staff (PostDoc)
Division of Water Quality and Health
Univ.-Prof. PD Dr. Andreas Farnleitner MSc
Head of
Division of Water Quality and Health
Assoc. Prof. PD Mag. Dr. Alexander Kirschner
Scientific Staff (Sen. PostDoc)
Division of Water Quality and Health
