Home The Lock Blog Safety Shower Maintenance Checklist: Weekly to Annual Checks
May 30, 2025

Safety Shower Maintenance Checklist: Weekly to Annual Checks

A safety shower maintenance plan on one page: what to check weekly, monthly and yearly, the flow and temperature to measure, the parts that wear and what to log.

Safety Shower Maintenance Checklist: Weekly to Annual Checks

Safety shower maintenance comes down to three questions: does the water start at once, is there enough at a bearable temperature, and can you prove someone checked? In German laboratories, body and eye showers must be tested for function at least once a month.[1]

Table of Contents
  1. What the Rules Say About Maintenance
  2. Inspection Checklist: Weekly to Annual
  3. Flow, Temperature and Spray: the Figures
  4. Safety Shower Parts to Check and Replace
  5. What to Write in the Records
  6. Where The Lock Box Fits

This checklist covers plumbed and portable units, up to the combination showers in our safety showers and eyewash stations range. Settle three points first:

  1. Which rule sets the interval at your site
  2. Who tests, and who repairs
  3. Where the record is kept

Part 1: What the Rules Say About Safety Shower Maintenance

No EU directive sets one interval: it comes from national rules, the manufacturer and your risk assessment.

  • Europe: EN 15154 covers the equipment: Part 1 plumbed body showers for laboratories, Part 2 plumbed eyewash units, Parts 3 and 4 units without a water connection, Parts 5 and 6 body showers for industrial and logistic sites.[2] Parts 1 and 2 also define the maintenance instructions the manufacturer must supply; their 2025 editions replaced the 2006 texts.[3]
  • Germany: in laboratories, TRGS 526 requires an appointed person to test body and eye showers at least monthly.[1] Under DGUV Information 213-850 the test covers flow, spray pattern and water quality, judged by eye. Elsewhere, ArbStättV section 4(3) requires safety equipment to be tested at regular intervals set in the risk assessment.[4]
  • Switzerland: EKAS Directive 1871 calls for laboratory showers to SN EN 15154-1 within 20 m, regular access checks and documented maintenance to the manufacturer's instructions.[5]
  • France: the Labour Code (articles R. 4224-17 and R. 4224-23) requires first-aid equipment to be signposted and maintained. INRS recommends activating showers at least monthly to drain stagnant water, and a documented periodic inspection[2]; for teaching laboratories, a yearly check by a competent person.[6]

Many sites also quote the US standard ANSI/ISEA Z358.1-2014: weekly activation and an annual inspection.[7] Sites following both activate weekly and make one activation a month the full test. See our guide to OSHA and ANSI safety shower standards.

Best Practice: Run the water before you judge it. The IFA found more germs in the first water from eye showers than after three minutes of running, and recommends a one-minute run at the start of work.[8] INRS advises activating showers in an empty room and airing it afterwards: stagnant water can hold legionella, and the spray makes aerosols.[2]

Part 2: Safety Shower Inspection Checklist, Weekly to Annual

Interval What to check Pass when Source
Weekly Activate every shower and eyewash head until fresh water replaces the water standing in the pipes. Path clear, sign visible, dust covers on, tag signed. Water within 1 second, full flow within 3 seconds, valve stays open hands-free ANSI Z358.1[7], Haws EN 15154 checklist[9]
Monthly Function test by the appointed person: flow, spray pattern, water clarity, valve action, leaks. Portable units: fluid level and expiry date. Even spray, clear water, no leaks, fluid in date TRGS 526, DGUV 213-850[4], INRS
Annual Measured test of flow, temperature and run time. Service the valves, replace eyewash hoses, check frost protection outdoors. The figures in Part 3, held for the full run INRS[6], ANSI, IFA[8]

If any answer is no, act at once: the unit may not give effective first aid.[9] Tag it out and provide another unit until it is fixed.

Part 3: Flow, Temperature and Spray Figures to Measure

Measure these at the annual test. EN 15154 figures are from the manufacturer Haws' checklist for the standard.[9]

  • Body shower flow: EN 15154 at least 60 l/min, or more for the class on the nameplate; INRS 60 l/min, ideally over 75[2]; TRGS 526 at least 30 l/min in laboratories[1]; ANSI 75.7 l/min.[7]
  • Eyewash flow: EN 15154 at least 6 l/min, jet 100 to 300 mm high; TRGS 526 6 l/min per outlet[1]; INRS 6 l/min, ideally over 15[2]; ANSI 1.5 l/min for an eyewash, 11.4 l/min for an eye/face wash.[7]
  • Run time: full flow for 15 minutes (EN 15154 and ANSI).
  • Temperature: EN 15154 15 to 37 °C, ideally 20 to 25 °C; INRS 15 to 25 °C[2]; ANSI 16 to 38 °C.[7]
  • Combination units: the flow holds with shower and eyewash running together.

