I have read recently that home hot water pipes may be a breeding ground for Legionella. Is there any kind of filtration system for the home that would solve this or is boiling the only remedy?
You may want to read the paper on our web site “Legionnaires’ disease contracted from patient homes.” Unless you are at increased risk of contracting Legionnaires’ disease (chronic lung disease, immunosuppression, transplant recipient), you are at such a low risk of becoming infected that there is no need for any action on your part. For individuals at high risk, we recommended increasing the hot water temperature to approximately 60oC (140oF) max. setting on the hot water tank and flushing the outlets for 30 min. with the hot water. This can be done on a quarterly to annual basis to reduce the level of Legionella within the system. However, this procedure is unnecessary for most homes. There is a risk of scalding with water at this temperature, so caution must be exercised if elderly or small children use the water.
Filtration would be expensive because the filter would have to remove particles the size of bacteria (0.2 microns) and they would have to be changed frequently.