Unrenovated house

Question

Hello,
I have cystic fibrosis and live with my family in a partially renovated house. This means the areas I live in are newly renovated, while a section that's currently only used for storage is unrenovated.

The heating system, which also provides hot water, is located in this section.
Connected to this storage room is a sink, which we don't use in our daily lives.
Unfortunately, the boiler can't be set above 65 degrees Celsius. It heats to 65 degrees for two hours a day.
My husband runs the water from the sink once a week to reduce germs; I'm not in the room during this time.
Afterwards, he washes and disinfects his hands.
I know that heating to 65 degrees isn't ideal, and I'd like to ask if it poses any risk to me if I don't use it at all – could aerosols be transferred to me on his clothing, or is that completely irrelevant? In another question, you said that transmission of such germs via clothing is negligible. I'm particularly concerned about Burkholderia cepacia and mycobacteria.
And:
There's an old bathroom – the water supply is shut off, but the drains in the bathtub, toilet, and sink are still there. My husband flushes these with about twenty liters of water weekly. I'm not in the room when he does this. Is there any risk involved?
Thank you!

PS: In the long runs, the room will be renovated, and the sink and boiler will be removed. So these are temporary solutions. A year and a half ago, the boiler was set to a lower temperature and was deemed dirty during maintenance, so it was disinfected with chlorine. Now it's set to the maximum temperature, and my husband makes sure to run the water regularly.

Answer

Dear Questioner,

Stagnant water is a problem, as you already know.
This also applies, of course, to unused bathrooms, sinks, etc., in your own home.
If your husband cleans the fixtures regularly and you are not in the room or nearby while he does so, it shouldn't be a problem. The fact that the bacteria are transmitted via aerosols on clothing is very unlikely to be an issue.
The best course of action would be to remove these unused fixtures as soon as possible, which I understand you intend to do, as I gather from your inquiry.

Kind regards,

Barbara Kahl

17.05.2026