Roommates Wanted: Lower Rent, Lower Risk (of Legionella)

Whether you own or rent, cost of living just keeps rising. What if I told you that roommates would not only reduce your cost of living but could also reduce your risk of infection by Legionella? Sounds crazy, right? And if you found someone who loves to take frequent and/or long showers, you could reduce your risk even further...your water bill would be a different story though.

This episode takes a "deep dive" into the factors that affect your risk of infection or clinically severe illness due to exposure to Legionella in your home. By combining a Legionella growth model with simulated water demands in a model home, this study determined that risks could be reduced with more people living in the home or by implementing system purges. And 'smart purging' could reduce risks while also minimizing water waste.

This is an AI-generated podcast created with NotebookLM based on a publication in Environmental Science & Technology. The original article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c01208