How to Clean a Water Cooler for Your Home or Office
Your water cooler is very important! It is a powerful piece of machinery that you have in your home and in your office. It provides you with clean water all throughout the day, water that is both hot and cold and that is perfect for your ideal temperature needs.
When it is operating correctly, your water cooler can be one of the best investments you have inside!
This article will show you how to clean a water cooler for your home or office.
Why is it Important to Clean Your Water Cooler?
However, just like any machine, it is incredibly important (and in fact, a necessity!) to regularly clean your water cooler to maintain its anticipated functionality.
By cleaning your water cooler on a frequent and scheduled time schedule, you will be able to protect your water cooler from deteriorating too quickly.
What You Need to Clean Your Water Cooler
It is actually quite easy to clean your water cooler! In just a few simple steps and just a little bit of time, you will be able to have your water cooler completely cleaned, good as new, ready to keep running!
To start cleaning your water cooler, all you need is:
- About a half hour of time
- Clean gloves (rubber gloves will work the best)
- Lint-free paper towels or a microfiber towel
- One to two gallons of water
- A touch of unscented household bleach
- A small cork/plug
- This is only needed if you have a dual water cooler that has both hot water and cold water. This piece will be very important in the cleaning process. If you have a water cooler that has room temperature water and cold water only, then you do not need a cork or plug.
It is generally recommended to clean your water cooler every six to twelve months. For the best maintenance of your device, we best recommend cleaning your water cooler every six months.
How to Clean Your Water Cooler
– To begin cleaning your water cooler, no matter what type of water cooler you have, first unplug your water cooler from the electrical outlet. This is very important as doing so will protect you and your safety.
– Once your water cooler is unplugged, the next step is to remove the water bottle(s) from your water cooler. This step is most easily completed when the water bottle is empty or nearly empty as the water bottle will be easier to handle.
– Then, drain the water reservoir through the cold water faucet and allow it to drain into an empty bucket. Follow by discarding that water.
– Next, remove the water guard from your water cooler and once this is removed, also remove the baffle that is located inside the water reservoir. This piece will likely be a white plastic or stainless steel tube or plate and should lift straight up and out. If the baffle is missing, don’t worry; it’s okay.
– Use hot water and a mild, safe soap to clean and wash the exterior of the water cooler along with the faucets of the machine. This is important to keeping the entire device clean. Once finished, use the paper towels or microfiber cloth to dry the machine off.
– If you have a hot water and cold water cooler mix, then this next step is very important and vital to the cleanliness of the device and to your safety: Plug the hot water tank. Using the plug or cork that you have, plug the hot water tank, making sure there is a tight fit. The reason this step is so important is that it will prevent sanitizer from seeping into your hot water tank. If sanitizer seeps into your hot water tank, then you will have a chlorine taste in your water for the following days that could potentially be harmful to your health.
– Once this is completed, use one gallon of clean water and one teaspoon of your unscented black to create a sanitizing solution. Slide on your rubber gloves and use your paper towel or microfiber towel to thoroughly clean the interior of the reservoir.
– Then, fill the reservoir with the chlorine solution that you made. Allow this solution to remain in the cooler for approximately five minutes.
– Wipe down the spill-free top and baffle to sanitize them. They only need to be wiped down. Let these sit for about three minutes and then allow them to air dry.
– At this time, you can discard the sanitizing solution. Use fresh bottled water to fill the reservoir up to the top. Now, drain this water all the way through the cold faucet, draining every ounce of water.
– Repeat this step by filling the reservoir up with fresh water and then draining it completely once more. It is even recommended to do this a third time if interested. This will help to make sure any sanitizer is completely washed through the system.
– Use your rubber gloves to remove the cork in the hot water tank. Replace the spill-free top and the baffle, making sure they are firmly in place.
– Add a water bottle back onto the cooler and pull two cups of water from all of the faucets that are present on your machine, making sure there is no chlorine taste that is lingering. If you do find a chlorine taste still present, continue to drain the water until the poor taste is gone and the typical taste of your water returns.
– Finally, plug your water cooler back into the outlet! It will likely take about thirty minutes for the water to respectively cool or heat up.
And that’s it!
It’s Time to Clean Your Water Cooler!
Cleaning your water cooler is an important process that should be regarded as vital to the health of your machine and to your health as well.
Using the above steps and tips on how to clean a water cooler, you will be able to clean your water cooler in the best manner possible, giving you the best water cooler possible to last a lifetime!