Cat fountain mineral build-up solution

[ladytimedramon]

One of the biggest problems I've had with my cat fountains has been mineral buildup. I switched from a plastic fountain to a stainless one so I could scrape the fountain if necessary.

So I scraped first time I took it apart. Headache.

Second time I tried a paste of baking soda and vinegar. Huge mess.

This time I was faced with more mineral buildup. On my counter I saw my bottle of Keurig descaler... and the bottle said "for removing hard water scale in your coffee maker". So I figured if it's safe for the plastic inside the Keurig it should be ok on my stainless fountain.

It worked like a dream! I poured a little on a wash cloth. All the mineral build-up came off with a wipe except for a couple of spots. Those I left a saturated cloth on.

Everything came right off.

So the fountain is now being fully sanitized in the dishwasher while Delilah naps.

 

[Caspers Human]

Second time I tried a paste of baking soda and vinegar. Huge mess.

Vinegar is an acid. Baking soda is a base. Mixing the two together causes them to neutralize each other, leaving a salt called sodium acetate. For your purpose, sodium acetate is useless. All you'll get is a lot of fizzing and a big mess, like you said.

You could have used just plain vinegar and it probably would have removed much of the scale. Mix white vinegar 50/50 with hot water and let it soak for a while. Scrub off the residue and repeat if necessary. Rinse with warm water then two times with cold water and you'll remove all traces of vinegar and residue, leaving things safe for your cat to drink from.

Putting your cleaned parts in the dishwasher is also a smart thing to do, just for good measure.

Yes, you can use coffee pot cleaning powder (or tablets) to clean out your cat's water fountain. Coffee pot cleaner is made from sodium carbonate. It is chemically similar to baking soda which is sodium BI-carbonate. Both are safe to use if you rinse things very well, afterward.

Either method will work to clean the scale and residue out of your cat's water fountain. Both are safe, provided you rinse well.
Cosider... If it's safe to drink coffee from a coffee maker after using sodium carbonate, why wouldn't it be safe to drink water from a fountain?

I live in an area where there can be a lot of mineral content in the water which can leave scale inside things like coffee pots and around drains in sinks and bathtubs. My first line of defense is to clean with vinegar and hot water on a frequent basis. After that, if vinegar doesn't work well enough, I go to stronger measures.

For Casper's water bowls, I use regular white vinegar and hot water. Sometimes, I have to do it twice and apply a little bit of elbow grease with a ScotchBrite scrubbing pad. Rinse three times...Hot-Cold-Cold. Good to go!

 

[Purr-fect]

I use " CLR" to remove mineral deposits from the cats stainless steel water fountain. Then it goes in the dishwasher. Several years latter, it still looks new.

 

[Caspers Human]

CLR is an acid-based cleaner. (Gluconic acid, if you're interested.)
It works well and is safe as long as you rinse, very well, afterward.

From years of working in different places where chemicals are used, I have always had the habit of rinsing everything three times.

Why three? I don't know. It's a habit. Three just sounds like a good number. Doesn't it?

 

[Purr-fect]

Im impressed by your chemical knowledge!

Yes, the fountain always goes in the dishwasher after cleaning it with any product.

 

[@user-ym7vi1jz8f]

I know it's been a while, but I just wanted to say thank you to you all for pointing me toward an acid to clean the mineral buildup.