Office Water Coolers

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Permalink Reply by Omar Fundora on December 3, 2009 at 2:21pm

visit Ask Jeeves and type water cooler safety ...click on water-cooler cleaner....

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Permalink Reply by Robert Kenneth Robinson on December 10, 2009 at 2:01am

Dawn, this is going to be a bit long winded but bear with me, office water coolers, when was the last time the dispenser was cleaned? Are the water bottles the large blue type that most people use as penny banks once empty? if so....i recently found out that bottled water is not supposed to be stored indirect sunlight, we had the same problem here in Iraq on our site where we have a water bottle plant in which the water was stored outside in direct 140 degree weather palletized until needed, water was brought in and used. Well needless to say folks get upset stomaches from it, also if the water is manufactured over a long period of time ago and not used before their expiration dates, this too can cause uspet stomach, plus the manufacturer may have sent out a bad batch of water, most bottling companies produce water by reverse osmosis, "you know pure fresh spring water" whatever.....trust me seen alot of bottling plants around the world that claim it is from some spring in norther colorado, or the swiss alps, anyway.....if a bottling plant producing the water is over chlorinated this can cause cramps and aches, PH levels etc. or if the process filtration system is in need of replacing this too could be a problem, we had a local iraqi company handling the water purification process for water bottling here and people were always getting stomach aches until the army core of engineers stepped in and regulated it......problem cured, water is now stored inside ware hose and not in a lay down yard exposed to light, and chemists are now used to monitor and test contents..

Dawn, have you had the opportunity to find out what they are cleaning the water coolers with when they refresh or replace the contents of the water, are they using baking soda during the cleaning process or dish soap etc. not getting all the content of the agent being used out and not throroughly cleaning the coolers could pose a problem, I encountered this once before on a past project were I was one of many always getting an upset stomache from drinking out of the coolers until it was ordered to have it looked into, found out they were using dishsoap that left residue by not rinsing long enough to get it all out, you know how dish soap is and hand soap you can rinse and rinse and rinse for along time and feel like you never get all the soap off.

I would recommend following up to find out what exactly the right process is for water change out, cleaning of the coolers and the water going back into the cooler, it has been known and found that some will not replace the water with potable or proper drinking water, like non potable, or not cleaning the cooler will leave residual bacteria from the prior water supply left over if not cleaned between each refill, how old are the coolers, how long is the water staying in the cooler for period of one or 24 hours shift,maybe it is time to replace the cooler and are the lids properly sealed and marked as per dates when refilled.

as far as touching the spigot on the coolers, no gloves can be worn while handling spigot hands should be cleaned but not everyone can wash hands or sanitize before touching with hand to dispense water, however they should leave space from the personal water bottles, according to the regulations, disposable one time use cups should be used appropriately, no dipping cups, ladels, or personal cups or drinking devices should be used, single one time use cups only and never share drinking cups should cut down on spreading unwanted virus's etc.

make sure personnel cleaning and chaning water do not put bare hands in the water coolers, there is a procedure out there where personnel have to have specific type gloves on while handling coolers, lids taken off coolers can not be paced on surfaces that will pick up bacteria and then placed back on the cooler this will prevent transfer from virus or bacteria from working surfaces to the water cooler by placement of the lid,

water spigots or water supply source or hoses are not to be placed in the cooler while filling, like the tip of garden hose, spout etc. and then there is the insertion of ice, the ice bag can not touch the rim of the cooler when inserting ice, you have to be careful what surface you set your ice bag on before opening the ice and dumping the contents, you have to watch how you open the ice if you use an object to cut or tear the bag it has to be sanitary at the opening in which the ice will exit the bag and not transfer ice to the cooler from using an unsanitary object to cut or open the bag, is the water filtered, treated, or from a well.....Dawn, believe it or not, there is a lot that goes into filling water coolers that a lot of people dont know about, I truely recemmend coordinating with a rep who works the water coolers set up and find out what thier procedures are in handling and filling the water cooers and then compare to regulations that are out there for that. I hope that this helped.......take care and stay safe... ;)

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Permalink Reply by John Richardson on February 4, 2010 at 4:56pm

Dawn,

This comment is self-serving but appropriate for this discussion. Please check out www.freshsleeve.com. Fresh Sleeve, is a biodegradable, paper sleeve that you slip over the mouth of a water bottle prior to refilling. The paper sleeve eliminates any contact between your water bottle and the water cooler, keeping you and your bottle germ-free each time you refill. It is designed to fit single use plastic water bottles, narrow mouthed Nalgene bottles, Sigg water bottles and all other bottles with a similar diameter.

Fresh Sleeve will be the only product on the market that helps to prevent the spread of germs at the point of refill even with direct contact to the spigot. It is a necessary addition to your workplace and your health club if you want to mitigate the risk of catching or spreading germs at the communal water cooler. Conventional water cooler cleaning practices are important but are clearly inadequate at preventing the spread of germs. The consumer needs and deserves a better and more hygienic way to refill than the current state. The answer is Fresh Sleeve.

Please spread the word and inquire more at www.freshsleeve.com.

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