Mains and bottle fed water coolers offer a range of clean, simple, maintenance free drinking water solutions for every setting. One of the key benefits to a water cooler system is leaving all the maintenance to the professionals, however whilst a service engineer is just a phone call away, call outs are often for straightforward issues that can be quickly resolved on site with no technical expertise required.

We’ve worked with our suppliers to produce some simple checks to troubleshoot the most common service call queries and help you keep your cool.

Not chilling?

• It sounds simple but check that the machine is plugged in at the wall socket and switched on, also check that the power cable is firmly pushed into the water cooler machine.
• Has the machine had a high volume of use in a short space of time? If so, it may need time to re-chill.
• Is the unit in a high temperature room? If so the machine may benefit from being relocated, speak to your water cooler supplier.

Not dispensing?

• Double check the machine is plugged in and switched on.
• Has the machine had a high volume of use in a short space of time? If so, it may need time to re-fill.
• Check with your maintenance team or facilities management team if the mains water supply has been accidentally turned off.  
• For some coolers, there may be a water blocker which automatically blocks the water flow as a safety measure. This may have been activated if a large amount of water has recently been dispensed (such as staff filling up buckets or water jugs etc.). If your machine has a water blocker there is usually a red switch/lever at the back of the unit. If you are unsure, contact your water cooler supplier who will either advise you of what actions to take over the phone or if this isn’t possible will send an engineer out to check the machine.

Leaking?

• If it’s a bottled water cooler, is anything floating in the bottle such as the valve?   Are there any holes or cracks in the bottle? If yes to these questions, the bottle will be faulty and will need removing and replacing.
• Is there anything leaking from the taps? Check with your supplier but in many cases the taps can be gently tightened and on most occasions this will stop the leak.
• Is the drip tray full? This is easily missed but also easily fixed by emptying the tray regularly.
• Does your machine have an external waste function? If yes, check the back of the machine to ensure the pipework is in place as it should be.

 
Other issues?

• Drain pipe brown or black – This may sound unusual but this kind of issue has been reported to suppliers. The most common cause of this is someone having poured sugary drinks (such as coke) into the waste tray, the drink has set and caused a brown/black sticky film on the pipe. Call an engineer if this happens as it will need to be thoroughly cleaned, and inform your users not to do this in the future as it is could be costly if parts need to be replaced.
• Gravity drain is blocked – Again, this will be down to someone putting something down the drain which they shouldn’t have done. Call your supplier and inform your users not to put anything down the drain.
• Green film building up in the bottle – Although this does look unpleasant this is caused by sunlight continually penetrating the bottle which causes algae to grow. Keep your bottles away from direct sunlight and consider moving your water cooler to a more shaded area if possible. Speak to your supplier about this issue as they will be able to advise a more suitable location, or if this isn’t possible they should be able to provide a cover for your machines to prevent this from happening in the future.
• Water tastes funny – Is it just one person who thinks the water doesn’t taste right or is it being reported by lots of people? Taste is subjective, so before you call your supplier get a number of people to taste the water to see what they think. If the consensus is that it is not right, contact your supplier and stop anyone else drinking from the machine until the supplier has checked it. 

If at all unsure your supplier is only a phone call away – leave any further investigation to the experts! Until an engineer arrives simply stop anyone using the machine, remove the bottle and switch off the machine at the wall.

All suppliers on the ESPO Water Cooler Solutions framework (900) provide full support for your machines, along with regular sanitisation and maintenance services as part of their costs.


If you would like to find out more about this framework, please contact our Food and Catering team on 0116 294 4008 or food@espo.org