How often should you wash your dog s water bowl

How Often Should I Wash My Dog's Food And Water Bowls?

AuthorChris Cole

You wouldn't eat off a dirty plate, even if it was used just once, right? So why are we so lax about making sure our pets eat from clean bowls at every meal? A2011 study conducted by NSF Internationalfound pet bowls to be the #4 germiest place in the home. Pathogens found in dog bowls include mold, yeast, e.coli, salmonella and SerratiaMarcescens (you may see this pink stuff form a ring around the water bowl.)

Why You Don't Want Dirty Dog Bowls In Your Home

Your dog's digestive system is actually well-equipped to handle pathogens. Bacteria like salmonella rarely survive the highly acidic environment of a dog's stomach, and the dog's short digestive system allows bacteria to pass through without adequate time to overpopulate. So, if you forget to wash your dog's bowl after a meal sometimes, it's unlikely that they will be affected.Regardless, your dog can still be affected by microbes found in their bowls. especially if they are in ill health or well into their senior years. Some dogs develop acne on their chin as a result of unclean bowls. Bacteria can contribute to infections throughout your dog's body, from ear infections to urinary infections, all conditions that can be easily avoided with regular washing.Dirty dog bowls aren't great for the rest of your household, either. If you have small children, they may touch the dog's bowls while they're playing on the floor, and then may put their fingers in their mouth. Adults with compromised immune systems are also at risk for disease from close contact with unclean bowls. Food particles can also attract pests, and can create pungent odours that you may not even notice - but guests will.

The Best Bowls To Keep Bacteria At Bay

Plastic bowls are the hardest to keep clean. They tend to accumulate tiny nicks and scratches, in which bacteria can build up. If you must use them, clean them frequently, and replace them every few months.Ceramic and stainless steel bowls are best because they are non-porous and easy to sanitize. They can last the rest of your dog's life if cared for properly. Ceramic bowls can crack if dropped, in which case, they should be replaced as soon as possible.It's best to purchase a few sets of bowls so you can use a spare pair while others are in the wash. That way, your hungry dog won't have to wait for you to clean their bowls before dinner is served.

How Often To Wash Your Dog's Bowls

How To Sanitize Your Dog's Bowls

It's important that you not only remove food particles and obvious debris from your dog's bowl, but also pathogens and build-up. To do this, you can't just clean the dog's bowls, you also need to sanitize them.Washing your dog's bowls with hot, soapy water, using the same dish detergent that you use on your own dishes, will work just fine. You can use a separate sponge for the dog's bowls if you'd prefer not to get kibble granules on your dinner plates.For especially stubborn debris, you can soak the bowls in a solution of water and bleach, just one tablespoon per gallon of water will do the trick. Make sure to completely rinse away the bleach solution and dry the bowls before using. You can also put most dog bowls in a household dishwasher.

How Often Should You Wash Your Dog's Bowl?

What happens if I dont wash my dogs bowl regularly?

Luckily, your dog has an incredibly strong digestive system, which is prepared to handle all types of germs and bacteria. So, if youve ever wondered why they arent poorly after eating their own poop or vomit thats probably why!

Forgetting to wash your dogs bowl now and again shouldnt cause any problems, however, the sooner you can get into a routine of washing your dogs bowl after every meal, the better.

Whats more, young children are at risk of picking up nasty germs from pet bowls if theyre left unclean all the more reason to give your dogs food bowl a good soak and scrub!

Does my dogs age affect how often their bowl should be washed?

Older and younger pups tend to have weaker immune systems, therefore theyre likely to be affected more by bad bacteria in their food bowls. If you have a young pup or senior doggie, be extra cautious and keep on top of cleaning their food bowls after every meal.

So, how often should I wash my dogs bowls?

Sometimes it can be difficult to stay on top of cleaning your dogs bowls, which is why its a great idea to get into a routine and stick to it. As a rule of thumb, follow these guidelines for how often you should wash your dog's bowls, as it can vary depending on what theyre used for:

Your Dogs Wet Food Bowl:

These bowls need to be cleaned with soap and water after each meal.

Your Dogs Dry Dog Bowl:

These food bowls can be washed at the end of each day.

Your Pups Water Bowl:

These bowls should be cleaned a minimum of once a day and replenished with fresh water.

Your Dogs Feeding Mat:

Regularly wipe this down throughout the day and clean it at least once a day to protect your floor or carpet from spillages.

Cater to your dogs mealtimes

You can never have enough dog food bowls, right? Theyre something your pup uses every single day, so its handy to have a few of them. To save time in between meals, its always a great idea to have spare so your pup isnt waiting for you to clean or dry them when its dinner time.

We know that dinnertime is one of your pups favourite times of the day, so to make it even more tail-waggingly exciting, check out Yappys pawsome range of personalised dog bowls! From heavy and durable ceramic bowls to stainless steel bowls, weve got a huge choice of fun and colourful designs to choose from.

