While it pretty much goes unsaid, frequently deep cleaning a commercial kitchen is an absolute must! Surprisingly, some Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania restauranteurs tend to avoid this essential practice, which dramatically effects their ability to maintaining a healthy, hygienically clean environment. Discover why you must regularly deep clean your commercial kitchen or call Enviro-Master Pittsburgh today for the very best in commercial hygiene cleaning services!
The Importance Of Regular Restaurant Cleaning
While the proverbial buck may stop at the White House desk of the President of The United States, literal bucks earned by restaurants stop or are seriously curtailed by a lack of attention to cleaning and sanitizing their spaces.
While many (if not most) restaurant managers are fastidious in this regard and follow industry standards to the letter, there are enough of those who don’t to make this article important for all Pittsburgh restaurant managers to read.
Adhering to both Health Department requirements and CDC guidance is critical to the daily operations of any Pittsburgh commercial kitchen because these regulations concern heavily trafficked spaces, each of which demands obeisance to specific cleaning protocols.
Adopting a list that is religiously followed is an effective way to maintain cleaning and sanitation standards in addition to following the directives of the professionals at Enviro-Master Pittsburgh (Enviro-Pitt) for their tried and true advice, and superior products and services.
The focus of restaurant cleaning must always concern the prevention of food-borne illnesses.
The outbreak of E. coli and the Norovirus have affected the reputations and long-term success of many restaurants throughout the United States, including the Chipotle chain, which is still struggling to clear its name years after a widespread E. coli scandal.
Restaurant cleanliness begins with great staff training, but should always be coupled with ongoing, professional deep cleaning and sanitizing services.
An effective cleaning schedule is one that includes a daily, weekly and monthly agenda for each area of the restaurant.
This is a big job to establish but once it becomes familiar to all staff, it will save time and avoid trouble in the end.
Pittsburgh restaurant owners should not wait for a bad health score to happen before setting a very high bar on food safety.
They must find the time to research health department standards and use them as guidelines to establish a food safety and cleaning regimen in their particular restaurant.
Check with the department that conducts health inspections in your location and get a complete list of what an inspector will be looking for when evaluating your restaurant.
Some daily chores that are recommended by the experts at Enviro-Master Pittsburgh include: wiping down walls and other equipment; washing utensils, cleaning sinks; disinfecting prep area surfaces and sweeping and mopping floors.
Weekly assignments should concern at the very least: the use of drain cleaner on the floor drains; washing and sanitizing walk in refrigerators and freezers and de-liming sinks and faucets.
Every month refrigerator coils should be cleaned in order to remove dust buildup, coffee and expresso machines and freezers need to be cleaned and sanitized.
Specific Issues With Cleaning Commercial Kitchens
There are 5 specific problem areas when it comes to the proper maintenance of commercial kitchens.
They are not necessarily in order of importance: cooking equipment issues; fryer temperature problems; dishwasher malfunction, clogged sinks and refrigerator ‘situations’.
Cooking Equipment
Most of the problems arising from cooking equipment in a commercial kitchen concern overheating.
If a fryer is heating up too high or cannot maintain its heat, this will have a domino effect, as food will not cook correctly, diners will become annoyed and a restaurant’s reputation can be seriously impaired.
An external thermostat can help to relieve this problem which tends to occur when the filter on the appliance in question isn’t cleaned properly or often enough.
This can be easily prevented by making sure that weekly. cleaning of filters and vents is an item on the maintenance list.
Commercial Dishwasher Not Cleaning Properly
The most common issue is the appliance’s sudden inability to clean dishes properly. Failure to do so effectively can be the result of a faulty spray arm, blocked filter or the use of the wrong type of detergent.
Proper cleaning of filters and making sure the recommended detergent is the one being used can prevent this from happening and save considerable aggravation.
Clogged Sinks
Due to the copious amount off food being processed in a commercial kitchen on any given day, restaurant sinks tend to clog much more frequently than a residential kitchen sink.
Drain blocks are serious problems that can happen at any time if a routine agenda is not in place.
A drain can be healthy and clear at all times with just little help from a plunger, the use of a drain serve and potent, effective drain cleaning solutions.
If these strategies do not work, it’s time to call in the professional reinforcements at Enviro-Pitt.
Refrigeration Issues
The best way to prevent commercial refrigerator, freezer or cooler issues is routine maintenance.
This involves checking gaskets and air filters often, as too much dirt and grease is the downfall of a working gasket and can block the filter, which stops air from properly ventilating.
Experts recommend cleaning the refrigeration condenser and evaporator coils every few months, with a brush or vacuum.
Why Pittsburgh Businesses Turn To Enviro-Master Pittsburgh
We are a leading provider of commercial restroom services and are partnered with the experts of ambient air-care, Air-Scent International.
We are dedicated to providing effective sanitation and cleaning services for all commercial spaces, large or small.
We thrive on the mantra that sanitized and hygienic restrooms lead to happier employees, healthier customers and better restaurant business returns and operations.
In addition to our many cleaning options, we also offers superior environmental odor control and air-freshening strategies.
In the words of the proud Enviro-Master Pittsburgh franchise owner, Arnold Zlotnik:
“Enviro-Master brings outstanding products with service innovations and a reputation for excellence that our customers will appreciate. We are now able to meet a greater range of needs within our customer base and we can branch out within our community and the tri-state area with a full complement of hygiene services solutions.”
For Pittsburgh and western PA businesses, we provide a wide array of restroom hygiene services that include: tile and grout deep cleaning; restroom cleaning; fruit fly and drain control; soaps and sanitizers; paper products and highly effective commercial air-fresheners and odor control products.
Whether the business in question be a commercial kitchen or any other type of operation that serves the public, our work always begins where the cleaning crew leaves off because the job is simply too big and too complex for a busy business manager and limited custodial staff to handle on their own.
Why Are Our Cleaning Strategies The Best Available?
We service businesses of all types throughout Pittsburgh, western Pennsylvania and surrounding tri-state areas.
We always work in conjunction with a company’s janitorial staff, even though the Sani-Services program technically picks up where they leave off.
It is no mark against their efforts or skill, as it is impossible for standard commercial cleaning chemicals to eliminate bacteria from the deep pores of porcelain fixtures and other areas such as tile and grout.
Our highly trained technicians insure that a restaurant’s bathroom is completely sanitized and free from pathogens, and our Sani-service provides the deepest, most thorough cleaning possible.
Products treat all porcelain fixtures and remove built-up uric acid and trapped bacteria. A germicidal coating is generously applied to urinals, toilets and sinks, which are all hot beds for germs and gram-positive bacteria. But our Sani-services don’t end here.
The finishing touch is a Sani-Guard germicidal fog, which has a dual function.
It protects bathroom surfaces and prevents them from absorbing germs until the experts at Enviro-Pitt return on their next monthly visit.
In Conclusion
Simplicity can be the key to happiness within a busy restaurant where little time is delegated to what may seem like minor details.
It is all these little things, however, like checking and filling air fresheners and replacing urinal screens, that can mushroom into a bad review, which can ruin a restauran’t’s heard earned reputation.
The Sani-Service Program can indirectly both affect and improve workplace health and morale, positive, diner experiences and an upward trend in that all-important bottom line.
If you are a Pittsburgh restaurant owner or manager, give our teams a call today.
You will experience the lifting pf a load off your shoulders as they relive you of important operational tasks that will help to maintain the ultimate success of your restaurant.
Photo Credits: Pixabay