One of the most overlooked items we have found at Covenant Cleaning Services when we start cleaning a new office or commercial building is the drinking water fountains.
They often have bad spots, stains and heavy hard water mineral deposits on them. A lot of times people pour coffee and soda down them but don’t rinse it after. That leaves stains that build up over time.
When people use a drinking fountain a little bit of water is often left in the basin and water drops are splashed all over the fountain. That water slowly evaporates, leaving hard water mineral deposits behind.
It leaves a whitish, rough film on the surface. Over time if not cleaned it builds up and eats away at the stainless steel or chrome, causing pits and rust.
Customers want a clean water fountain
If you have an office or commercial building, chances are you have one or more water drinking fountains in the waiting room, customer service area or near the restrooms.
Having a dirty, stained or neglected looking water fountain is not good for your business. I myself have used dirty water fountains at places and it left me with a lower opinion of the place.
Below I will outline how Covenant Cleaning Services cleans drinking water fountains, and then how you can do it yourself with basic cleaning supplies.
Professionally cleaning water fountains
Covenant Cleaning Services uses several different ways to clean water drinking fountains. It depends on how dirty they are and how often we clean the building.
If it is a new building we have started to clean, chances are we will find the water fountains have stains and whitish mineral deposit rings and film in the basin. It may even have rust.
For those first time deep cleans we use a diluted mixture of commercial CLR in a spray bottle. We spray the stains and mineral deposit areas well, letting it set for several minutes.
Then we use a microfiber cloth and wipe the area well. If it is really bad we may use a soft scrub pad on it. You don’t want to use a hard brush or pad as it may scratch the stainless steel or chrome material.
We may go over it several times. Then we rise it and use a general purpose cleaner for an all over wipe down. If it has a stainless steel backing or casing we will lightly wipe it down with stainless steel cleaner.
For ongoing daily or weekly cleaning we normally spray it all over with our germicidal cleaner, wiping and polishing it well with a microfiber cloth. If mineral deposits build back up over time we will hit it with more CLR.
Do it yourself water fountain cleaning
If you want to clean your water fountains yourself there are several ways to do it. If they are in bad shape with whiteish hard water mineral deposits or even rust buy some CLR from your local hardware or cleaning supplies store.
Spray or coat a diluted mixture of it onto the dirty areas and let sit for 5 minutes. Or soak a paper towel in it and let it sit on the bad areas for a bit. Then use a cloth, microfiber towel or paper towels and wipe well. You can also use a soft scrubber or pad, but make sure it is not too harsh.
Several other ways to get a really dirty drinking fountain clean is to soak a white vinegar mixture in paper towels and let it sit on the dirty areas for 10 minutes or so. A baking soda paste can also be used.
Scrub with a sponge or mildly abrasive cleaning pad. Rinse it all off well and repeat if necessary. Make sure to rinse all the mixture off once done. Then go over it all again with a mild soap detergent mixture like dawn and a final rinse.
Once your water fountains are fairly clean, or they already are except for some mild spots and stains, you can give them a weekly or bi-weekly cleaning with a soapy mixture of dawn with a towel or sponge.
Rinse and then wipe everything down with a towel or paper towels so everything is dry. Wiping standing water dry in the fountains when you can will reduce hard water mineral buildup.
If your water fountains are stainless steel apply a light coat of stainless steel cleaner and polish well, wiping off excess. I hope you enjoyed this article on how to clean commercial drinking water fountains!
If you need a professional cleaning service for your office or commercial building, call Covenant Cleaning Services at (407) 282-2250 or contact us for sparkling clean water fountains and much more!
