Cleaning cat fountain

Cat.mama

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I usually use hot water only with a 3m sponge and pipe cleaner. The fountain has been extra sticky lately. The cat is leaving bacteria bubbles as soon as it’s clean. Would you suggest leaving it to soak in dawn overnight? Not the pump, just the plastic fountain. I feel like the dishwasher is not a clean option… water always pools.
 

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Furballsmom

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Hi
I use hydrogen peroxide on my hummingbird feeders and the water fountain. Rise well and you should be good to go :)
 

catloverfromwayback

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Is it a plastic fountain? Those are really hard to get clean and most prone to getting slimy, and they get worse with the inevitable scratches. For what it’s worth I use a ceramic one and it doesn’t have this problem. Washing it in warm water and dish detergent once a week keeps it clean.
 
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Cat.mama

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It’s plastic. Years ago I had a stainless and it got moldy due to poor design . One of the cats stopped drinking for years. When I started over again I found this was the best layout, easy to clean. Plastic is the only flaw.
 
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Cat.mama

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Is it a plastic fountain? Those are really hard to get clean and most prone to getting slimy, and they get worse with the inevitable scratches. For what it’s worth I use a ceramic one and it doesn’t have this problem. Washing it in warm water and dish detergent once a week keeps it clean.
Haha now you have me thinking the scratches are going to hold in some of the dawn and I’ve already got it in the sink!
 

catloverfromwayback

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Mini-mimi

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Have you tried vinegar soak? Also let the solution run through the fountain,, then rinse well with clean water.
 
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Cat.mama

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I’ve only had this one, the Drinkwell Pagoda, so haven’t any comparisons, but I haven’t found it difficult to clean. The only hitch I find is getting right into the little motor unit, because no brushes that are small enough have bristles that stick out from the end. I use a q-tip for that part.

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I had that one for a time!!! I can’t exactly remember why it didn’t work for us. I think at that point I had all three cats still drinking water. Two of my cats only drink with their paws. I think with that fountain it just collected way too much debris up underneath and felt like I was constantly having to clean. Like it was easier to use a bowl and clean daily. That little pre filter seemed to get very green and nasty very fast! Idk maybe I’ll give it a go again if it’s on sale for Black Friday. I’ve never used soap before to clean, other than the dishwasher which I don’t do anymore, and I don’t like the results I got. It smells strong like dawn.
 
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Cat.mama

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Have you tried vinegar soak? Also let the solution run through the fountain,, then rinse well with clean water.
I have not! I am new to using any type of soak. I just noted in another reply about the smell of dawn holding strong after rinse.. im thinking to myself now about how plastic holds odors so this may be the case.
you mean to run the chemical thru the pump???
 

gilmargl

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I have 2 plastic fountains and always clean them in the dishwasher together with the cats' stainless steel dishes, plus my Brita jug and other plastic items. The little pump I take apart and clean by hand with liquid detergent. You can buy very small bottle brushes to clean the parts you can't get at. Dental brushes (for cleaning between your teeth) can also help here. When clean I run the pump using hot water to get rid of the detergent and to make sure it's working properly. Finally I only use filtered water in the fountain. I have no problems with scaling - cat hairs in the water are the only reason I have to clean the fountains out of schedule!
I also have drinking bowls (stainless steel) aound the house - but the cats seem to prefer the fountains. Cats are not fussy drinkers - they are quite happy drinking from puddles and garden ponds which are full of bacteria! :)
 

Alldara

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Is it a plastic fountain? Those are really hard to get clean and most prone to getting slimy, and they get worse with the inevitable scratches. For what it’s worth I use a ceramic one and it doesn’t have this problem. Washing it in warm water and dish detergent once a week keeps it clean.
That's so interesting! I wonder if it depends on water in the area.

We had a ceramic that would immediately get super slimy and our plastic one is fine 😮
 

Alldara

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I found taking a dry cloth after the first clean and then drying it off, and then cleaning again and air dry did the trick best. The dry cloth just took any oils off.
 

catloverfromwayback

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That's so interesting! I wonder if it depends on water in the area.

We had a ceramic that would immediately get super slimy and our plastic one is fine 😮
That is interesting! We have mains water here, but tank water (ie rain water) in our previous house, and neither caused any difficulty with the fountain.
 

iPappy

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I have a raised tub I use as a laundry room sink, and it has a hose attachment with a garden nozzle with all the different selections (jet, flat, shower, etc.) I've found using a few of those different settings can really blast crud out of the crevices of fountains.
 
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