# How come drinking fountains never work?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 20, 2007, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784 "2007-03-20T22:19:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/1 "2007-03-20T22:19:23Z")
Okay, an exaggeration, but not much of one. A good 90% of drinking fountains I’ve encountered require that you force your lips upon the germ-infested metal spout and vacuum up the water because the pressure is so low that you can’t get any water otherwise. What’s the problem? ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/2 "2007-03-20T23:12:17Z")
Where do you live? I’ve never encountered that problem. The water pressure may be inadequate. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/3 "2007-03-20T23:35:37Z")
I know what you mean, **Cagey**. I’d say the majority of water fountains I encounter aren’t functioning properly, and I always wonder what the major technological flaw is. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/4 "2007-03-20T23:42:22Z")
Maybe cause the filter has never been changed and it’s clogged and calcified. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/5 "2007-03-20T23:43:46Z")
Because those responsible for installing and maintaining them never need to drink from them? ---
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/6 "2007-03-21T00:40:36Z")
Almost never have that problem ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/7 "2007-03-21T00:51:50Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] Because those responsible for installing and maintaining them never need to drink from them? [/QUOTE] I’ll blame it on the water bottle craze. I recently took my mother of a procedure at a medical office building. The drinking fountain in the hall was something that I could not get a drink out of. I got my water (for a 6 hour wait from the nurse’s station where they had their own water dispenser). The drinking fountain is going the same way as public phones. - Bring your own water and communication. Toilets are next I suppose 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/8 "2007-03-21T00:56:10Z")
Most of my bubblers work just fine. The ones that dont are probably a result of poor maintenance. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/9 "2007-03-21T01:37:10Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] Most of my bubblers work just fine. The ones that dont are probably a result of poor maintenance. [/QUOTE] Poor maintenance would be my guess too. Then there’s the problem of bubblers that work **too** well. You lean down, turn it on, and get an industrial-strength jet of water in your face. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/10 "2007-03-21T23:42:54Z")
Most bubblers here are being fazed out, so when the malfunction, they rather remove them. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/11 "2007-03-22T00:03:05Z")
What I have encountered is, not water pressure that is consistently low, but water pressure that changes suddenly, presumably due to someone turning on the water somewhere else in the building. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/12 "2007-03-22T00:18:52Z")
Because most of them are located in venues where people are more than happy to sell you water, the second most abundant natural resource on the planet, for $1.25 per liter? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/13 "2007-03-25T19:37:14Z")
[QUOTE=enipla] I’ll blame it on the water bottle craze. [/QUOTE] That’s a shame, because I often will refill a water bottle from said fountains when I’m out. Our tap water here tastes AWFUL, so we buy water, and when I’m at work, I take a long a bottle and generally keep it filled all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/14 "2007-03-26T02:00:22Z")
[QUOTE=Bill Door] the second most abundant natural resource on the planet [/QUOTE] What’s the first? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/15 "2007-03-26T02:12:39Z")
Sand? ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/16 "2007-03-26T02:19:23Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] What’s the first? [/QUOTE] I’d venture to guess either air or dirt. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/17 "2007-03-26T12:46:57Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] What’s the first? [/QUOTE] Stupidity. No, really, take a look around. In fact, it’s the abundance of the first that permits the high prices on the second. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/18 "2007-03-26T13:42:54Z")
I just find it interesting that a few of you in this thread have referred to drinking fountains as [bubblers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubbler). Being a Milwaukee native this is the term that I grew up with and was always told by outsiders that the rest of the world calls them drinking fountains. Now I see an Aussie poster, an Orlando poster and someone else call them bubblers. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/19 "2007-03-26T14:00:47Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] I just find it interesting that a few of you in this thread have referred to drinking fountains as [bubblers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubbler). Being a Milwaukee native this is the term that I grew up with and was always told by outsiders that the rest of the world calls them drinking fountains. Now I see an Aussie poster, an Orlando poster and someone else call them bubblers. [/QUOTE] I was thinking the exact same thing. I thought it was just us ☹ . ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784/20 "2007-03-26T14:10:40Z")
It’s a bubbler in New England as well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-drinking-fountains-never-work/396784.md?page=2)