Water-Cooler Cleaning

BNL Drinking-Water Quality Committee conducts the popular drinking-water taste-test every year in the month of October during the two-day Healthfest health, safety and fitness fair. During this time the staff of the Water Treatment Facility (WTF) collects samples of the “brands” of the water to be tasted and borrows water coolers from around site to dispense the different brands.

Each and every one of these coolers are thoroughly cleaned up before being used for the taste-test. This clean up is required because of the build-up of dirt and mold. This mold and dirt definitely has to be cleaned up to make the water hygienic. It has been observed that some of the on-loan coolers are less hygienic than others. There has been an incidence of a water cooler that was borrowed in 2001, which was in a very bad shape and was grossly contaminated. And the company that owned this cooler was intimated.

Following that revelation, a Lesson Learned Communication was developed. As part of learning a water-cooler cleaning procedure was developed and a fact sheet on the importance of keeping water coolers contamination-free was prepared and distributed to all the users of water coolers. All this cleaning procedures that have been adopted by cooler maintenance companies have indicated that water coolers have evolved from simply relying on a block of ice for cooling to meeting strict health, sanitation and environmental standards
Water is the basic necessity of every living being which is consumed by them almost every day. It is possible to go many days without food, but we cannot go long without water. For years together a primary means for providing the public with the drinking water they need has been the drinking fountain and the water cooler.
The drinking fountain was first developed in the early 1900s by the companies Halsey Taylor and Haws. These two companies, founded by Halsey Willard Taylor and Luther Haws respectively, pioneered a major change in how water was dispensed in public places. By initiating to put water fountain in public places, they also helped reduce the instance of waterborne diseases among the general population. In fact, Halsey W. Taylor's dedication to providing a safe and hygienic drinking water to the public was prompted by his father's death from typhoid fever caused by consuming contaminated water supply.

For years the main source of drinking water in public places like public buildings, schools and factories, was water fountains. However, the desire for colder drinking water, especially during hot summer months, brought about the introduction of chilled drinking fountains. These initial models of the water cooler featured cooling that was generated by a 20-pound block of ice.

The first few refrigerated water coolers were very cumbersome floor standing units that used belt driven ammonia compressors to chill the water. These water coolers were so heavy that they had to be moved by several men or with a forklift! A surprise news for you is that some of these units are still in operation today!
In the early 1950s it was the top priority of the industry to provide cold, refreshing drink of water to the school going students. This led to the design and development of wall-mounted water coolers which are more suitable to school environments.

Over the years, Halsey Taylor many variations of the wall-mounted water cooler units were developed, including space-saving recessed models that allow for uninterrupted corridors and hallways, making them ideal for schools, hospitals and other buildings with high-traffic.

After the space saving effort towards the development of water coolers and cold water fountains, the next major step in the water cooler evolution process occurred in the 1960s with the evolution of a cooler variation for physically challenged individuals. It was the 1960s when the awareness came about that it might be difficult for the people sitting in wheel chairs to access the water coolers or fountains. That is when the industry began to recognize there were physically challenged people confined to wheelchairs who had difficulty drinking from the fountains and coolers put up in the public places. And hence came the variation of the water cooler which would be easily accessible even from the wheelchair.

Then in the 1980s came the government regulations that specifically defined the needs of the handicapped. Keeping these regulations in mind the industry responded by developing the Barrier-Free water cooler which soon became the number one seller in the industry. During this time there was a big wave to eliminate lead-bearing components from potable water supply systems. The first change was in solders and then other components soon followed, spurred on by the Safe Drinking Water Act. Then came the need to eliminate or control the CFC refrigerants from the coolers. And the industry quickly responded by moving on to HFC-134a refrigerant to replace the CFCs. The 1980s also saw an increased focus on the design and appearance of water coolers and drinking fountains. As fountains and coolers became more accessible and more practical than ever before, they also became more attractive. In came the oval shapes, rounded corners and contemporary finishes that blended in with a building's decor became fashionable and remain so till today. In addition to looking for quality and performance when specifying and selecting a water cooler, architects, building owners and facilities managers were also seeking units that looked good.

With the 1990s came Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which more comprehensively defined the rights and needs of the handicapped for access to many types of facilities. Because of this act came about some additional dimensional and design changes to water coolers and drinking fountains. This happened because the water coolers and fountains were to become more accessible to the physically challenged people. This act also recognized the needs of able bodied people and those with bending difficulties. ADA declared that public facilities needed to provide both wheelchair accessible and standard height units. This resulted in the birth of the increasingly popular bi-level unit.

What is the future of the drinking fountain and water cooler industry? Where is it headed next? There will always be a concern about the quality of water dispensed by these water coolers and fountains, about the purity and safety of the water. This concern of the public has prompted some manufacturers, including Halsey Taylor, to secure full ANSI/NSF 61 certification for all their water coolers and drinking fountains. ANSI/NSF 61, Section 9 is a standard that measures the contribution of lead and many other harmful contaminants to the drinking water by the water cooler and the fountain components. Two testing bodies, Underwriter's Laboratories, Inc. and NSF International, have been accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to certify NSF Standard 61, Section 9 compliance.

The Safe Drinking Water Act and State Legislation makes professional plumbing contractors, engineers, architects and building owners, as well as maintenance and facilities managers, responsible for the quality of water dispensed from the products they specify or install or even maintain. Because of this, offering water coolers and drinking fountains that meet all the requirements of ANSI/NSF 61 has become very important. And each of the water coolers and or fountains in any of the public places needs to meet these standards and supply pure and clean and hygienic drinking water to people.

In addition to achieving this classification for lead, Halsey Taylor is one of the manufacturers providing water coolers and drinking fountains that meet the stringent requirements of this standard for organic contaminants, regulated metals (including antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, tin and zinc), radio-nuclides, RVCM (residual vinyl chloride monomer) and solvent levels. It is also a known fact that the majority of states are now looking to the full ANSI/NSF 61 certification. It is very important for all the manufacturers and service providers in the water cooler and fountain industry to rise to the opportunity and be able to offer products that meet this distinct classification.

While time and innovation can often lead to obsolescence, those in this industry can take comfort in the fact that there will always be a need for clean drinking water and hence, the need for public water supply equipment in the shape of water coolers and fountains. Consequently, the prime objective for the water cooler industry is, to always work to provide the best products possible for dispensing clean and hygienic drinking water to the public.