A recent outbreak of green mould in water coolers at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital has sparked some health concerns and driven home the importance of regularly sanitisation. If you have these concerns at your home or business, keep these simple water cooler sanitisation steps in mind. 1: Remove the Bottle from the Cooler Bacteria thrives in excess moisture, so before you start your water cooler sanitisation process, be sure to eliminate drips and leaks by removing the bottle from the cooler, even if it looks completely empty. 2: Remove the Spike Housing and the Separator The spike housing is the piece of plastic a water bottle sits on that allows the seal to be broken and the water to flow downward. The separator keeps the water in the bottle cold rather than let it reach room temperature. Both of these items need to be removed during cleaning. 3: Add Sanitiser Pour 20 ml from your sanitiser bottle into your cooler's tank. If you don't have a sanitiser bottle, you can purchase a water cooler sanitisation kit from Water Coolers Direct. 4: Let the Machine Sit After adding sanitiser, you should let your cooler sit for at least 10 minutes. This will give the chemicals time to kill any bacteria. 5: Use Sanitiser Wipes During the waiting time, you can clean other parts of the machine using sanitiser wipes. Make sure to get around the taps most of all, since that is where the most bacteria can build up. 6: Drain the Water Tank Once the taps have been cleaned, get a bucket and drain all the sanitiser from the tank. Open the taps all the way to make sure you get maximum drainage. 7: Drain the Hot Water Some machines have a hot water component. In these cases, you should turn off the red hot water switch and then open the hot tank drain to make sure all the water is completely removed from both parts of the machine. 8: Reassemble the Cooler Now that all internal parts have been properly sanitised, replace the pieces you have removed. This includes the spike housing and the separator. Then put the bottle back on the machine. 9: Let the Tank Fill Give the cooler about five minutes to fill before you put a bottle on the machine. This will ensure that you have entirely fresh water in all parts of the cooler. 10: Flush out the Remaining Sanitisation Fluid Even though you've thoroughly cleaned the water cooler by now, there still may be traces of the sanitisation fluid lingering on the inside. To clear this entirely, you should flush half a bucket of water through the machine. This will completely wash away any traces and make your cooler perfectly usable. http://tinyurl.com/qg7bgqu Water cooler sanitisation is easy to do, but it does take some time to complete. You should make sure to do it regularly to avoid a build-up of bacteria. If you need help or don't have the time to clean your cooler yourself, give our team a call on 0800 7311 491.