Drinkwell Fountains Filter Questions

I have one for Persia. She loves it. I disassemble and clean it faithfully
once a week. I use the filters. I checked my calendar; I hadn't cleaned it
since before my trip on June 1st and it's now the 14th! Then I noticed the
fountain had not got that weird scummy pink residue on the spout which
normally screams within 5-6 days it needs to be cleaned.

So I took it apart and what did I discover? I'd put the "filter" in
backwards by mistake with the charcoal lining facing inward. Inserted
correctly, the fuzzy part of the filter is usually filled with this pink
scummy stuff (GW - much like you'd find in an unused toilet if not brushed
out regularly). So the water was still running clear.

Many people I know have water filters on their taps at home, built-in or
otherwise. I don't. Memphis water comes from artesian wells and is rated
some of the best in the country. I know it tastes good to me, and I drink a
*lot* of water.

So are the filters necessary with this fountain? The water stayed nice and
fresh for 2 weeks (being replenished by me every day Persia was here as the
humidity along with her drinking tends to reduce the water level). The
fountain did not get "scummy" like it did when I had the filter inserted
correctly. It merely needed a quick brushing out with hot water and then
reassembly.

I know the info on the fountain says it can be used with or without the
filter. I guess I'm wondering, does having the filter inserted correctly
actually *trap* stuff or does it encourage the growth of it (and hence the
need to buy more filters)? Any thoughts?

Jill
--
I used to have a handle on life...but it broke off.

jmcquown wrote:

(snip)

I know the info on the fountain says it can be used with or without the
filter. I guess I'm wondering, does having the filter inserted correctly
actually *trap* stuff or does it encourage the growth of it (and hence the
need to buy more filters)? Any thoughts?

Jill
--
I used to have a handle on life...but it broke off.


I have a Drinkwell and have never used the filter with it. However, I
do fill it with filtered water from the tap. And I clean it twice a
week with hot water and mild soap. I have not had any problems with
this arrangement, but I think it may also depend on the cat. If Persia
drops food or toys in the fountain I would keep using the filter to
trap any particles.

It amazes me how much the cats seem to like having a fountain. Several
months ago I was bringing in groceries from the car the neighbor's
itty bitty kitty wondered in the house. The first thing he did was
plant both front feet in the Drinkwell and start playing in the water!
It was hysterical the way Simba and pepper came RUNNING in to the
kitchen and then just froze when they saw this little gray ball of
fluff in their fountain. The dumbfounded look of both cats was
priceless.

~Jemfur , Simba and Pepper

Jemfur wrote:
jmcquown wrote:

(snip)

I know the info on the fountain says it can be used with or without
the filter. I guess I'm wondering, does having the filter inserted
correctly actually *trap* stuff or does it encourage the growth of
it (and hence the need to buy more filters)? Any thoughts?

Jill
--
I used to have a handle on life...but it broke off.


I have a Drinkwell and have never used the filter with it. However, I
do fill it with filtered water from the tap. And I clean it twice a
week with hot water and mild soap. I have not had any problems with
this arrangement, but I think it may also depend on the cat. If
Persia drops food or toys in the fountain I would keep using the
filter to
trap any particles.

She doesn't drop food or toys in it. In fact it's in my bedroom and her
food is in the kitchen. She's not one to carry toys around and dunk them...
maybe she did in her hoolikitten days, which I (unfortunately) didn't get to
witness.

It amazes me how much the cats seem to like having a fountain.
Several months ago I was bringing in groceries from the car the
neighbor's
itty bitty kitty wondered in the house. The first thing he did was
plant both front feet in the Drinkwell and start playing in the water!
It was hysterical the way Simba and pepper came RUNNING in to the
kitchen and then just froze when they saw this little gray ball of
fluff in their fountain. The dumbfounded look of both cats was
priceless.

~Jemfur , Simba and Pepper

That's funny! Yes, they love running water. Doesn't make much sense but
there you have it

Jill

jmcquown wrote:
I have one for Persia. She loves it. I disassemble and clean it
faithfully once a week. I use the filters. I checked my calendar; I
hadn't cleaned it since before my trip on June 1st and it's now the
14th! Then I noticed the fountain had not got that weird scummy pink
residue on the spout which normally screams within 5-6 days it needs
to be cleaned.

So I took it apart and what did I discover? I'd put the "filter" in
backwards by mistake with the charcoal lining facing inward. Inserted
correctly, the fuzzy part of the filter is usually filled with this
pink scummy stuff (GW - much like you'd find in an unused toilet if
not brushed out regularly). So the water was still running clear.

Many people I know have water filters on their taps at home, built-in
or otherwise. I don't. Memphis water comes from artesian wells and
is rated some of the best in the country. I know it tastes good to
me, and I drink a *lot* of water.

