How to Sterilize a FreshFlow fountain

Okay - here is the problem.

Yesterday they announced e-coli had been found in the water. It was only found in one house (not near me), and I have no reason to suspect my water has been affected.

However, they have the whole city boiling water until further notice, and I prefer to err on the side of caution. I sterilized the other two ceramic water bowls in boiling water, and filled them with bottled water (which they will be getting from now on). But I can't figure out what to do with the Freshflow, since it's plastic. Any ideas?

Im not sure how others will feel about this but this is what I myself would do. I am OCD about cleanliness and germs (honestly) and even my own dishes and utensils I fill the sink with HOT water and add a quarter cup of bleach and soak them before i was them... so in this case I would take apart the fountain and soak it in hot water with bleach... take it out of the bleach water after a few hours and rinse it down extremely well with regular water... then soak it again in plain HOT water. I hope this helps!!

Jaclyn

I guess my biggest question is how to get the cord out so I can soak it in anything.

I'm not sure how I feel about bleach, though, for something they will be drinking out of. I'm a little bit paranoid about stuff like that.

The cord and pump will easily come out when you disassemble it

Yes, they do come apart very easily. You can even disassemble the pump and clean it out as well.

E.coli is found in fecal matter, and your cat licks his butt every day. I wouldn't worry too awfully much- wash it in dishwashing detergent and forget about it.

Originally Posted by AbbysMom

The cord and pump will easily come out when you disassemble it

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Oh. Ha Ha, silly me. I didn't assemble it initially and had no idea the whole thing came apart. That sure will make it alot easier to clean, in general.

Now if I can only figure out how to put it back together.

Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

E.coli is found in fecal matter, and your cat licks his butt every day. I wouldn't worry too awfully much- wash it in dishwashing detergent and forget about it.

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Yes, I know what e-coli is and where it's found. They might lick their own butts, they may even lick each other's butts, but I prefer they don't get stuff from some stranger's butt if I can help it

Originally Posted by Misty8723

Yes, I know what e-coli is and where it's found. They might lick their own butts, they may even lick each other's butts, but I prefer they don't get stuff from some stranger's butt if I can help it

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That was the funniest thing i read all damned day i just spit my tea out

Originally Posted by AbbysMom

The cord and pump will easily come out when you disassemble it

Click to expand...

Yes, and you MUST take the pump apart and sterilize all the small parts and the inside, too, or else it will reinfect the water.

And it's just plain good practice to take the whole thing apart and clean it, including the pump. I do it once a week. If you don't everything gets slimy and the water flow rate decreases.

I've never taken the pump apart. How do you do that?

Remove the pump from the fountain. You'll see a seam running around the pump body. Stick a fingernail in there and pry the intake end off the main pump body. Inside there's a cover over the impeller. Pry that off with your fingernail. Remove the impeller. Clean everything thoroughly and reassemble in the reverse order that you disassembled. Note: gunk tends to grow in the least accessible places, like those small channels in the impeller cover and where the impeller fits on the motor shaft. A Q-tip is useful for getting in those small places.