There is often a debate on whether it is better to rent or buy a water cooler. Certainly if you were shop around and look on places like ebay you could pick up a new or used water cooler for less than you would rent one for a year. However, if you own a water cooler, you are responsible for it and this means servicing, repairing and most importantly sanitisation. Water is a natural breeding ground for bacteria and over time whether you like it or not, biofilm then bacterial outbreaks will occur, meaning whoever is using the water cooler - your family, employees or work colleagues - are at risk. It is therefore essential that is you choose to purchase a water cooler you either get someone to regularly sanitise (we recommend every 3 months) or learn how to do this yourself.   

The term rent is a little misleading. Good quality water cooler companies and Water Coolers Melbourne is no exception, provide a full sanitisation and filter change service. A better way to look at the rental charge is to say it is a service charge. At Water Coolers Melbourne we provide the water cooler free and then make a small monthly or annual fee for the servicing options that you choose.This should give you piece of mind that your cooler is clean, safe and hygienic.  

This is a fairly straight to the point video from the Bottled Water Free Day campaign in Canada which is on March 11th this year.

This also has relevance to bottled water coolers as they essentially have all the same issues.

For installations in high use areas such as large factories, swimming pools or other public areas, the standard office style water cooler may not be appropriate. For these areas the Aquacooler Water Fountain is a known industry leader. This is a stainless steel, high quality water dispenser that is well suited to high traffic areas.

The water is delivered via a push bubbler tap with an optional glass filler. This is great for canteens.

We can offer this water cooler on a rental or outright purchase option - just ask!

The Victorian Government has announced plans to change the laws for bars and nightclubs to ensure they offer free water to their customers. There are suggestions that some establishments are excessively charging and making it very awkward for customers to have some water without paying.

Here is a link to an article in the Herald Sun Newspaper

Venues are being encouraged to provide free water through water coolers being installed, to provide bottled water or to serve water over the counter.

We believe the best solution will be for venue owners to address the problem properly and install water fountains that are specifically designed for public use and with a proper servicing agreement in place the water cooler would provide clean, safe and healthy water for their patrons.

If you are a bar or nightclub and would like details of what options you have for a drinking water fountain or water cooler then either email us@easywater.com.au or give us a call on 03 95535933

Link to our Bar & Nightclub Water Fountain offer page.

There are many different types and styles of water cooler available which can sometimes become a bit confusing for the rest of the world out there that is not living and breathing water coolers!

Here is a simple guide.

Bottled Water Coolers

First off we have the old fashioned bottled cooler which is very popular and characteristically is free standing, white and has a blue bottle that sits on top. Convenience is the main benefit however the major downsides are that there's a massive environmental impact from having heavy water bottles constantly delivered (often from 100's km's away and often just from the public supply), they are less hygienic as they are an open system and you have the continual problem of changing, storing and lifting bottles.

There is a better solution to having bottles delivered though as special filter bottles are now available. These allow you to use a bottled water cooler without the need for the deliveries as you simply top up the system yourself.

Point of Use Water Coolers

These are often called POU or plumbed in water coolers and they simply attach into your existing water supply and filter the water before use. This then provides a safe, unlimited supply of water, at a fraction of the cost. They also eradicate all of the problems with the old style bottled water cooler listed above.

There are many different types of POU coolers - from conventional free standing coolers to bubblers and fountains designed for higher use, more public areas and industrial applications.

There are also many different ways of filtering and processing the water prior to delivery but this is for another day!

Some Others Types

Many homes and businesses now have under-sink units that provide a filtered and often chilled drinking water that is integrated into the kitchen sink area.

Recently 'Air to Water' systems have come on the market that provide water by extracting it from the air. This is nifty technology however there are 3 main problems - cost, speed of production and they are relatively heavy power users.

Many businesses and people own their water coolers, which is great and avoids rental payments but they must ensure that they sanitise and service the cooler on a regular basis. It can easily be overlooked and it is common for the water cooler to become a hidden reservoir of bacteria if not attended too regularly.

Cleaning and sanitising the water cooler is relatively straightforward however you do need to get into all the hidden pipes and tubes to ensure the waterways are kept healthy for your staff and family.

Of course the best way is to have a service agreement with a local water cooler company, that way you don't have to worry about remembering and also they should do it properly. There are also many self-sanitising kits around and we can certainly help out if you're looking for assistance. Our service department can be reached on 1300 633 176 at any time.

1. You have to store spare full bottles.

2. Then comes the empty bottles to store!

3. If the deliveries are late/forgotten or you drink a bit more then you can run out of water.

4. A bottled water cooler is an open system - meaning that every time you change a bottle you introduce more bacteria to the system - did the last guy that changed the bottle wash his hands after being at the toilet then touched the neck of the new bottle?

5. Lifting and changing bottles is hazardous and awkward. Think OH&S.

6. Variable monthly bills depending on your useage and delivery notes to match up. How many times do they get it wrong?

7. Are old fashioned traditional coolers with the blue bottles not just so 80's looking?

8. You may be lucky and get the same delivery guy every week but more than likely another random will be coming in and out of your office...oh and what was that in point 4 again?

9. Lastly but most important is for environmental reasons, it is plain madness to have water - which is freely available through our taps, and perfectly safe - distributed and delivered by large trucks and vans, using up lot's of fuel in the process. It's like the time before refrigerators we used to have ice delivered by trucks and carts - now an out dated practice.

Even if you don't choose a filter system or even one of our coolers, you should still consider removing that old bottled water cooler. There is a water revolution taking place! 

Here are some good links to recent articles on banning bottled water and in particular response to the Bundanoon ban.

A small Australian town makes waves in the New York Times.

A BBC World Service interview with Jan Bender, the owner and chairman of Iskilde bottled water company in Denmark and Jeanette Longfield, the coordinator of Sustain, an organisation which has campaigned against bottled water in the UK, where they discusss the Bundanoon situation and if it's relevant to the EU.

I found this discussion interesting and Jan Bender had no option but to admit that there is no real difference between tap water and bottled water. Jeanette Longfield missed the point slightly of the Bundanoon protest as she linked this to Australia's drought when it was really an outcome of a protest against a bottler.

We have recently launched a new water cooler offer page on our website targeted to all our internet enquiries.

This new page can be found here.

You should always make sure you have your water cooler serviced. Whether you own or rent you should have it sanitised and serviced on a regular basis. This is not to keep the water cooler industry in work but to protect your health and deliver a clean and consistent product. Having a water cooler without it being serviced is like eating your dinner from the same plate every day without having it cleaned! We don't recommend that you do this every day but by having your cooler sanitised every 3 months you'll keep it clean and healthy.

Why is this necessary? Well, over time a very fine layer of bio-film will build up on the surfaces within the cooler. This is a perfectly natural process however this film holds millions of different types of bacteria that over time will break free and contaminate your water.Sanitising your cooler using either safe chemicals and preferably ozone will break this bacteria down and keep your water safe.

If you have a bottled water cooler you should insist on this at least every 3 months as every time you change a bottle you introduce new bacteria to your system. If you've not seen your water company for a while, give them a call and ask them for your service schedule,  if you're not happy at the response then change company.

Even if you own a cooler outright you should set up an arrangement with a local water cooler company to come and service your unit on a regular basis. Ask them how they go about this and make sure you feel comfortable with them - there's plenty of choice!