Why not pair your dogs new bowl with a personalised feeding mat too? Available in a selection of vibrant designs, including photo-upload, theyre not just perfect for minimising mess at mealtimes, but they look fantastic on display in the home.

How Often Should You Clean Your Dogs Bowl?

Most dog owners will begrudgingly admit that they probably dont wash or clean their dogs food bowl nearly as much as they should. As much as we love our canine friends, we tend to believe that they have stomachs of steel and so regularly washing the bowls from which they eat and drink is not necessary like it is for our own crockery. However, dogs have far more sensitive stomachs than many of us realise and, while it is so easy to fall into the habit of just filling up our dogs bowl day after day, we should really be washing their bowl as often as possible.

This is a guide to how often you should clean your dogs bowl, and why. We list the benefits and reasons why we really should be washing their dog bowls regularly. Hopefully, by understanding what there is to gain from keeping their bowls clean, we will do it more often.

How Often Should You Clean Your Dogs Bowl?

In short, dog bowls should be cleaned every day if possible. While this amount can change depending on what type of dog food we give our dogs for example raw food versus dry kibble harmful bacteria can still grow regardless of the food type so that they should really all be wiped down at least once a day. This will really help keep harmful bacteria at bay which can do wonders for your dogs longer term health and well being.

So how can the type of food you give your dog affect the amount your wash your dogs food bowl? Raw food like uncooked mince, raw meat, bone marrow or eggs should all be seen as the type of food that requires more cleaning and more regularly too. However, the majority of us probably feed our dogs dry kibble given the ease and benefits this type of food offers our dogs. Happily, this type of food means that owners do not need to wash their dogs bowls as often, though it does still need to be wiped down daily to keep bacteria at bay. It is the wet nature of some dog food and raw meat that can mean the harmful bacteria, which breed in such environments, do so with ease and then our poor dogs continue to eat out from these dirty bowls.

Take a look at our review of Elevated Dog Bowls and Slow Feeder Dog Bowls for more info.

Other Ideas to Take on Board

In addition to either wiping down or cleaning your dogs bowl daily, it is recommended to put both their water bowl and feeding bowl through your dishwasher at least once a week to make use of the searingly hot water temperatures that dishwashers use. This means that any harmful bacteria that are lurking there are killed off. In the case where dogs are fed raw food or wet food, bowls will need to be put through more often, especially in the cases where they are eating raw meat. Owners with dogs on such diets are advised to put their bowls through the dishwasher about once every three days.

The trick is to get into the habit of putting their bowls through the dishwasher as this gives them such a good clean you will notice far more quickly when they are in need of a wipe thus making you clean them more regularly. Bacteria are therefore kept to a minimum in this way and dont have a chance to breed.

However, when you put your dogs bowl through the washer, try to steer clear of harmful and strong soaps or detergents with very powerful chemicals. Any tabs that have strong smells too are a good idea to avoid as these fragrances can actually put our dogs off their food which is something we obviously want to avoid. There are detergents on the market that can stand up to the bacteria that dog bowls have on them whilst being kind to our dogs stomachs and noses.

What is a good idea, if you are really struggling to find such a cleaning substance, is simply to put the bowl through the dishwasher when there is no soap or tablet in it at all. It is the heat of the water that provides a great deal of the muscle to rid the bowl of nasty bacteria. While it may seem wasteful, if you put the bowl in on its own and just on a quick or eco wash, you will actually be doing your dishwasher some good by giving it the opportunity to clean out the filters and other pipes that can easily collect food and waste when put on a full wash each time it is used.

Taking into account what your dogs bowl is made of is also crucial when figuring out how often your dogs bowl needs washing. As a general rule, ceramic bowls need cleaning more often than stainless steel bowls and plastic bowls harbor many more bacteria than is often initially thought owing to being easily scratched to form nasty breeding grounds. Ironically, stainless steel bowls, while the easiest to clean, are the bowls we are more likely to clean more regularly as the show dirt and usage more clearly.

Additionally, if you feed your dog on a dog food mat, ensure that you wipe this down too or put it through the washing machine if it is fabric. They harbor all of the same bacteria that their bowls do.

Cleaning Your Dogs Bowl

Getting into the habit of cleaning your dogs bowl with a daily wipe and a weekly wash in the dishwasher is therefore good to do as soon as possible. Unfortunately, getting out of the habit is far easier given the ease that we all feed our dogs with it is often more muscle memory than conscious thought so it is simple to forget to then clean their bowl too.

Its helpful to try to remember the benefits therefore to washing your dogs bowl. By ridding their bowl of harmful bacteria, they will suffer far less from upset stomachs and other ailments that come from having their digestive systems trying to cope with added nasties in their systems.

Given that we can help their overall health therefore, simply by being mindful of their dog bowl, we all have the best motivation possible to remember to clean their bowls you will have a happier healthier dog because of it!