How to reopen your business safely

As part of reopening after such a long period, every business will have their own plan on how to get their premises or site open again, including ordering new stock, scheduling a deep clean and preparing their employees to come back to work.

This summer, we’re also asking businesses to add another thing to that list: ensure your water is safe to use and that your sewer pipes don’t get blocked.

This is because in an unused building, the water in the drinking water system will have been left standing. This can adversely affect the quality of drinking water and potentially risk people’s health.

The length of closure may also mean that drains and pipes have a build-up of waste in them, and that the equipment that stops fat, oil and grease getting into pipes may not have been cleaned for some time, potentially causing sewer blockages.

With that in mind, it’s important to take certain steps before the building is reoccupied. Here are five steps to follow before reopening to the public:

1. Run all the taps in the building or site individually (also known as flushing) - starting with the tap nearest to where the water enters the building and moving systematically to the ones furthest away, until the water is clear and feels cool to touch.
2. Empty and refill any storage cisterns with water direct from the incoming supply before the taps are flushed.
3. Ensure any appliances (and equipment connected to the water supply such as jet washers) are flushed - in accordance with manufacturers’ guidance. For larger buildings with more complex pipework, you’ll probably need to carry out more extensive flushing followed by cleaning and disinfection.
4. Clean your equipment – before you start cooking, make sure your grease management system is thoroughly cleaned in line with the manufacturer’s instructions.
5. Check your drains and sink gullies – if the drains and sinks haven’t been used for some time, they could have dried up and have waste stuck in them. Check your sink gullies for any blockages and flush your drains through with water. You could also use a bio-dosing liquid or liquid fat-buster as you prepare to reopen, however, this should not take the place of a grease management system when you are operating again.

Hopefully the above can act as a guide to help you protect your water supply and waste pipes. However, if you have any questions, you can find more detail on the steps to take, as well as some frequently asked questions and answers, here.