Cleaning a water cooler?

[squashmad]

How often should you sterilise/clean your water cooler?

Do germs easily breed in these or not?

[schnib]

Hi,we use Milton baby bottle sterilizing tablets(following instructions on tube)once a month.

[Groucho]

If the cooler is in regular daily use - (I don't mean switched on I mean water drawn through it) it's no more liable to germs than a tap over any sink in your house - in fact even less so seeing that the water is reportedly somewhat cleaner than tap water. If you take an old bidon off and check the centre water spout it should be clean and not showing any signs of algal build-up... green or slimy - if it is use Milton sterilising tablets available from chemists here. But I certainly wouldn't do it as often as monthly. Coolers left for weeks/months between use are very different and it's a good idea to do it before re-use.

[jen]

Agree with Groucho, ours is in constant use, we sterilise every 3 months with Milton , make sure you flush through well after sterilisation

[carrierbag]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZxDAJvu7FM