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Say goodbye to bacteria and biofilm
From Volume 31, Issue 6 - June 2008
Bottled Water Business
Good hygiene practices keep coolers clean and boost your bottom line.
by: Susan V. Wheeler
“I’ve cleaned thousands of coolers that would make you sick. Literally,” says Mark Thiesem,
production engineer at Aqua Sun Ozone International in Palm Springs, CA, and a longtime bottled
water industry professional.
Your customers pay your business to deliver quality bottled water, not bacteria and the resulting
biofilm that can build up in a cooler. To ensure your coolers’ health, some good hygiene practices
are needed.
There are several cooler sanitization methods to fit your budget — and your customers’. With the
right marketing, you might even find that cooler sanitization is a hot selling point that also helps
you retain customers.
Biofilm basics
The most pristine bottled water is subject to tainting by bacteria, even in coolers that use a
safety-seal system. Bacteria are in the air, and for a water cooler to work, it needs to take in air.
When it takes in air, it is taking in bacteria, which tend to multiple quickly. If bacteria remain
active in the cooler, either in the water or in the areas surrounding the water such as the
reservoir, there is the potential for biofilm to develop.
Biofilm is that “slimy” substance that forms on the walls of containers of water over time. The
longer a cooler remains out in the field without proper sanitization, the greater is the chance that
biofilm will develop.
Another contributing factor to biofilm is the type of water the cooler delivers. According to
Thiesem, whose company manufactures an ozone water cooler sanitizing unit, distilled water and
purified drinking water produce less biofilm than spring water.
“If you’re putting mountain spring water in your bottled water cooler, the reservoir will come
back completely green, just like in a stream. Sometimes all it takes is one good bacterium to
start multiplying, and all of a sudden you’ve got gazillions of them, which they call TNCs — too
numerous to count,” Thiesem says.
Clean is better than green
To keep that green slimy substance from building up, periodic cooler sanitization is required. How
often you choose to clean the coolers you have out in the field is somewhat up to you.
“In the USA, we have no regulations regarding the sanitization of water cooler reservoirs.
However, consumers and water cooler companies are becoming more conscious of the quality of
the water that comes out of the cooler,” Adam Levinson, chief operating officer of SIP
Technologies in Centreville, DE, says.
Conscientious bottled water professionals know that a clean cooler helps retain the intended
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taste and odor of the original product. So while there are no regulations, there are recommended
cooler sanitization guidelines to follow.
Levinson, whose company manufactures an ozone water cooler sanitizer, says US bottled water
professionals may want to consider European cooler sanitization guidelines when establishing
their own.
“The guidelines in Europe call for all bottled water companies to sanitize the bottled water cooler
reservoir every 90 days. The exception to this is for water coolers that use some sort of selfsanitizing device. If that is the case, a water cooler requires a hard sanitization every six
months,” Levinson says.
Don’t break the bank
Thiesem agrees that frequent cooler sanitizations are a good idea. He notes, however, that not
all bottled water businesses, especially smaller operations, can afford the cost that goes along
with frequent sanitizations. The cost to maintain a large cooler inventory, to send technicians out
to sanitize coolers onsite, or to haul coolers in from the field and refurbish them periodically, can
add up.
Rather than letting a cooler sit at a customer’s without proper sanitization, Thiesem says
investing in self-sanitizing coolers could be an option for some. According to Thiesem, some selfsanitizing coolers continue to effectively destroy bacteria and keep biofilm at bay even after two
years.
Another option is to provide onsite sanitization. Marcel Steur, managing director of Hygienic
Solutions BV, a Volendam, Netherlands-based manufacturer of cooler sanitization products, says
today’s market offers more options to bottled water professionals who want to keep their
overhead expenses low. He suggests looking for food-grade onsite cooler sanitization products.
Some provide a thorough cleaning from reservoir to faucet in 10 minutes.
Make cleaning a revenue-generator
Cooler cleanings shouldn’t drain your revenue stream. In Europe, some bottled water
professionals focus solely on cooler sanitization. In North America, fewer bottled water
businesses do this; they often work routine cleanings into an existing contract.
To maximize the profit from routine cooler sanitization, treat the cleaning of water coolers as a
separate business or business unit with its own bottom line. According to Steur, “You will know
your cost, and therefore you will know what to charge the customer in order to make a profit.”
Offer a solution
Today’s bottled water professionals are up against criticism from the general media and from
other technologies competing for their market share. A proactive approach regarding potential
criticism can lead instead to a fatter bottom line. Acknowledge and understand your products’
potential vulnerabilities — and offer a solution.
SIP Technologies Levinson says remaining proactive and solving problems that arise helps
bottled water professionals achieve a higher retention rate of their customer base.
One cooler sanitization issue that has the potential to drive customers away is the bacteria and
germ buildup on a water cooler’s faucet. According to Hygienic Solutions’ Steur, this is “arguably
the weakest link in the water cooler’s hygiene chain.”
Offer bottled water customers information on how self-sanitizing coolers deliver ozonated water
through the faucet, helping to keep biofilm growth away. You also can stock products that are
designed exclusively to clean cooler faucets, and market them to your customer along a
suggested cleaning schedule. Another avenue is to look for faucet designs that help minimize
contamination by users.
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The bottled water professional who has a good understanding of the business, from sales to
cooler maintenance, not only is a step ahead of the competition but is also a support to
customers.
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