Abstract: The cleaning compound for a water dispenser includes four ingredients: a) N′alkyl dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride, within the range of 0.08 to 0.1% by weight; b) citric acid, of about 20% by weight of the total solution; c) propylene glycol (food grade), about 4% by weight; and d) sodium hydroxide (food grade), in sufficient quantity to neutralize the solution to a pH range preferably between 2.6 and 4.5. During the initial clean-up steps, and contrarily to prior art cleaning methods, the cleaning method does not require complete purge of the inner water reservoir from drinking water, due to the tacky nature of the cleaning compound which can still be effective in diluted state and in a submerged environment.