It’s not uncommon to see water dispensers and their bottles placed in strategic corners of corporate offices, banks, hospital receptions, government parastatals, and even in the home.
While water dispensers are installed to encourage hydration and improve workplace productivity, findings show that most users and offices do not clean their dispensers and remain unaware of the health risks they carry.
When they are not regularly cleaned and maintained, these dispensers could harbour micro-organisms such as bacteria, mould, algae and fungi, capable of causing diarrhoea, respiratory, skin and soft tissue infections, as well as worsening allergies.
Public health physicians who spoke to PUNCH Healthwise explained that stagnant water, irregular cleaning, and contaminated surfaces in water dispensers could encourage the accumulation of biofilm, a slimy bacterial layer that develops inside plastic tubing, filters and reservoirs, inadvertently turning the appliances into potential sources of infection.
They stated that vulnerable groups, including pregnant women,
This post was originally published on this site.
