Buyer’s guide: Choosing the right touchless water dispenser

Published: Nov 14, 2025

Culligan Quench’s product lineup includes a plethora of touchless water dispensers for your workforce and customers. Some of our touchless products are sensor-activated, some require foot pedals, and some can even be activated with a smartphone. Although the variety of touchless features gives you lots of flexibility to make more personalized pours, the variety of units available can be overwhelming to those who aren’t well versed in water cooler lingo. What’s the advantage of choosing paddles over pedals? When is it right to choose SensorSafe over a Position Sensitive Detector? What do any of those words even mean?! Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Review our buyer’s guide below to find the right touchless water dispenser for your workplace facility or manufacturing plant.

You can choose between five main types of touchless water dispensers for your office or workplace. Those technologies include…

Position Sensitive Detector (PSD) or Sensor-Activated Dispensing: These machines are sensor activated. To dispense, simply hover a hand over the sensor panel on your machine.
SensorSafe: This type of technology uses infrared sensor dispensing and is available as an add-on to certain machines. Simply hover a glass, hand, or bottle in front of the infrared sensor panel to dispense water.
Dual-Action Foot Pedals: With dual-action foot pedals, users press down on pedals on the floor to dispense cold water, hot water, or ice.
QR Codes and Phone Apps: Touchless water dispensers with QR codes allow users to scan a QR code on the interface screen of your water machine and control the dispensing right from their smartphone.
Paddles: Users press the side of their drinkware to a paddle on their water machines to release a steady flow of filtered water.

Each technology listed above can satisfy different business needs, and all can help prevent the spread of germs in your workplace. Visit Culligan Quench’s Office Cleaning Guide to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 to discover more ways to prevent the spread of germs in your office.

Choosing the best touchless water dispenser for your workplace or manufacturing plant

Touchless Technology	Ideal Industries	Main Advantages	Daily Number of Users
Position Sensitive Detector (PSD) – Available in Q4 (Freestanding Only) – Available in Q8 (Freestanding or Countertop) – Available in Q12 (Freestanding Only)	Healthcare Manufacturing Professional Services Gyms Retail Salons & Spas Government Education	Dispenses: – Hot & cold quenchWATER+ – Ambient quenchWATER+ (Q12 only) Key Features: – Touch or hover activation – LED UV-C self-cleaning + antimicrobial protection Customer Perk: – Ideal for employees wearing gloves/PPE	<25 <50 <100
SensorSafe (Standard Capacity Ice Machines) – 970 Series hands-free lid (Freestanding or Countertop)	Healthcare Manufacturing Small Offices Salons & Spas Professional Services Government	Dispenses: – Cold water & ice Key Features: – Lower installation cost – Install almost anywhere Customer Perks: – Easy upgrade for existing 970 customers – Good for glove/PPE environments	<25
SensorSafe (Commercial Capacity Ice Machine) – 980 Series (Freestanding or Countertop)	Education Food Services Hospitality Gyms Manufacturing Healthcare	Dispenses: – Cold water & ice Key Features: – 425 lbs. of nugget ice daily Customer Perks: – Ideal for high-traffic areas – Suitable for glove/PPE environments	<200
Pedals – Available in 960 & 950	Finance Retail Salons & Spas Professional Services Government	Dispenses: – Ambient, hot water & ice Key Feature: – Culligan Quench filtration Customer Perk: – Easy touchless upgrade for 950/960 users	<50
QR Codes (Smartphone Operated) – Available in Bevi (Freestanding or Countertop)	Tech Startups Professional Services Gyms Retail Salons & Spas	Dispenses: – Flavored, sparkling & plain water Key Features: – QR-code touchless dispensing – Mix up to four flavors – Intuitive customization UI Customer Perk: – Perfect for Bevi rental customers	<100
Paddles (Standard Capacity) – Available in the Q5 (Freestanding or Countertop)	Healthcare Manufacturing Small Offices Gyms Retail Salons & Spas Professional Services	Dispenses: – Hot & cold quenchWATER+ Key Features: – Cost-effective germ reduction – LED UV-C + antimicrobial protection Customer Perk: – Simple, sanitary upgrade	<50

Advanced filtration

As you might have noticed, many of the touchless water dispensers listed above come with advanced filtration technologies. Advanced filtration technologies, built-in sanitization features, and touchless features work interdependently to make sure the water that ends up in your employees’ drinkware is as clean as possible.

Four of the touchless machines we mentioned (the Q4, Q5, Q8, and the Q12) even produce a special reverse osmosis (RO) mineral-infused and electrolyte-enhanced water called quenchWATER+. When you drink quenchWATER+, you nourish your body with water free of impurities and full of healthy, refreshing minerals. quenchWATER+ is particularly beneficial for manufacturing plant workers who spend most of their days on their feet or lifting heavy objects. The minerals and electrolytes in quenchWATER+ can help maintain body fluid balance, muscle contraction, and neural activity—all essential to support a body during demanding physical activity.

Upgrading from touch to touchless

The process of upgrading to a touchless water dispenser will vary depending on the machines you are currently renting and the touchless machines you want replacing your current units. Most Culligan Quench bottleless water coolers can be upgraded to touchless with a simple add-on like a hands-free lid or a dual-action foot pedal. Contact your local water expert or fill out a get a free quote form to find the perfect touchless water dispenser for your workplace.

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