How Often Should You Clean Your Dog’s Bowls?

Dog bowls are easy to overlook. We put food in, the dog eats it, the bowl looks reasonably clean afterwards and it goes back on the floor ready for next time.

Water bowls can fare even worse. The water gets changed, perhaps the bowl gets a quick rinse, and unless there is something visibly floating in it, it doesn’t necessarily look dirty.

The problem is that looking clean and being clean aren’t quite the same thing.

Every time your dog eats or drinks, saliva enters the bowl. Food leaves behind tiny residues, while water bowls collect saliva and whatever else arrives on your dog’s mouth after a day spent licking, sniffing and investigating things we’d probably rather not think about.

Food can introduce bacteria too. Even commercially prepared pet food and treats aren’t guaranteed to be free from harmful germs, so the bowl itself is only one part of the picture. Keeping feeding equipment clean helps stop anything left behind from building up or being carried elsewhere around the kitchen.

None of this means your dog’s bowl is a biological emergency. For most households, it’s simply another piece of kitchenware that needs washing regularly.

What actually grows in a dog bowl?

Bacteria need remarkably little encouragement. Moisture, food residue and a frequently used surface give them plenty to work with.

Various bacteria can find their way into pet bowls through food, the environment and the dog itself. Dogs naturally carry microorganisms in their mouths and elsewhere on their bodies, most of which are completely unremarkable. The concern is that some bacteria can cause illness in animals or humans under the right circumstances.

Over time, microorganisms on a wet surface can also form something called a biofilm. If you’ve ever run a finger around a water bowl and found the inside slightly slippery or slimy despite the water looking perfectly clear, that’s the sort of build-up you’re trying to prevent.

Changing the water won’t necessarily remove what’s attached to the bowl itself. The bowl needs washing.

So, how often should you wash dog bowls?

More often than many of us probably do.

Current guidance from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends cleaning bowls used for wet food after every use, while bowls used for dry food and water should be cleaned daily. The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) recommends washing pet food bowls after each use and water bowls daily.

In practice, it doesn’t need to be complicated. Food bowls should be washed regularly, ideally after they’ve been used, while water bowls need a proper wash each day rather than just having yesterday’s water tipped out and replaced.

For everyday cleaning, warm water and washing-up liquid are enough. Give the inside, outside and rim a good wash, rinse well and leave it to dry. If the bowl is dishwasher safe, that’s an easy option too. Disinfecting it after every meal isn’t necessary for most healthy dogs and households.

The water bowl deserves a wash too

Water bowls are probably the easiest ones to forget because there’s no obvious food left behind.

Fresh water is important, but putting fresh water into a dirty bowl rather defeats the point. Empty it, wash away the residue that collects around the sides and then refill it.

Shared bowls are worth a little extra attention. Two or three dogs drinking from the same bowl means more saliva going into it, so you may find it needs washing or refreshing more often.

Does the material of the bowl matter?

There is a practical difference between bowl materials, although it’s worth being more measured about this than simply declaring one material “bacteria-proof”.

Stainless steel is popular for good reason. It’s durable, non-porous, relatively difficult to damage and usually dishwasher safe. A good-quality glazed ceramic bowl can also be easy to clean, as can glass.

Plastic bowls don’t last forever. Knives and forks aren’t the only things that scratch them; teeth, cleaning and everyday use gradually leave their mark too. Once the surface is badly scratched, it’s harder to get properly clean and probably time to replace it.

The same common sense applies to ceramic. A glazed ceramic bowl is easy to wash while the surface is intact, but chips and cracks are a good reason to retire it.

Ultimately, the best bowl is one you can clean easily and actually do clean regularly. “Antibacterial” on the packaging isn’t a substitute for washing it.

What about slow feeders and lick mats?

Bowls are straightforward. Slow feeders and lick mats can be a bit more fiddly.

All those ridges and grooves that make dinner last longer also give food more places to stick around afterwards. That’s particularly noticeable with wet food and anything smeared onto a lick mat, so check the corners and textured areas rather than assuming a rinse has got everything off.

A small washing-up brush can make life considerably easier, and dishwasher-safe versions have an obvious advantage. Check them periodically for damage too. Deep scratches, splits and chewed areas can become increasingly difficult to clean properly.

It’s not only about the dog

There’s another reason to wash bowls regularly: we handle them too.

Bowls are picked up, put into sinks and placed on kitchen surfaces. We handle dog food, touch the bowl and then potentially touch taps, cupboard handles or other things around the kitchen.

The CDC advises washing your hands after handling pet food, water dishes and other pet supplies. If bowls are washed in the kitchen sink, it’s also sensible to clean the sink and surrounding area afterwards, particularly before preparing human food.

This matters more in households where someone may be more vulnerable to infection, including young children, older people, pregnant people and people with weakened immune systems.

Some dogs need a little more care

A healthy adult dog will encounter bacteria constantly as part of ordinary life. The aim isn’t to create a sterile environment around them.

For most healthy adult dogs, ordinary regular cleaning is enough. It becomes more important to stay on top of things if your dog is unwell, very young or older, or if someone in the household has a weakened immune system. In those situations, cleaning may need to be more frequent and there may be times when disinfecting bowls and other pet equipment is sensible too.

Raw feeding needs a bit more care as well. Raw meat can carry bacteria including Salmonella and Listeria, so bowls, utensils and surfaces that come into contact with it should be cleaned thoroughly afterwards.

The simplest routine is probably the best one

You don’t need specialist cleaning products or a complicated dog-bowl hygiene regime. The main thing is not to let yesterday’s dinner or the film around the water bowl become a permanent feature.

Wash food bowls regularly, give the water bowl a proper clean every day, and use the dishwasher when the bowl allows it.

It’s a very small household habit for something your dog puts their face into several times a day.

And if reading this has made you suddenly remember the water bowl in the kitchen, you’re probably not the only one.