Office Water Coolers

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Permalink Reply by Vicki Johnson on March 31, 2009 at 11:48pm

This one's a good article: http://abcnews.go.com/gma/Story?id=3293080&page=1

There have been many cases of water-fountain illnesses. 20/20 has done shows on it, too.

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Permalink Reply by Dawn Eichenlaub on April 1, 2009 at 8:31am

Thanks Vicki! I printed this and will post it to the coolers. I want people to be aware of what could happen if we don't take precautions with these coolers.

Thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by John Miley on April 1, 2009 at 9:12am

Dawn, have you seen this article?

What You Should Know About Drinking from a Public Water Fountain
March 21, 2007 by Jason Elliot


When you drink from a public water fountain, have you ever stopped to consider the risks? The most notable risks from drinking from a water fountain include: Viruses, bacteria, the quality of water, and whether the water fountain meets all the government established safety guidelines.

The government is responsible for regulating drinking water fountains. These guidelines were put in place in order to protect the welfare of the public. Unfortunately, some people who install water fountains don't know about these regulations, or choose to not follow them. In either case, it is a serious violation of public safety and health. When a water fountain is installed, it is best if the fountain was given a guarantee of quality and inspected by a government official.

It's no secret that viruses and germs can be found on all types of publicly shared items. Items such as: Benches, playground toys, door handles, public restrooms, grocery carts, and drinking water fountains. Improvements have been made to water fountains to better protect people from germs and viruses. For example, improvements were made on the angle of the spout where the water comes from. The accessibility of the spout has been improved. Filters at the source of the water have been improved. Even the basin design, of the drinking fountain, helps to make the water from the fountain safer and cleaner.

Brief History of Drinking Water Fountain Safety

At the start of the 20th century, there was an epidemic of illnesses related to public drinking fountains. Back then, the spout had a vertical flow, instead of the now familiar angled flow. The government realized that the vertical water flow was the culprit. In fact, they compared drinking from a fountain as everyone just sharing the same cup. They then took action and made vertical flow spouts illegal. They also enacted a series of laws and regulations in regards to the cleanliness and quality of public water fountains.


The next concern came when it was realized that lead in water was harmful to people. At that point, the government regulated what type of piping could be used on drinking fountains. Today, there are many more regulations in place to help protect the public. These regulations include water filters at the source, a covered spout to help prevent people's lips from touching the spout.

The covered spout also helps prevent the water that was splashed on the mouth to splash back onto the spout. There is a minimum height requirement of the water flow. It must flow at least 4 inches, so a cup may be placed under the spout. There are also regulations for accommodations of kids and physically challenged people. There are many more regulations; all put in place, to keep water fountains safe for all that use them.

Public Places

Water fountains are most prevalent in schools and parks; to allow easy access of water to those using those facilities. It is important to realize that germs cover the surfaces of these places, including the drinking fountains and it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to disinfect these surfaces. One way to combat this problem is using temperature control. Refrigeration units control the temperatures of the drinking fountain, according to government specifications. The cold temperature allows the water fountain to kill germs on the surface.

As previously mentioned, there should also be a filter at the water source. The filter is there because water source itself may be a problem in regards to germs and microorganisms. By having a water filter on the fountain, there is insurance that the water will not have impurities, harmful microorganisms, or bacteria in it.

In conclusion, it is generally safe to drink from a public water fountain. The advances in regulations and physical design of the fountains have helped to make water fountains a safe drinking source. If you are truly concerned about some of the risks pointed out, it may be better for you to buy bottled water, or bring a container of tap water when you go out.

Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/175516/what_you_should_kno...

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Permalink Reply by Troy Taylor on April 1, 2009 at 10:35am

Dawn,

Not sure if you have a bubbler or water fountain.
If you have a bubbler:
Cooler Maintenance Suggested Method for Regular Cleaning and Sanitizing of Water Cooler Reservoir
It is recommended your cooler's reservoir be flushed, cleaned, and sanitized every 6 to 12 months, depending on the amount of water used and sanitary conditions of the cooler location. It would be most convenient to perform this at a time when an empty bottle needs replacement.

