The poop bacteria, a bacterium we have all heard of at one time or another. Fortunately, there is a sustainable and safe way to reduce this bacteria in your process water or your animals' drinking water. First, let us give you an introduction to this poop bacteria.

What is E. coli, the poop bacteria?

The E. coli bacteria, also known in full as Escherichia coli, occurs naturally in the intestines of humans and animals. This bacterium is therefore often referred to as the poop bacteria. In the intestines, they provide protection against other harmful bacteria. E. coli takes the form of straight, cylindrical rods with rounded ends. The diameter of these bacteria is 1.1 to 1.5 micrometres and the length 2.0 to 6.0 micrometres. To imagine how small that is: a grain of salt can be 50 times larger than E. coli.

Effects of E. coli infection

Every year, there are about 2.8 million people worldwide with an E. coli infection. Not only humans suffer from this infection, but in animals (mainly in ruminants such as cows, sheep and goats) this bacteria can also be a problem. Some of the E. coli species produce toxin, which can cause infection. Symptoms often include diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fatigue, fever and loss of appetite and drinking. After a few days, the symptoms usually disappear. However, there is still a high-risk group in which this bacteria can indeed have long-term and serious consequences.

Escherichia coli in the water

E. coli bacteria are comfortable in biofilm. This is a slimy layer full of cooperating micro-organisms that forms in places where it is wet for long periods of time. Water pipes and drinking troughs are places where biofilm forms easily. And especially when water stands still for long periods, this provides an ideal environment for biofilm. To combat biofilm, various disinfectants are traditionally used.The annoying thing about biofilm is that the micro-organisms work well together, making them difficult to combat. As a result, you often have to use a large amount of disinfectant, or a mixture of agents. Besides the fact that biofilm is difficult to combat, the disinfection used against it is often made of harmful chemicals. These disinfectants can affect human and animal health if used incorrectly. Also, the use of harmful chemicals is not environmentally friendly.

Sustainable disinfection solution

Combating the poop bacteria can also be done in a sustainable way. Our Watter system produces a disinfectant in which HOCl is the active ingredient. By electrolyzing a salt solution with water, a sustainable disinfectant is formed that is not only effective against E. coli bacteria, but also against a broad spectrum of micro-organisms. This agent is safe for humans, animals and the environment. With a Watter system, you also save on transport costs, plastic waste and do not have to store drums or jerry cans of harmful chemicals.