The restaurant profession is undoubtedly a place of constant development and learning, but it can easily become a nightmare on busy days. Working with so many people and catering to large groups of customers may cause tension to rise and things to spiral out of control. During busy days, your restaurant's processes and plans can break down if you aren’t prepared for the restaurant cleaning services because restaurant cleanliness is always not on anyone's priority list.
6 Neglected Areas You Should Clean Right Now In A Restaurant!
Edomey Enterprises Ltd. - Jay Do
1. Soda Fountain Machine
It makes no difference whether your soda fountain is customer-facing or if your personnel provide beverages to your consumers. The dispenser nozzles (where the beverage exits into the cup) may get filthy very rapidly. And since the syrup is essentially a sugar solution, it provides an ideal environment for the development of a variety of undesirable organisms that thrive on sugary syrup.
Coca-Cola, one of the world's major providers of soda fountains to the restaurant sector, gives thorough instructions for the maintenance and cleaning of your soda fountain.. The dispenser should be cleaned everyday, even though certain activities are indicated for a weekly or monthly cleaning plan, according to their instructions.
Therron Foley, director of the Coca-Cola North America Foodservice Quality Group, states, "Implementing complete hygienic measures produces a favourable impression with visitors." Every time your dispenser pours a drink, you can count on it to have a great taste.
The tutorial begins with some great advice: Make sure you're washing your hands after using the restroom.
It's a little detail, yet it's one that gets forgotten all too frequently. Washing your hands is a good way to prevent the spread of germs.
The actual procedure for cleaning the dispenser is rather simple. Remove the nozzles and diffusers from the device first. To remove any dried-on debris, use a brush to scrub them clean. They advise scrubbing the pieces with a chlorine-based sanitizer and then soaking them for at least three minutes.
They should be rinsed and dried before being reinstalled. Isn't that clear?
The outside of the dispenser, including the drop pan and the ice chute, should be cleaned daily by Coca-Cola. Emptying and cleaning the ice bin is also advised, with specific focus on the bin's sides. "Slime" is a common problem with ice makers and bins. I'll get to it in a moment.
2. Menu
As a component of the whole eating experience, a restaurant menu is typically vital. There are restaurants that go to great pains to develop the ideal menu in order to highlight all of their delectable offerings.
Menus, on the other hand, may be the most potent disease vector in a dining establishment. They are often handled by a large number of individuals, but are seldom replaced or well cleaned.
Several studies have shown that viruses that cause colds and flus may live on hard surfaces for up to 18 hours. So you may not merely be dealing with the germs of the last person who handled your menu. All of those people who have had contact with that menu in the previous day or longer might have germs on your hands!
There are 100 times more germs on restaurant menus than on the toilet seats, according to an investigation by Good Morning America. The average number of germs on menus was 185,000, according to swabs taken from the items.
What are your options?
Keep a supply of new menus on hand if you use paper ones. Paper can't be disinfected without ruining the aesthetic of the menu.
However, there are alternatives. You may start by laminating your menus. However, this may be costly and time-consuming, particularly if you constantly update your menu. Consider a menu cover as an option.
Using a plastic or vinyl menu cover to protect your menu and keep your guests healthy may be precisely what you need.
Cleaning and sanitizing menu covers is a rather simple process. Menus in covers may need to be cleaned many times every shift because of how often they are used and how much germs and bacteria they store. At the very least, they should be properly cleaned every day.
3. High Chair
In particular, we like young youngsters. Let's face it: kids are disease vectors that can infect whatever they come into contact with.
When it comes to restaurants, high chairs and booster seats might be among the dirtiest items on the premises. A lack of proper cleaning and disinfection procedures is also a common problem in many eateries.
And to top it all off, cleaning high chairs may be a real pain. A variety of materials may be used to make these seats, such as wood, plastic, and metal. As a further option, certain high chairs may be covered with cloth. Each of these materials may need a different method of cleaning."
You should concentrate your cleaning efforts on the eating tray if there is one. These are normally composed of plastic and may be readily cleaned and sterilised. Each time you use one of these trays, make sure to give it a thorough cleaning.
Wooden chairs must be cleaned on a regular basis to keep them in good condition. Bleach or vinegar in a weak solution may be used as a cleaner. Consult the manufacturer for cleaning instructions specific to your product.
You'll want to avoid bleaching your high chair if it's made of cloth.
The restraint system is one of the most difficult things to clean. This kind of bag is notoriously tough to clean because of the tight fit and many crevices that it has. Even when the waste consists only of food, this may be a difficult task. It becomes harmful, though, if the mixture contains body fluids (which is not uncommon, alas).
