Cleaning an office water cooler: steps, timing, cost

You clean the outside, the tap and the drip tray of a water cooler yourself, ideally every week. The inside of a mains-fed machine is for the technician: a filter change and a sanitisation at least once a year. A cooler running on sealed packs, such as the SPA Fountain, has no piping and only needs that weekly round.

How often should you clean a water cooler?

Every week for the parts that hands and cups touch. At least once a year for the inside, by a technician.

The law will not take you further. Belgium's Code on Well-being at Work (Codex welzijn op het werk) obliges you to make drinking water available, but sets no cleaning frequency for the machine. The industry has its own code, the Code of Good Hygiene Practice from Watercoolers Europe, revised in 2012 and listed in the database of the European Economic and Social Committee. It binds the suppliers that are members, not you.

That leaves what suppliers publish themselves. Culligan replaces the filter every 12 months during preventive maintenance. Aqualex writes that the drinking-water system should be serviced at least once a year and the filter replaced at least once a year.

So once a year is the floor for the inside. For the outside we found no figure from any manufacturer: Spadel says "now and then", and so does Aqualex. We recommend weekly, because in a busy office "now and then" soon turns into "never".

Which tasks are yours and which are the technician's?

Everything you can see is yours. The rest stays closed.

During a maintenance visit, the Aqualex technician checks, cleans, descales and disinfects the parts of the system, and replaces the filter. You get a report by email the same day. Culligan's rental plan covers "regular maintenance with filter replacements, disinfection and replacement of parts". That work takes flushing fluid, spare parts and access to the mains. It is not a job for reception on a Friday afternoon.

Your share is smaller and duller, which is exactly why it gets forgotten.

Cleaning a water cooler in six steps

This is the weekly round we recommend. It applies to any type of machine. If your supplier's manual says otherwise, follow the manual.

1. Wash your hands. You are about to handle the tap, the place where the water leaves the machine.
2. Take out the drip tray, empty it into the sink and wash it with warm water and a mild washing-up liquid. Dry it before putting it back.
3. Wipe the tap and the buttons with a clean cloth and the same mild product. Never use the kitchenette dishcloth for this.
4. Wipe the outside with a soft cloth, including the recess where cups or bottles stand.
5. When you change a pack or a bottle, wipe dry the place where the packaging connects. On a bottled cooler, clean the cap and neck of the new bottle before fitting it.
6. Write the date on a sheet on the side of the machine.

Count on five minutes, if the cloth is ready. Once a month, set aside a quarter of an hour: pull the machine forward, clean the floor or worktop underneath, check the stock of packs or bottles and move the oldest to the front.

How much time and money does maintenance cost per year?

About 7 hours 20 minutes of your own work per machine, plus whatever your contract charges for the technician.

Back to the litre, with our own calculation: 52 weeks times 5 minutes is 260 minutes, 12 months times 15 minutes is 180 minutes. Together, 440 minutes. If we count an internal hourly cost of 30 euros (an assumption, put in your own figure), that work costs 220 euros a year. In its press release, Spadel reports 49,000 machines and 30 million litres a year, or an average of 612 litres per machine per year. On that basis, your own work costs 0.36 euros per litre. For an office of ten people we assume 1 litre per person per working day and 21 working days a month, so 210 litres a month or 2,520 litres a year: that gives 0.09 euros per litre. This cost comes on top of what your contract charges, and it is the same for every type of machine.

In the small print: with a mains-fed cooler, ask whether the filter, the call-out and an extra sanitisation after a breakdown are in the monthly price. Culligan works on quotation, so the answer is in your contract and nowhere else.

Does a cooler on packs need less maintenance?

Yes, for the inside. The weekly work stays the same.

What ends up in the glass: in the SPA Fountain, SPA Reine, a still water, runs from a sealed 10-litre pack straight to the tap, chilled to 9 degrees. There is no mains connection and no filter. Spadel writes on the product page that the machine uses no piping and therefore needs no sanitary maintenance. The rental, 18.50 euros a month for the countertop model and 20 euros for the freestanding one (prices from spafountain.be, excluding VAT, consulted on 5 October 2026), covers technical support and replacement of the machine.

It is not the only machine without a mains connection: a bottled cooler also works without a connection to the water supply. There, according to Culligan (UK site), you replace the bottle every three weeks at the latest.

The downside of packs is just as concrete. No technician ever comes by to see the drip tray, so if you do not do it, nobody does. And every pack change is a moment when someone has their hands at the connection. At the 210 litres a month from our calculation above, that happens 21 times.

A mains-fed machine reverses that balance: more work for the technician, fewer manual steps for you, and sparkling water if you want it. The price per litre of both systems is in mains-fed water cooler or packs, the machines themselves in the ranking of office water coolers and in the comparison tool.

Five mistakes to avoid

• Using the drip tray as a drain for coffee dregs and tea bags.
• Wiping the tap with the dishcloth that also cleans the worktop.
• Using vinegar or bleach without reading the manual. For its taps, Aqualex warns against hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, chlorine and phosphoric acid.
• Pushing bottles and cups against the spout while filling.
• Appointing nobody. Everyone's task is no one's task, and the drip tray shows it.

When do you call the supplier?

When there is an odd taste or smell, visible deposit on the tap, water that no longer gets cold, or a leak. Stop using the machine and put a note on it. Tap water and cups are enough in the meantime to meet your duty as an employer.

Sources

Consulted on 5 October 2026.

• FPS Employment, refectories, drinks and rest rooms: werk.belgie.be
• European Economic and Social Committee, Code of Good Hygiene Practice for Watercooler Companies (Watercoolers Europe, revised in 2012): eesc.europa.eu
• Culligan Belgium, service and preventive maintenance (filter every 12 months): culligan.be and water coolers for businesses (content of the rental plan)
• Culligan UK, water cooler sanitisation (about 20 minutes, bottle every three weeks at the latest): culligan.co.uk
• Aqualex, frequently asked questions on maintenance (at least yearly maintenance and filter change, same-day report) and tap cleaning: aqualex.com and cleaning a tap
• SPA Fountain, product pages and FAQ (10-litre pack, 9 degrees, no sanitary maintenance, rental prices excluding VAT): countertop model, freestanding model, FAQ
• Spadel, SPA Fountain press release (49,000 machines, 30 million litres a year): spadel.com
• Our own calculation: 5 minutes a week and 15 minutes a month (our advice), internal hourly cost of 30 euros (assumption), 612 litres per machine per year (30 million litres divided by 49,000 machines), 2,520 litres a year for ten people (assumption: 1 litre per person per working day, 21 working days a month).