Pressure washing costs in Trenton

Trenton Water Works inspects its fire hydrants every year, and the utility's hydrant page says that work can briefly change your tap water. The inspections can loosen deposits from iron pipes, which is where brown water comes from. The page adds that Legionella bacteria may be present in that sediment.

TWW's 2023 round started on June 20 in West Trenton and took in more than 3,500 hydrants. Once crews finished a neighborhood, the notice asked residents to run each faucet and shower head for several minutes, out of the room, and to flush brown water until it cleared, up to 20 minutes, without drinking, cooking or doing laundry with it.

Legionnaires' disease is a kind of pneumonia. You catch it by breathing in mist that carries the bacteria, the CDC says, and in general it doesn't pass from person to person. TWW called the risk very low, especially for healthy people.

The 2023 notice got specific for people at higher risk: anyone 50 or older, especially smokers, and people with certain medical conditions, such as a weakened immune system. Among the precautions TWW listed that year to cut the risk of Legionella exposure, it told them to avoid power washing, because the spray throws off more aerosols and mist, and to skip hot tubs, decorative fountains and misters too. The notice set no dates for that advice, so it reads as part of the 2023 inspection season, not a standing rule.