A dirty water cooler can harbor all kinds of unmentionables, including bacteria that has the potential to make you, your family, or your employees terribly sick. The good news? A new kind of water system offers a safer, easy alternative — and it's more affordable than you think.

Add 1 cup of vinegar to about 2 litres of hot water and use a soft, clean cloth to wipe the inside of the reservoir. Then drain all excess water from the cooler's taps. Alternatively, you can use 1 tablespoon of household bleach dissolved in 3 litres of water.

If your workplace switched to using filtered tap water instead, you could lower your water bill and carbon footprint significantly. According to Quench's Cost Comparison Calculator, bottleless water cooler rentals cost about $542, and a bottleless water cooler purchase is $1,410.