1.Unplug the cord from electrical outlets and let stand for a few minutes to reach room temperature.
2.Remove empty bottle.
3.Remove the “No Spill” Waterguard system
4.Empty reservoir by draining the cold faucet and remove any ice ring.
5.Add 1/2 teaspoon of liquid bleach to 1 gallon of tap water and pour into the reservoir.
6.Wash reservoir thoroughly with diluted bleach solution and let stand for five minutes.
7.Drain bleach solution from reservoir through the cold faucet.
8.Rinse reservoir thoroughly with clean water several times, draining water through cold faucet. Continue rinsing until no chlorine taste remains.
9.Clean the “No Spill” Waterguard system and re-install
Place new bottle on cooler and plug cord into the electrical outlet.

If you have a fountain you may need to sanitize more often. Contact the manufacturer for information on how to keep the fountain germ free.

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Permalink Reply by Dawn Eichenlaub on April 1, 2009 at 11:10am

We have water coolers but they are connected up to the main water line. Not exactly sure what you would call them. I guess you could consider them a water fountain with a filter, built like a bubbler.

I am working on finding out who the manufacturer is so that I can ensure that we are getting regular cleaning. I also posted an article that was sent to me by Vicki.

One concern that I am trying to get the employees to see is the issue with transferring their bacteria to the spigot when letting their water bottles come in contact with it.

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Permalink Reply by Dan McGreevy on April 1, 2009 at 11:44am

I think this is a great point. I think the best thing you could do is at least find someone willing to clean the serving apparatus at the end of the day, or post some signs and have cleaning materials nearby. Whenever I top off during flu season I usually use a napkin or just tote in my own supply. They need to design a system that's not conducive to germs, and I think our society is advanced enough to develop something like this! Some of the stores have larger tote bottles, I am considering purchasing one so my fill ups go down to once a day or every two days instead of the 8 trips I normally make with my dirty red plastic Pizza Hut cup!

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Permalink Reply by Dawn Eichenlaub on April 1, 2009 at 1:19pm

You would think that we could come up with something more sanitary! Geesh!
I actually buy water and bring it in every day. I freeze to a slushy consistency....yum! (an increase for my metabolism....now that I am in my 30's, I need all the help I can get!)

I have to say that I talked to our cleaning lady this morning and she is going to take care of this every morning. She said that they were pretty nasty up inside the nozzle.....ugh!

Now, I'm hungry for Pizza Hut.

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Permalink Reply by Phil La Duke on April 2, 2009 at 3:40pm

I'm afraid I'm not much help, but I remember reading an article that cited people who drink from recycled waterbottles as being significantly more likely to get a bateria-based illness, but I'm lost as to where I saw this or even when. It did make me stop refilling my water bottle. I guess you would have to balance the health benefits of drinking extra water against the risks of baterial infection from this source. As a stop gap you could increase the frequency that the water cooler spigot is currently cleaned (if it's like our office the frequency is never) and launch and education campaign about the need to wipe down the spigot of your water bottle before refilling (or wiping down the spigot before drinking from the cooler for that matter.) I know that meningitis is spread by shared drinks so I would think you could start with facts about that particular danger and see where else your research takes you.

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Permalink Reply by orlando on June 18, 2009 at 5:00am

I have read your concerns, but before I give my views and comments, allow me to introduce myself to all of you guys.
I am Orly and I am the Product Manager of the Water Division of Shanghai Oriental Import Export based in the Philippines.

Just want to share my related experience with regards to the issues that you are discussing about the quality of water as it comes out from the coolers.

Granting that you have safe and clean water as you place on the coolers, there are so many factors that can contaminate the coolers and thus affecting the quality of water.

Micro organisms are everywhere, they can be in the air, at the surface of the coolers or even at the floors and walls where the coolers are situated.

About micro organisms, we have the pathogenic (disease causing) and non pathogenic (not disease causing).
Our concern is to prevent the pathogenic bacteria from contaminating the water.

How are we going to do that?
So we need to frequently disinfect the coolers.
Although we cannot completely eliminate the bacteria because they multiply at a tremendous rate, we can lessen them.

