Biofilm development on stainless steel in mains water has been poorly documented to date.
Results are presented of the development of potable-water biofilms over 12 months on
stainless-steel grades 304 and 316, used as appendages to a large building's plumbing
distribution system. The viable cell counts on grade 304 pipe after 12 months averaged 2.8×
103 cfu cm− 2, compared to 3.6× 102 cfu cm− 2 on grade 316 pipe. The viable cell and total
cell count on matt (2D) stainless steel remained significantly higher (p< 0.05) when