A cooling tower is the highest-risk source of Legionella in most buildings — warm water plus aerosol is exactly what the bacteria need. We clean and disinfect the whole tower, remove the scale and biofilm that harbor it, and document the work for your water management program.
Cooling towers reject building heat by evaporating water in open air. That means warm, nutrient-rich water, sunlight, and a fine mist that drifts off the tower — the ideal environment for Legionella to grow and then travel on the breeze. Cooling towers are repeatedly identified as a leading source of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks, which is why building water safety now sits squarely on the facility team.
Scale, sediment and biofilm make it worse on two fronts. Biofilm shields bacteria from biocide and gives it a place to live, while scale on the fill and heat-transfer surfaces quietly steals efficiency and drives up energy and chiller wear. A tower that is not cleaned on a schedule becomes both a health liability and an efficiency drain.
IAQ Restoration cleans and disinfects commercial and industrial cooling towers in line with ASHRAE 188 — the standard for managing Legionella risk in building water systems — removing sediment and biofilm from basin to fill, disinfecting with EPA-registered biocide, and documenting every step for your water management program.
Under ASHRAE 188, owners are expected to run a water management program, and cooling-tower cleaning and disinfection is a core control. A documented clean is both a health safeguard and your evidence of due diligence.
Every surface that holds water, grows biofilm or moves air — cleaned, disinfected and documented.
The basin is drained and sediment, sludge and debris are removed — the reservoir where biofilm and bacteria collect.
Scale, slime and biofilm are cleaned from the fill so heat transfer and airflow return without harboring growth.
Eliminators are cleaned so they capture aerosol drift — the exact pathway Legionella travels out of the tower.
Hot-water deck and spray nozzles are cleared of scale so water is distributed evenly across the fill.
The fan section, plenum and air-intake louvers are cleaned to restore airflow and remove debris.
The system is disinfected with EPA-registered biocide to kill biofilm and Legionella throughout the tower.
Removing biofilm and sediment and disinfecting the tower attacks the reservoir where Legionella grows and hides.
Clean fill and heat-transfer surfaces move heat the way they should, cutting chiller energy and run time.
A documented clean supports your ASHRAE 188 water management program and demonstrates due diligence.
Controlling scale and corrosion protects the fill, pumps and chiller from premature wear and failure.
A documented, ASHRAE 188-aligned process from isolation to closeout for your water management program.
We inspect the tower, review your water management program, and document baseline condition and fouling.
The tower is safely isolated and locked out, and the area is prepared for draining and cleaning.
The basin is drained and sediment, sludge and debris are physically removed from basin and sump.
Fill, eliminators, deck, nozzles and internal surfaces are cleaned of scale, slime and biofilm.
An EPA-registered biocide is applied at the proper concentration and contact time to disinfect the system.
We confirm the result and deliver a photo-documented report for your ASHRAE 188 water management records.
Rooftop package towers, field-erected towers and industrial process cooling — cleaned to one standard nationwide.
Our documentation slots directly into an ASHRAE 188 water management program as evidence of a completed control.
Every tower closes with photos and a service report your EHS, insurer and any investigator will accept.
Two or more of these mean the tower needs cleaning and disinfection now.
Water and air systems both carry risk. Explore the connected services — or the industrial duct cleaning pillar.
At a minimum, cooling towers should be cleaned and disinfected twice a year — at start-up and shut-down — and more often as your ASHRAE 188 water management program and water conditions dictate. Towers that run year-round, sit idle for periods, or show biofilm or sediment need more frequent service. We help set the right frequency for your system.
Cooling towers combine warm, nutrient-rich water with a fine aerosol drift that can carry Legionella into the air and beyond the building. They are repeatedly linked to Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks, which is why cleaning, disinfection and drift-eliminator maintenance are core controls in a water management program.
Both. We physically remove sediment and biofilm from the basin, fill and surfaces, then disinfect the system with an EPA-registered biocide at the correct concentration and contact time. Physical cleaning and disinfection together are what actually reduce risk — biocide alone cannot penetrate heavy biofilm.
The tower is isolated and locked out during cleaning for safety, and we schedule that window around your operation — often at seasonal start-up or shutdown, or during low-load periods. Call 800-883-6040 to plan it around your load.
ASHRAE 188-aligned cooling tower cleaning and disinfection, documented for your water management program. Book an assessment — we’ll scope your tower and set the schedule, free.
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