60 l/min is one litre per second: time how long the shower takes to fill a marked bucket. If a unit fails on flow or temperature every time, check the supply first; see how to install a safety shower correctly.

Part 4: Safety Shower Parts to Check and Replace

Check these parts:

  • Showerhead: scale and debris block the outlets and distort the spray. The Haws® SP829 AXION® MSR Drench Showerhead replaces it on a 1" NPT inlet, with a built-in 75.7 l/min flow control.
  • Stay-open valve and actuator (pull rod, push plate or foot pedal): one movement opens it, and it stays open without a hand on it. Stiffness points to corrosion or scale.
  • Eyewash heads and dust covers: the covers must open by themselves when the water flows.[9] The Haws® AXION® MSR Eye/Face Wash Head (SP65SS) is a stainless steel replacement for units without freeze protection, with a 14 l/min flow control and a pop-off dust cover.
  • Hoses: replace hand-held eyewash hoses yearly and keep them as short as possible (1.5 to 2 m).[8]
  • Signs: each unit carries a safety sign to EN ISO 7010.[5]

Part 5: What to Write in the Records

INRS asks for the periodic inspection to be documented and kept, for example on a sheet by the unit.[2] TRGS 526 and EKAS 1871 require the same for tests and maintenance.[1][5] For every unit, record:

  • Unit number and location
  • Date and the name of the tester
  • Checks done, with measured flow, temperature and run time
  • Faults, action taken and parts replaced
  • Date of the next test

Keep a tag on each unit for the weekly signatures and one log for the whole site.

Part 6: Where The Lock Box Fits

Our emergency safety showers and eyewash stations range holds Haws units and their spare parts. For the measured tests, the Haws® ANSI Shower and Eyewash Testing Kit (model 9011) holds a bucket with a 7.57 l mark, a shower sock, an eyewash gauge, a thermometer, a tape measure and an ANSI checklist. For the weekly signatures, the Haws® SP170 Test Tag is a waterproof card for the date and the inspector's initials, in packs of 25 with zip ties.

Which tasks need a shower within reach is a question for your risk assessment: our free risk assessment worksheet (PDF, Word or Excel) takes it one job at a time. For new laboratory units, see our guide to lab safety showers and eyewash.

Need Parts or a Test Kit for Your Showers?

Contact The Lock Box with the model numbers on your units' nameplates, and we will match parts and test equipment.

References

  1. BAuA. TRGS 526: Laboratorien (February 2008), sections 6.6, 7.1 and 7.2. https://www.baua.de/DE/Angebote/Regelwerk/TRGS/TRGS-526
  2. INRS. ED 151: Équipements de premiers secours en entreprise: douches de sécurité et lave-œil (July 2021). https://www.inrs.fr/dam/inrs/CataloguePapier/ED/TI-ED-151.pdf
  3. Estonian Centre for Standardisation and Accreditation (EVS). EVS-EN 15154-1:2025 and EVS-EN 15154-2:2025: scope and standard history. https://www.evs.ee/en/evs-en-15154-1-2025, https://www.evs.ee/en/evs-en-15154-2-2025
  4. KomNet (Landesamt für Gesundheit und Arbeitsschutz NRW). Dialog 9674: Prüfungsintervalle von Körper-Notduschen, Augen-Notduschen und Augen-Spülflaschen (March 2017), quoting DGUV Information 213-850, section 7.2, and ArbStättV section 4(3). https://www.komnet.nrw.de/_sitetools/dialog/9674
  5. EKAS. Richtlinie Labor, Nr. 1871 (7 July 2022), sections 5.3.9, 10 and 11. https://www.ekas.admin.ch/fileadmin/Dokumente/Richtlinien/gueltig/01871_d_2022_07_07.pdf
  6. INRS. ED 1506: Laboratoires d'enseignement en chimie, 2nd edition (December 2015), table of periodic checks. https://www.inrs.fr/dam/inrs/CataloguePapier/ED/TI-ED-1506.pdf
  7. Haws. ANSI/ISEA Z358.1-2014 Safety Equipment Checklist (REV 0324). https://www.hawsco.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/24_NA_0068_POST_ANSI_Checklist_WEB.pdf
  8. IFA (DGUV). Aus der Arbeit des IFA Nr. 0250: Mikrobielle Belastung fest installierter Augennotduschen in Laboratorien (November 2010). https://publikationen.dguv.de/widgets/pdf/download/article/2383
  9. Haws EMEA. Best Practice Checklist EN 15154 and Testing Report Form (REV 1024). https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0665/3768/5208/files/EN-15154-Flyer.pdf?v=1750520411
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