So are the filters necessary with this fountain? The water stayed
nice and fresh for 2 weeks (being replenished by me every day Persia
was here as the humidity along with her drinking tends to reduce the
water level). The fountain did not get "scummy" like it did when I
had the filter inserted correctly. It merely needed a quick brushing
out with hot water and then reassembly.

I know the info on the fountain says it can be used with or without
the filter. I guess I'm wondering, does having the filter inserted
correctly actually *trap* stuff or does it encourage the growth of it
(and hence the need to buy more filters)? Any thoughts?

Jill
--
I used to have a handle on life...but it broke off.

As you know, I have 3 of those fountains - now two as the motor on the first
one I bought finally died a slow and noisy death. Not sure exactly why
yours do that, but mine only catch the filth in the water (bits of cat food,
cat hair and other gunk). If not washed regularly, they bowls have a
tendancy to get the 'slimey' feel to them. Here in Indiana, we have hard
water due to all the limestone deposits - county south of us is the
Limestone Capital, with quarries and mills scattered all over, and their
limestone was used in Empire State Building, and in the recent rebuilding of
the Pentegon. Down the road from us are a couple of quarries & mills. We
get crusty lime-scale on *everything*. Nothing works but vinegar to get rid
of it (once every 6 months I wash all the drinking glasses & such in the
dishwasher without any added soap, but instead add a cup or two of white
vinegar - they come out sparkly!).

I have run my fountans without filters for a period, when I was out of them
(they're not sold locally here - not even PetsMart, though they have them in
their online store). With *8* cats drinking out of them, they got yuckie
pretty quick. Before the one died, we had it out on the (enclosed) back
porch (or tiled room as Weebs calls it), and one morning I found a *huge*
daddy-long-legs in the bowl, still squirming and spinning in lazy circles.
I fished him out & set him on the back walk. After about a minute, he
wandered off, seemingly un-traumatised by his near-death experiance.

Also, because of Ping, I can no longer put the lids on the filter tower. He
liked to stick his nose up into the spout to drink, flipping the lids off
them, the silly clown. Without the lids, cats can now drink from the tower,
the stream or the bowl. Such variety!

wanders off muttering about spoiled rotten lazy furrballs...

--
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde
in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)©
email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep

Magic Mood Jeep© wrote:
jmcquown wrote:
hadn't cleaned it since before my trip on June 1st and it's now the
14th! Then I noticed the fountain had not got that weird scummy pink
residue on the spout which normally screams within 5-6 days it needs
to be cleaned.

So I took it apart and what did I discover? I'd put the "filter" in
backwards by mistake with the charcoal lining facing inward.
Inserted correctly, the fuzzy part of the filter is usually filled
with this
pink scummy stuff (GW - much like you'd find in an unused toilet if
not brushed out regularly). So the water was still running clear.

I know the info on the fountain says it can be used with or without
the filter. I guess I'm wondering, does having the filter inserted
correctly actually *trap* stuff or does it encourage the growth of it
(and hence the need to buy more filters)? Any thoughts?

Jill

As you know, I have 3 of those fountains - now two as the motor on
the first one I bought finally died a slow and noisy death. Not sure
exactly why yours do that, but mine only catch the filth in the water
(bits of cat food, cat hair and other gunk).

Persia's fountain is in a totally different room from cat food and I've
never seen any residual food in it. I've actually never noticed hair in the
filter or other gunk, either.

regularly, they bowls have a tendancy to get the 'slimey' feel to
them. Here in Indiana, we have hard water due to all the limestone
deposits - county south of us is the Limestone Capital, with quarries
and mills scattered all over, and their limestone was used in Empire
State Building, and in the recent rebuilding of the Pentegon. Down
the road from us are a couple of quarries & mills. We get crusty
lime-scale on *everything*.

We have artesian well water here. Not too hard, not to soft. By all
accounts it's an excellent balance of minerals and other stuff. The one
time I added a bottle of "mineral water" to Persia's fountain it got scummy
very fast. I've never had to use Lime-A-Way or any such thing to lime down
here; we just don't have it.

Nothing works but vinegar to get rid of
it (once every 6 months I wash all the drinking glasses & such in the
dishwasher without any added soap, but instead add a cup or two of
white vinegar - they come out sparkly!).

I have run my fountans without filters for a period, when I was out
of them (they're not sold locally here - not even PetsMart, though
they have them in their online store). With *8* cats drinking out of
them, they got yuckie pretty quick.

Well, that would make sense, especially if yours like to toss toys in there!