There is a saying that "an ounce of medicine is better than a pound of cure"

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Permalink Reply by TR Brunner on June 19, 2009 at 3:49pm

Just my two cents on what I have done at my company. I purchased individuale sanitary wipes similar to what you use to clean off you glasses and PPE from our safety supplier and hung them next to the water coolers. A short training on their purpose and the bennefits they provided. At first they were not used by very many of employees but with the Swine Flu going around there use has really sky rocketed. Also, our water fountains are located close to the restrooms and I see employees using them to wipe down the door handles and areas they have touch in the restrooms now.

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Permalink Reply by orlando on June 20, 2009 at 5:11am

For purposes of simplicity, you can use a cotton ball and alcohol to wipe the faucet tips before using in the morning and flush it for at least one minute to eliminate alcohol residual within the tip.

Within the body of the cooler, you can use piece of cloth with bleach and wipe the entire body of the cooler.

At least once a day you are disinfecting the unit so as to prevent the micro organism from multiplying tremendously.

However, if you are still able to do the procedure at night time or before the office and school closing, that would be better.

It is up to you guys who will do the work but as far as this procedure is concern, here in the Philippines,
I ussually advise my clients to practice this procedure regularly and I even recommend for line disinfection.

Just to share this experience to all you especially to Dawn.

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Permalink Reply by Locke Chastaine on November 10, 2009 at 1:35pm

Hi everyone. My name is Locke Chastaine and--full disclosure--I am the owner of AquaPrix, a point-of-use water cooler company that serves businesses in California. We are an Innowave and Pure & Secure distributor.

Point-of-Use (POU) coolers are the type hooked to the building's water lines. We deal with these issues frequently and I've recently started a blog to address the issues for our customers and the wider community. Here's the link: http://blog.aquaprix.com Feel free to browse, subscribe, and certainly ask questions!

Dawn, you may be right about employees getting upset stomachs from the bottled water cooler. It's surprisingly common. See the post on "why does the bottled water taste funky"

Bottled water coolers present two problems: First, they are "open" systems, not sealed, and air (with germs) enters as the water leaves. There is also the issue of people change bottles w/o washing hands or properly sanitizing the bottle/cooler. Second, there is no active microbial control in the standard bottled water cooler. In contrast, a POU system is a "closed" system--the water is cleaned and pushed through the unit by line pressure. While it's waiting, it is continuously treated with UV (our systems at least) to control microbes.

Troy is correct, bottled water coolers should be sanitized every 6 months. Few people know it is your business' responsibility to sanitize, not the delivery company. Rarely do we find anyone who knows to sanitize, and only once have I found someone actually doing it. It takes time, knowledge, requires cleaners and tools. If you do it wrong, the cooler is not clean or water tastes like cleaner. It is also impractical in many applications--who in the law firm is going to take the cooler down 31 floors and clean it in the alley in San Francisco? Has anyone ever seen cleaning the bottled water cooler on a job description? In some areas of the country you can hire services to perform this maintenance for your business.

Sanitizing the spigot. Steer clear or anything that has a skull & cross bones on the label. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a good bet. It is non-toxic and will not leave any taste or odor behind. It is environmentally friendly.

Spigot solution. One of the solutions to keep germs off the spigots is to recess the spigots. This way users cannot contaminate the spigot. New Innowave products take this approach.

On the inside, look for solutions that use continuous microbiological protection, preferably ultra-violet (UV). UV is consistent & repeatable, and hence scientifically proven effective. It works by destroying the DNA of microbes. (it's inside, so it will not hurt the user) Other alternatives: Ozone or "oxygenated" water. Ozone itself is toxic, it interacts with the materials in the unit, it smells bad and tastes bad. So when used in point of use, it is typically used intermittently, i.e. in the middle of the night when users are not around. Oxygenated water is helpful if you have gills, otherwise, you want continuous microbial protection. Why? Filters can become microbe condos.

Taking germ control one step further, microbial control can be incorporated into the user accessible surfaces using BioCote (Innowave solution). BioCote is silver ions in the plastic. (My limited understanding is) Silver ions disrupt the microbe's ability to reproduce. So the germ colony dies off rather than growing exponentially. You can find more info on BioCote at http://www.biocote.com BioCote microbial control is available for a great many other products, equipment, building products, and on. Well worth a look particularly as germs are becoming more resistant to disinfectants these days.

Final comment: Please stay away from disposable plastic water bottles. See Pacific Gyre and Midway Island.

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