foam in my drinkwell

hi all, i was wondering if anyone has had an experience with a foam like scum on the water surface of their Drinkwell. i have to change the water totally every 2 days cause of this. I'd like to get some feedback before i contact the company. thanks in advance to all who post.

I clean out my fountain every day, because my kitten likes to drag items into it and she slobbers like crazy. It can get a thick slick scum around the inside at the surface of the water. Also, I notice if it sits in sunlight is seems to get dirtier faster. Cleaning it every day is really the safest bet, you wouldn't want your kitties getting sick. As I read in a quick google search of foam in/on water, it can occur naturally because of algae in water, but this may not the case for you. Make sure you have a charcoal filter in your fountain that the water passes through. Maybe you could also try changing to gallon jugs of distilled water? Hope you figure out what it is.

You might try using bottled water for a week or so, just to see if your tap water is the cause.

Does yours have a filter? Mine does and it goes abit like that when it needs to be changed. Do you use a cleaning product that could have left residue? That may cause it to foam, please don't be offended by that question!

I stopped using a filter, instead I wash it with HOT soapy water every week (I add bleach to the soapy water every couple of weeks) and I no longer have the white foamy stuff. Also, do you take the impeller out of the motor? When I first got mine I didn't realize that came apart so my fountain kept getting dirty. Once I realized I could pull it out and clean it (it was gross ) the fountain also stayed cleaner.

I use filtered water from our Pur pitcher for the water in the fountain.

For me weekly cleaning with plain hot water solved the foam problem. Prior to cleaning I pour 1 cup of vinegar & let it run for 1/2 day to soften up any mineral buildups.

I used distilled water and clean every week, including taking the little motor apart. So far, no scum at all, and it's been a breeze to clean. I have hard water - so I drink it, but the kitties get bottled.

thanks for all the replies. I'm starting to think it might be the filter pad, when i bought it the 2 people at the store gave conflicting answers on how often to change the filter one said every 3-4 weeks the other said he's had his six months and never changed the pad (ewwwwww) my pad is 2-3 weeks old but I do have 5 fur babies and my one kitten loves to put his paws up to his armpits in it so maybe thats it. its not in direct sunlight, i have a water filter on my faucet and use it in the drinkwell, and every week i clean and disassemble the motor and wash in hot soapy water making sure to rinse well beacause the first time it happened i thought i might have left residue. but its getting worse, last night i emptied it and sprayed out with hot water and refilled now tonight i have foam-scum already, arghhhh i'm at my wits end.
so how often do you all change your filter pads as this is all i can think it could be.

I think I'd replace the filter, rinsing the new one well before putting it in. I do use the filter, although I believe the manufacturer doesn't say you simply have to. And, maybe, try distilled water. A gallon seems to work for me for my two adults for one week. And, my Walmart carries it for like 60 cents, and the Dominick's housebrand (grocer near me) is usually around 89 cents.

For what it's worth, after I dropped the reservoir and cracked it, I contacted the Drinkwell customer service line - they were very nice to talk to and very quick about things. Good luck.

Hi Pie&Leo and welcome to TCS!
You may not get an answer from the OP, but there may be some new suggestions.

You may also like to come and introduce yourself and your rather gorgeous pussycats in our New Cats on the Block forum.