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Drinkwell Fountain Cleaning

post #1 of 16
5/12/10 at 10:45am
Thread Starter 
Does anybody else think that cleaning these fountains is a royal pain in the patootie? I do it religiously once every 7-10 days but I HATE IT!!! I don't know why because it's really not that difficult but I just start dreading it and am always so relieved when it's done. Am I the only wimp? LOL It is worth it because my cats do drink more water but I just have a thing about it.
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post #2 of 16
5/12/10 at 10:50am
Which one do you have - I had the Platinum, and now the 360 and, as bad a housekeeper as I am, it really only takes me a few minutes once a week to dismantle, clean, and refill. I wonder what the heck I'm either missing, or doing right?
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post #3 of 16
5/12/10 at 10:54am
Thread Starter 
I do have the Platinum. Maybe I'm overzealous with my cleaning because I use the brushes to be sure I get into all the crevices and usually even wash the tank out with soap and one of the brushes. I'm paranoid about leaving any slimy residue. Do you dismantle the pump and rinse it out?
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post #4 of 16
5/12/10 at 11:00am
Yeah, I've got the little Drinkwell brushes and scrub things around. I'm lucky in that our water supply (Lake Michigan) doesn't leave too much residue. I think the Platinum took me a bit longer to clean (that reservoir), but not too bad.

Then again, I hate scrubbing my shower doors - it's really not that hard, but that's my task I absolutely hate.
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post #5 of 16
5/15/10 at 6:05am
I have the Drinkwell Original. I usually soak it in soapy water that has a little bleach in it before I scrub it with brushes. That really helps. I do take apart the pump and clean it. Before I realized I could do that I was unhappy at how dirty the fountain kept getting.
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post #6 of 16
5/15/10 at 6:41am
You are preaching to the choir! Like you, I do it every week. Take eveything apart, wash with the brushes with hot water and soap. I have 2 fountains, so I do double duty!

I use filtered water in mine. The more I clean them, tho, the quicker it goes. the first few times, I thought, oh brother!!

But like you said, it makes them drink more and I have a kitty that had crystals and 7 seniors. So, I will continue.
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post #7 of 16
5/15/10 at 6:49am
Maintenance is the the number one reason I am reluctant to get a fountain. Noise is number two, but my hands don't work well and I think I would have a lot of trouble keeping the thing clean.

As for noise, I cannot stand the sound of trickling water, it makes my skin hurt.

Plastic used to be the number one reason, but now with the stainless steel 360 I can't use that reason any more.
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post #8 of 16
5/15/10 at 8:03am
My fountains are completely silent. No trickling water. Just a very low hum. Very low.

I have Drinkwell original I think. That motor is just a tad louder. Put it on a rubber mat and that helps.

My petco one, the blue oval is absolutely quiet. I have tried to get the trickling water effect in both, but it won't happen.

Nice and quiet.
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post #9 of 16
5/15/10 at 9:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by farleyv View Post
My fountains are completely silent. No trickling water. Just a very low hum. Very low.

I have Drinkwell original I think. That motor is just a tad louder. Put it on a rubber mat and that helps.

My petco one, the blue oval is absolutely quiet. I have tried to get the trickling water effect in both, but it won't happen.

Nice and quiet.
Yes, motor hum would be a problem too. I have a Sensory Intolerance Disorder and I really cannot tolerate very much noise at all. A low hum would most likely drive me insane. And I know the 360s will trickle, as they are spouted. And I won't buy plastic, so if I did try a fountain it would have to be the 360 stainless steel.

And I would worry about leaving it plugged in when I wasn't home, so would always be unplugging it.

So...I just don't know. Mazy is the only cat who drinks much water, as the other two are on a completely canned diet. Tolly drinks once in a while, Jennie, who gets quite a lot of water added to her food, never drinks.
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post #10 of 16
6/13/10 at 9:41pm
oh my! i looked up the stainless steel version on the internet. too cool must be new? i had the plastic one but it got lost when i moved

thanks for that post.
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post #11 of 16
6/13/10 at 9:44pm
I have six drinkwells and my cats love them all. After fiddling around with toothbrushes, brushes, etc to get the fountains clean, I don't mess around anymore. I use the shower and spray it clean. using different settings gets them clean in record time.
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post #12 of 16
6/13/10 at 9:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by littleraven7726 View Post
I do take apart the pump and clean it. Before I realized I could do that I was unhappy at how dirty the fountain kept getting.
I never took apart the pump --I didn't know it was possible. And yeah it was frustrating. I don't even remember how I cleaned it, it was so long ago.
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post #13 of 16
6/13/10 at 9:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hissy View Post
I have six drinkwells and my cats love them all. After fiddling around with toothbrushes, brushes, etc to get the fountains clean, I don't mess around anymore. I use the shower and spray it clean. using different settings gets them clean in record time.
Why does an image of power-washing come to my mind?

Voot voot sounds coming from straight hard blasts of water Is that what's happening over there?
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post #14 of 16
6/14/10 at 10:39am
Oh wow, learn something new on catsite every day. Stainless steel version now. I am sure boys are taking notes...
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post #15 of 16
6/14/10 at 12:40pm
I have the Platinum Drinkwell, and today is my first day to clean the thing! Brushes? I got mine used from a friend, and didn't get any brushes. Guess I'll have to improvise. But we have extremely hard water here, so I'm guessing it really will be necessary to clean it regularly. I'm hoping it's not going to be an ordeal, because 3 of our 4 cats love this thing! Callie always waited for us to turn on the faucet to drink, now she's got running water 24/7. Stinkpot and Darko took right to it, and when Darko isn't drinking from it, he is mesmerized just watching the bubbles form on the surface of the water. (obviously, he's easily amused ) Sven, our CRF kitty, and the one who drinks the most water, is our only holdout. He looks at it all the time, but is still drinking from his old water dish. I guess, like dogs, it's hard to teach old cats new tricks.
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post #16 of 16
6/14/10 at 1:48pm
Float a ping pong ball or other toy that will float in water, and all the cats will be drinking from it quickly. I love these fountains and would never go back to just bowls of clean water again.
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