It's best to boil bucket water after 3 days
Nowadays, bucket water has become one of our main sources of drinking water and can be safely consumed directly. However, once bucket water is loaded onto a water dispenser, bacteria from the air enter the sealed water bucket. The continuous replenishment of air during the dispensing process also causes a large number of microorganisms to multiply in the originally qualified bucket water, leading to contamination of the water and the dispenser. Recently, the Haiyan County Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Zhejiang Province conducted an experimental study on the drinking cycle of bucket water and the cleaning and disinfection interval for water dispensers:
Using 10 disinfected office water dispensers as the experimental subjects, the water source was bucket drinking water of the same brand and batch that passed microbial testing. Each office used water as per normal daily habits. Hot and cold water samples were collected for testing on the 0th, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 10th days of use. The inner tank, hot water outlet, and cold water outlet of the dispensers were monitored for 5 months.
The results showed that since general bacterial vegetative bodies die rapidly in 80°C water, the microbial indicators for hot water—total bacterial count, coliform group, and mold & yeast—were all合格 within 10 days. The cold water test results changed over time: the qualification rate was 100% for days 1-3, but dropped sharply to 60% on day 5, to 20% on day 7, and by day 10, all samples were不合格.
Microbial testing results at different times after disinfecting the water dispenser showed that among the three parts—the hot water outlet, cold water outlet, and inner tank—the inner tank is the most susceptible to contamination, becoming contaminated by bacteria in half a month and by mold and yeast after one month.
It is recommended: 1. Bucket drinking water should be finished within 7 days after opening, and it should be drunk as hot water after 3 days. Changing the water weekly can help avoid the peak period of bacterial reproduction. For offices or homes with fewer than 3 people, it is best to choose a small 11-liter bucket of water. 2. Clean and disinfect the water dispenser every month, or every half a month in the summer. A new water dispenser should also be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before first use. Normally, disinfect the bottle opening each time a new bucket is installed, and rinsing the inner tank and pipes of the water dispenser with freshly boiled water can also have a certain disinfecting and cleaning effect. 3. The water dispenser should be placed away from direct sunlight to reduce the chance of algae growth inside the bucket.