Add 1 cup of vinegar to about 2 litres of hot water and use a soft, clean cloth to wipe the inside of the reservoir. Then drain all excess water from the cooler's taps. Alternatively, you can use 1 tablespoon of household bleach dissolved in 3 litres of water.
If you suspect your cooler has mould, use distilled white vinegar solution instead (vinegar kills mould better than bleach). Mix one cup of vinegar with three cups of hot water. Open the spigots to drain about a quarter of the cleaning solution into a bucket.
Use liquid chlorine bleach and water or distilled white vinegar and water as a cleaning solution. Chlorine bleach is much more effective in killing bacteria than distilled white vinegar. Chlorine bleach solution: Pour 1 gallon of water into a bucket and add 1 tablespoon of liquid chlorine bleach.
Mix 1 cup of distilled white vinegar with 3 cups of hot water and pour this into the reservoir of the cooler.
Calcified hard-water stains, or limescale, can be particularly stubborn. To effectively remove them, soak the affected area in white vinegar for 15-20 minutes, then scrub with a brush. Alternatively, apply baking soda paste.
I pour a few cups of vinegar in an empty water jug, add a gallon or so of tap water, then put the jug in the dispenser. Run all the solution through, then rinse the jug and run a couple gallons of fresh through.
Lemon juice and vinegar are both acidic, meaning that they can break down the calcium carbonate that limescale is made from. Here's how you can use these green cleaners to your advantage. It's worth noting that we're talking about distilled white vinegar here, not malt vinegar.
Avoid mixing vinegar with bleach or chlorine bleach products, as the combination is highly toxic and shouldn't be inhaled, says LaLonde.
You can also use a baking soda and water solution to clean your dispenser. The ratio is usually 2 tablespoons of baking soda for every cup of water.
Regular cleaning and water cooler sanitisation will prevent bacterial growth, maintain the water quality, and protect the health of everyone who uses the dispenser. Bacterial growth: Over time, your water dispenser can quickly become a hotbed of harmful bacteria, such as Legionella or E.
So keeping your water cooler clean gives you the best chance of benefitting from all the watery goodness without any contamination, whether you're using a bottled water cooler or a mains-fed water cooler. For a deep, sanitising clean, your water cooler should be thoroughly cleaned every six months.
Using a clean cloth or sponge and a solution of household bleach in water (approximately one to three teaspoons of bleach to each gallon of water – no more), thoroughly wipe the bottle collar, the inside of the reservoir, the top of the dispenser, the spigot in front, and the grill and inside surfaces of the drip tray.
Which Is Better? Because of its non-toxic nature, it's safer to use vinegar on almost all home cleaning needs, including eradicating mold. Bleach is ineffective in cleaning porous surfaces such as concrete, wood, drywall and unsealed tile.
White vinegar
The mild acid can dissolve limescale and disinfect. All you need to do is pour a generous amount of white vinegar down your toilet bowl, let it soak in overnight, then scrub with a brush. Then flush to rinse, and voilà, your toilet is back to its former whiteness!
Remember—cleaning vinegar is more acidic than your standard white distilled vinegar, so always be careful when using it on sensitive surfaces. "While it's a natural and effective cleaner, it should be used cautiously on certain surfaces and materials, especially when undiluted," Sokolowski says.
Mold Growth: Dark, damp places in the dispenser can grow mold. Black specks in tap water can sometimes appear due to deteriorating rubber seals in plumbing or even from sediment buildup, which can be concerning if noticed in your drinking or shower water.
A water dispenser with a self-sterilising feature uses ozone or UV technology to clean and disinfect the system's tank and pipes. Usually, the machine will do the cleaning automatically, but in some models, you need to touch a button to activate the self-cleaning feature.
Mix 1 capful of chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of warm water. With the dispenser still unplugged, pour the water and bleach solution through the opening at the top of the dispenser.
Add 1 cup of vinegar to about 2 litres of hot water and use a soft, clean cloth to wipe the inside of the reservoir. Then drain all excess water from the cooler's taps.
Acids used
Notable descaling agents include acetic acid, citric acid, glycolic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, phosphoric acid, sulfamic acid and hydrochloric acid.
Remove the cap from a spare empty 5-gallon bottle. Pour the bleach (2 tbsp.) or vinegar (2 cups) and hot tap water (2 Gallons) into the empty bottle. Apply the cleaning bottle to the dispenser. Plug the power cord back into the wall outlet and turn the dispenser back on.