Keeping a pet dog and caring for him/her requires way more effort than what you initially perceived. You have to invest your time and effort into making sure your pup receives the best care possible. This involves the hygiene, safety, and love that they deserve and need. But, it is always the hygiene factor that is carelessly overlooked when it comes to dog owners. The eating utensils such as dog bowls and dog fountains are the key places where sickness and disease are likely to breed. How to clean a dog water fountain is an extensive procedure that requires knowledge of every detail. So, the below tutorial will be of much help. Let’s get into it.
Tools You Need to Clean Dog Water Fountain
- Dish Soap: Any dish soap will do, but you want to make sure you get one that doesn’t pose any potential threats to your dog. Safe and non-toxic dish soap (exactly the one you use for your dishes) is perfect.
- Hot Water: it is better to use hot water rather than cold water as higher water temperatures are more likely going to clean the fountain better. Solidified dirt and bacteria are quickly and efficiently cleaned with hot water.
- Brushes and sponges: Some sections of the fountain need to be scrubbed vigorously to clean it. But some sensitive areas will be cleaned by a simple rub down by sponge. The type of brushes you will need are different than usual brushes. Aquarium brushes, bottle brushes round brushes are some good examples you can try.
- Dishwasher detergent: If your fountain is dishwasher-safe then you will need to include a dishwasher detergent cleaning routine in your process.
- Disinfectant: Disinfecting your fountain is extremely important because it banishes on growing bacteria and germs. In this way, you reduce the possibility of your dog developing life-threatening sicknesses. Moreover, since larvae fleas are known to breed in dog water bowls, disinfecting your dog water fountain sounds like a pretty smart idea.
- New filter: Most fountains provide clean water by the means of using a water filter. It is advised that when cleaning out your fountain, change the water filter.
How to Clean a Dog Water Fountain Frequently
Dog water fountains are comparatively cleaner and safer to use than water bowls.
However, you still must make a habit of cleaning your fountain once every 2 weeks. If you want to clean it out sooner than that, that is completely up to you. But the standard advised time is every 2 weeks. Your water filter should be switched out once every 2-4 weeks. But that also entirely depends on how many dogs use the fountain and the nature of the fountain.
Certain materials tend to cause buildup more often. Moreover, if you have your fountain situated in an outdoor place then leaves, dust and bacteria are more likely going to clog your filter. Slime and mold will grow in large quantities if your fountain is kept in a shady place. Assess these conditions and you will find it easier to fix a routine of cleaning your fountain.
You also could read: “The Best Dog Water Fountains Review in 2020” if you’re looking for the best water fountain for your dog.
Steps to Cleaning Your Fountain
- Step 1: The first step to knowing how to clean a dog water fountain is to disassemble it. Naturally many fountains are sold in separate pieces so you can further assemble it. When you embark upon the cleaning procedure, then you should piece apart things like the cord, faceplate, and impeller. This step is generally hard for people who are not familiarized with the manufacture instructions that come with every fountain. Give that manual a good read and you will be able to disassemble the whole thing without breaking it apart.
- Step 2: Here starts the scrubbing process. Just go crazy with the soap, water, sponges and brushes at this point. If there are any dishwasher safe parts then go ahead and pop them in the dishwasher with the detergent we mentioned earlier. Once more, if you are not sure which parts exactly belong in the dishwasher, consult the manufacturer’s instructions manual. As the dishwasher-safe parts are being cleaned in the dishwasher, you can use hot soapy water to rinse and clean the other parts. The brushes are used to clean those small nooks and crevices where the sponge can’t reach.
- Step 3: After the washing process is done, you now have to commence with the disinfection process. Disinfecting is very important as mentioned previously because simple hot soapy water can’t kill all the dangerous bacteria. To concoct the best disinfectant solution, use 9 parts of water with 1 part of bleach. Soak all the parts of the fountain in this solution and leave them in there for around 10 minutes. Safety measures are necessary to be taken when you are handling dangerous fluids like bleach and such. Make sure you have a mask on your mouth, gloves on your hands and tongs to handle the soaked fountain pieces.
After 10 minutes are over, remove the pieces from the disinfectant solution and rinse them. - Step 4: The most important step which somehow makes or breaks your result is to air-dry the pieces you have just rinsed. Leaving the pieces to air dry allows there to be healthy ventilation around the tool and hence reduce the possibility of mold and bacteria developing in the damp areas. Do not assemble back your fountain unless you have left the fountain to air dry for at least 6-8 hours. Moreover, do not leave your washed fountain pieces out in open air as dust and random particles could settle in sensitive areas. Instead, keep the pieces indoors and beside a ventilating fan if possible.
- Step 5: After your pieces have air-dried, it is time to reassemble your fountain. It is worth mentioning that now is the right time to replace your water filter. Some people get confused at this step but that is the reason why the manufacturer’s instructions exist. Simply refer to them whenever you get confused. Cleaning a dog water fountain isn’t that hard when you’ve got that kind of help.
Here one of video tutorial as example how to clean a water fountain for dog by PetSafe Drinkwell.
