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