Can I wash dishes? Can I do laundry? Here’s what to know about the boil water advisory

One-fifth of people in Nova Scotia are under a boil water advisory after untreated water seeped into the system.

It happened late Monday evening after an internal power failure at the JD Kline Water Treatment Facility caused a “limited” amount of untreated water into the clean water supply.

A map of the impacted areas is available here.

Halifax Water says those under an advisory need to boil water for at least a minute before consuming, this includes brushing teeth. This also includes giving pets boiled water.

“Pets can get some of the same diseases as people. It is a good idea to give them boiled water,” a fact sheet by Halifax Water reads.

Even if the tap has a filter on it, Halifax Water says, water still needs to be boiled.

For preparing and cooking food, people are being told to use boiled water to wash fruits and vegetables.

Showering or bathing during the advisory is okay as long as no water is consumed.

Other activities, like washing dishes is a bit more complicated.

For those that have dishwashers, the internal temperature needs to reach at least 160 degrees or if the dishwasher has a sanitizing cycle.

For washing dishes by hand, Halifax Water advises people to wash and rinse using hot water as normal, but in a separate bin add 1 teaspoon of bleach for each gallon of warm water.

After soaking the rinsed dishes for a minute in the bleach they can be air dried.

Laundry is not impacted by the boil water advisory, the fact sheet says.