Is the water of my water purifier safe? Are they bacteria?

Certainly, bad microorganism such virus and bacteria can contaminate a water dispenser, purifier or cooler if it is not well kept, installed or basic procedures are not followed.

For these reasons, this quarter at DEIAX-AQUOS^® we like to talk more about contamination of your water, bacteria and how we can prevent these from entering our water systems where you drink water.

Below are five reasons why proper sanitation of water purifiers or dispensers combined with best practices in the day-to-day usage and effective installation by trained personnel is important to have healthy water:

Avoiding unhealthy water

Although DEIAX-AQUOS^® products are selected and designed to ensure the maximum level of cleanliness and hygiene, no water cooler or purifier is exempt from requiring sanitisation. Contaminants in and around your cooler or purifier system are unavoidable and need to be dealt with periodically. Using our sanitisation kit every six 6 months (at minimum every 12 months) or contracting our preventive maintenance service; will keep your water supply fresh and ensure dispenser points are hygienic and microbes free.

Common problems:

Over the years at DEIAX-AQUOS^® we have learned that contamination of microbes in your drinking water can come from the different areas. The most common are:

1. Poor practice in the process of installation: for example, when technicians are not washing their hands before an installation and they touch the critical areas or connections where water travels; certainly you have a risk of cross contamination.
2. Residents or employees touch with their hands the taps or faucets resulting in reverse cross contamination. It is always recommended to try to avoid touching the tap or the faucet with your hands. If you must, very important to properly wash your hands before you perform the task. We also recommend periodically sanitise the external and internal part of the tap or faucet.
3. Drainage connection not properly installed with an air gap, which result in contact with sewage water and having reverse contamination from the drainage piping into the water purifier or dispenser.
4. Incoming water poor disinfection due to poor chlorine dosing from the municipal water company, resulting on feeding water contaminated with microorganism such as bacteria. Sometimes this can be punctual, but it can be enough to compromise your equipment.
5. Cross contamination of the water while doing construction at the building and touching the water pipes. For example, we have found cases where residents installed a water softener, and in the process of installation they suffered bacteria contamination.

Maintaining workplace standards

A poorly maintained water cooler or dispenser isn’t only something that leads to unhealthy water – it’s also damaging to the overall office or home environment and the image of your organisation if you aren’t striving to maintain high standards of cleanliness and hygiene. Both employees and visiting clients may not hold your organisation in particularly high regard if areas of your workplace are not clean.

In addition, best practice such as spraying our Sterizin^® (or other food grade disinfectant spray) to the dispenser and the tap area or faucet, are regular habits that will prevent the growth of bacteria in your machines.

Prevent maintenance problems

Any machine that isn’t properly tended to will eventually fall into a state of disrepair. This will lead it to cease functioning to its full ability and could eventually lead to permanent damage. Our sanitisation kit or our preventive maintenance program can help prevent blockages and build-ups in certain areas that may end up causing permanent damage. In such cases you may be required to purchase new parts or bring in professional help to get the problem fixed properly if you neglect your cooler system for too long.

Simple to use – do it yourself!

You don’t need to be an expert to get the most out of our sanitisation kit. Specific instructions on how to use each piece of equipment are very easy to follow and you aren’t required to perform any complex engineering or maintenance tasks. The entire process of sanitisation is also a quick procedure, so you don’t need to dedicate an entire day to the task. In addition, in some cases, where you connect one of water purifier to a dispenser, when you do the filter change, some of our models come with a chlorine cartridge, which automatically sanitise your water purifier and dispenser when you change the filter.

Reusability

We recommend performing a sanitisation clean on your water cooler every six months (minimum every 12 months) or so to keep everything in top condition. Our sanitisation kit is not a one-off purchase that you need to make each time you sanitise your cooler. Much of the equipment provided will last for years, so you don’t need to worry about preparing to bring in a new kit each time.