When cleaning your child's high chair or booster seat, take additional care to be thorough. A reputation for making your consumers ill is the worst thing that can happen to your business.
4. Ice Machine
Ice machines have a bad reputation for being filthy and difficult to maintain. Modern ice producers have improved greatly in their ability to keep restaurants' ice clean and safe, but any piece of equipment that is neglected may quickly become a health hazard. Ice machines aren't the only ones that fall under this category.
Many sites recommend that you clean and empty your ice maker's bin every day. Unfortunately, beginning each day with an empty ice bucket may become an issue if your restaurant is open for more than 12 hours each day of the week or month. You may not be able to make enough ice in time to meet demand depending on your equipment.
Even so, it doesn't imply that you shouldn't clean the bin at some point in the process. Definitely do so. When it comes to food safety, this is one of the sites that inspectors pay the most attention to.
The bin should be cleaned as often as possible, following the manufacturer's recommendations. As a rule of thumb, most firms should operate on a weekly basis.
The ice scoop, however, is an often-overlooked feature of the modest ice maker.
They come into touch with employees' hands and may cause issues once they're embedded in the ice itself, regardless of whether they're metal or plastic. Conveniently located near food preparation areas such as soda fountains, ice scoops are prone to contamination.
The good news is that this is a simple issue to fix. Washing ice scoops on a daily basis is recommended. Most can be washed in a dishwasher. And a preferable practise would be to replace out the scoop once a shift.
Any additional equipment you utilize to make, transfer, or serve ice to your clients should be treated with the same caution. A commercial ice machine at the rear of many restaurants, for example, is then moved to individual bins or serving stations. It's common practise to use a bucket or similar big container for this. To prevent any issues, these containers must be cleaned everyday as well.
5. Can Openers
Using a can opener is a must when preparing meals at home. These huge cans regularly spill their contents, which ends up on the blade and handle. Most of the time, the contents of these cans are food items. When food ingredients are left on a surface for even a short length of time, they may pose a health threat.
There are a lot of can openers in the kitchen as well. Cross-contamination may occur as a result of this. All of this is terrible.
Fortunately, cleaning and maintaining your can opener is a simple process that only takes a few minutes. The blade is the most important part to keep an eye on. Cans are sliced open by use of a knife blade. The blade often comes into touch with the can's contents because it punctures the can. If you take care of your can opener, it will last for many years.
Dishwasher-safe can openers like the Edlund one seen in the video below come apart effortlessly. When it comes to keeping your can opener clean, a little attention to detail goes a long way.
6. Everything on the Tabletop
Last but not least, we have the finest and the worst. Nearly anything on a restaurant tables may harbour bacteria, pathogens, and other unpleasantness.
Begin with the salt and pepper shakers, of course. Many hands touch these items even if no one thinks about them. And since they are so close to food, they become dirty quite quickly.
The GMA research we cited previously indicated that the pepper shaker was the second most germ-infested item.
Salt and pepper shakers are notoriously difficult to clean. Only by using two sets of shakers can you be confident that these things have been fully cleaned. If the product is not clearly contaminated, it may be removed from the old shakers and poured into the clean shakers. Disinfect the soiled shakers by putting them in the dishwasher. Repeat the lathering, rinsing, and drying process at least once weekly.
This is a time-consuming, manual technique that you seldom see in restaurants. However, if you don't do anything to clean the shakers, you can be sure that they are filthy.
Speaking of disgusting, I once saw a kid lick the top of a slice of Parmesan cheese after shaking it into his lips. After the family had departed, I informed the waitress about this and hoped she would remove the shaker. Nope. A dishcloth was all that was needed to clean things up. I shivered in my seat.
*Additional Future Fear: Touchscreens and Kiosks
The future is already here, even though it seems like a long time away to some. Kiosks and other touchscreens are becoming more ubiquitous in restaurants as we move toward self-service. Ordering, tabletop entertainment, and paying the bill are all done using them. And they may be full with bacteria.
Every touchscreen ordering kiosk that they tested at McDonald's restaurants in the UK was found to have faecal germs, according to a report from the UK.
In an investigation of this problem, QSRWeb, a journal servicing the quick service restaurant business, advocated for updated sanitary requirements to meet this rising trend.
All these kiosks are constantly being touched by customers. Crystal Swanson, CEO of CSA Service Solutions, argues that sanitation awareness is critical.
For the foodservice business, as you can see, this is an ever-changing field. In order to ensure the safety of our clients and staff, we must all keep an eye on the situation and adapt as necessary.
Contact Edomey | Restaurant Cleaning Services at 604 715-3486 for professional cleaning services in Vancouver.