Before the one died, we had it
out on the (enclosed) back porch (or tiled room as Weebs calls it),
and one morning I found a *huge* daddy-long-legs in the bowl, still
squirming and spinning in lazy circles. I fished him out & set him on
the back walk. After about a minute, he wandered off, seemingly
un-traumatised by his near-death experiance.

I just tossed one of those ugly cave crickets outside. It was in my bathtub
and looked drowned because I'd turned on the water and it jumped out of the
drain - surprise! The minute I set it on the patio using tissue (unscathed,
even though they give me the total shudders) I heard a bird call. Oh well,
run free ugly cricket, for as long as you can! The birds love you guys as
snacks!

Also, because of Ping, I can no longer put the lids on the filter
tower. He liked to stick his nose up into the spout to drink,
flipping the lids off them, the silly clown.

Ping is a hoot! Very much a Siamese in attitude.

Without the lids, cats
can now drink from the tower, the stream or the bowl. Such variety!

wanders off muttering about spoiled rotten lazy furrballs...

LOL! I'm so glad Persia is content to drink from the spout or the bowl. I
worked with a guy who was lazy about adding any water to his for his one
kitten so he got the refill jug attachment. Then he complained because the
hoolikitten kept knocking the jug over like it was a toy, sending water
everywhere. My response was, don't use the jug, just keep the fountain
filled. He couldn't be bothered. He actually said he woke up in the
mornings to the sounds of the fountain sucking water out like a drain and
*then* he'd refill it. I tried to warn him he'd burn out the motor that
way... just add a cup or so of water a day. Don't know if he listened
(probably not).

Jill

"jmcquown" wrote in message
. ..
I have one for Persia. She loves it. I disassemble and clean it
faithfully
once a week. I use the filters. I checked my calendar; I hadn't cleaned
it
since before my trip on June 1st and it's now the 14th! Then I noticed
the
fountain had not got that weird scummy pink residue on the spout which
normally screams within 5-6 days it needs to be cleaned.

So I took it apart and what did I discover? I'd put the "filter" in
backwards by mistake with the charcoal lining facing inward. Inserted
correctly, the fuzzy part of the filter is usually filled with this pink
scummy stuff (GW - much like you'd find in an unused toilet if not brushed
out regularly). So the water was still running clear.

That's weird, when I got my Drinkwell fountain, the instructions said to
face the charcoal side (the black side) of the filter facing towards the
spout and well so that's how I've been doing it since I've had it.

I think whether or not to use the filter depends on the mineral content of
the tap water you're using. We have very hard water here - so much so that
there is a hard mineral build-up at the water line of the well and on the
"hump" in the middle of the well. I'm thinking about running some vinegar
through to see if I could disolve it, but I'm leery about doing so because
I'm afraid the cats won't use it afterwards if there's the least smell of
vinegar left.

Hugs,

CatNipped

Many people I know have water filters on their taps at home, built-in or
otherwise. I don't. Memphis water comes from artesian wells and is rated
some of the best in the country. I know it tastes good to me, and I drink
a
*lot* of water.

So are the filters necessary with this fountain? The water stayed nice
and
fresh for 2 weeks (being replenished by me every day Persia was here as
the
humidity along with her drinking tends to reduce the water level). The
fountain did not get "scummy" like it did when I had the filter inserted
correctly. It merely needed a quick brushing out with hot water and then
reassembly.

I know the info on the fountain says it can be used with or without the
filter. I guess I'm wondering, does having the filter inserted correctly
actually *trap* stuff or does it encourage the growth of it (and hence the
need to buy more filters)? Any thoughts?

Jill
--
I used to have a handle on life...but it broke off.

Catnipped wrote:
"jmcquown" wrote in message
. ..
So I took it apart and what did I discover? I'd put the "filter" in
backwards by mistake with the charcoal lining facing inward.
Inserted correctly, the fuzzy part of the filter is usually filled
with this pink scummy stuff (GW - much like you'd find in an unused
toilet if not brushed out regularly). So the water was still
running clear.

That's weird, when I got my Drinkwell fountain, the instructions said
to face the charcoal side (the black side) of the filter facing
towards the spout and well so that's how I've been doing it since
I've had it.

Yeah, but I had the charcoal side facing the other direction, away from the
spout. Ooops!

I think whether or not to use the filter depends on the mineral
content of the tap water you're using. We have very hard water here
- so much so that there is a hard mineral build-up at the water line
of the well and on the "hump" in the middle of the well. I'm
thinking about running some vinegar through to see if I could disolve
it, but I'm leery about doing so because I'm afraid the cats won't
use it afterwards if there's the least smell of vinegar left.

Hugs,

CatNipped

Our water seems to be right in the middle. I think I'll try running it
without the filter as a test to see what happens.

Jill