Keep your WaterRower in tip top shape with our WaterRower maintenance guide. The main WaterRower maintenance required is keeping the water tank clean with routine water purification tablets in order to avoid algae. Remove any dust build-up on your rowing machine and routinely check that all the bolts and screws are tight including your recoil belt.
What WaterRower maintenance is required?
- Keeping your WaterRower tank clean
- Keeping your WaterRower dust free
- Checking the bolts and screws are secure
- Checking the recoil belt
- Replacing monitor batteries
- Replacement parts
- Troubleshooting Issues
1. Keeping your WaterRower tank clean
Adding water purification tablets
The main part of WaterRower maintenance is keeping your water tank clean. You can get free tablets from WaterRower. They recommend the Oasis 20-25 liters water purification tablets which contain 167mg troclosene sodium.
Typically you only need to add one water purification tablet to your water tank every 6 months. However, this may vary based on the light conditions your WaterRower is exposed to. It is not recommended to expose your WaterRower to sunlight as this will make the tank dirty quickly.
It is important to only add 1 water purification tablet to your WaterRower tank every 6 months or as per recommendations from WaterRower, as if you add more than the recommended water purification tablets there could be the chance that you may be at risk of damaging the glued seal around your water tank which could result in leaks from the water tank and require a water tank reseal. If your WaterRower tank water is rather dirty then it is better to actually change it than to just add more water purification tablets.
Changing your WaterRower tank water
If the WaterRower tank water is not clear and appears ‘cloudy’ or is dirty then it is a good idea to drain the water from your WaterRower tank using a water siphon and refill using fresh town supply tap water and add a new water purification tablet.
When filling the tank make sure the water level is within the level gauge and that you do not under or over fill the water tank.
You will need a siphon for removing the water from the water tank, below is a good one for this purpose on Amazon.
Check out the video below from WaterRower for instructions for removing the water from the WaterRower tank
2. Keeping your WaterRower dust free
When cleaning your WaterRower as part of WaterRower maintenance, it is best to use a slightly damp cloth and make sure not to use any harsh chemical cleaning products.
- Be careful when cleaning any of the electrical components on your WaterRower like the monitor and sensor. It is best to use a dry cloth for these.
- Basic maintenance for either your WaterRower or other rowing machines like the Concept2 RowErg is the same. After each row or at least once a week, wipe down the handle, seat, rails, seat wheels and frame (including tank).
- Make sure the rails are kept clean to avoid dust build up which will lead to dirty seat wheels, which then leads to faster deterioration of the wheels as well as more noise whilst rowing.
- Ensure that there is no dust build up in the clutch and belt mechanism between the top and bottom decks.
3. Checking your WaterRower bolts and screws are secure
What bolts and screws should I check are tight on my WaterRower?
It is a good idea to routinely check that there are no loose WaterRower bolts and screws as part of your WaterRower maintenance. If you don’t you could possibly run into issues such as paddle rubbing in the water tank. Make sure that you gently tighten the bolts and screws and ensure that you do not over-tighten them!
The wooden models of WaterRower, being a wood product changes to the temperature and humidity of your environment so it is a good idea to check the bolts and screws every so often in order to make sure none of them are loose. Especially during the first few weeks of use if you have just started using your WaterRower. It is also important to check the bolts and screws of the aluminum M1 and stainless steel S1 models also as with lots of use and movement there is also the possibility for the screws to become a little looser after some time.
Check out the WaterRower assembly videos if you are unsure what bolts and screws you should check are tight. It is a good idea to also check the top deck bolts for your water tank assembly which is the two bolts located under the recoil belt attached to your handle (for A1 / S4 versions of WaterRower).
WaterRowers come with 5mm Allen keys in order to tighten the bolts. There is an Allen key stored under the rear spacer of the WaterRower.
4. Checking your WaterRower recoil belt
Checking the WaterRower recoil belt is aligned
The recoil belt is the belt that is attached to your handle which goes around the pulley and then on the other end it attaches to the clutch. Check that the WaterRower belt / strap is correctly aligned on the front pulley as it could be possible to slip and no longer be correctly aligned.
Keeping the WaterRower recoil belt tight
Over time with using your WaterRower you may need to tighten or adjust the WaterRower recoil belt. Below is a detailed video from WaterRower of how to test and tighten your recoil belt.
5. Replacing monitor batteries
The two main monitors that WaterRowers have are:
A1 hybrid which requires 2X AA Batteries
S4 which requires 4X AA Batteries
If the display on the monitor starts to fade or is no longer working then it is a good time to do some WaterRower maintenance and replace the batteries.
Replacing the S4 batteries video from WaterRower can be found here.
Replacing the A1 batteries instructions from WaterRower can be found here.
6. Replacement Parts
WaterRower offer all replacement parts for your WaterRower rowing machine. This is great because if your WaterRower is well maintained it will last decades and you can replace any individual part of the WaterRower that may require replacing.
Replacement parts specific to your model of WaterRower can be found through the WaterRower website.
7. Troubleshooting Issues
WaterRower have excellent guides for troubleshooting issues with your WaterRower at waterrowerservice.com which include all the different WaterRower models. You will also find the WaterRower manuals for your model of WaterRower.
Conclusion: WaterRower Maintenance
Keeping your WaterRower well maintained is quick and easy. It is a good to be aware of these WaterRower maintenance tips in order to keep your WaterRower clean and running smooth. I hope you find these 7 WaterRower maintenance steps helpful and enjoy your WaterRower workout sessions for many years to come!
For further reading and reference, check out the official WaterRower maintenance guide from WaterRower.
WaterRower Natural
If you are new to WaterRower and have come across this WaterRower maintenance article because you were just wondering about what WaterRower maintenance is involved with owning a WaterRower, I hope this guide helps give you peace of mind of the little maintenance that a WaterRower actually requires and it is easy to keep your WaterRower running great.
Check out the WaterRower Natural, WaterRowers most popular model. Hand crafted in the USA from sustainable wood which absorbs sound and vibration, coupled with smooth water resistance makes it a truly natural and enjoyable rowing experience.
