Best Cleaning Practices for Restaurants and Commercial Kitchens
Cleanliness isn’t just a virtue; in restaurants and commercial kitchens, it’s essential. Proper cleaning practices lower the risk of foodborne illnesses, ensure your business meets health regulations, help operations run smoothly, and reduce the chance of a harsh review on Yelp. To keep your restaurant or kitchen clean, organized, and hygienic, consider these practices:
Sanitize Surfaces Constantly
Regularly sanitizing surfaces, often multiple times per shift, prevents germs, viruses, and bacteria from spreading. Focus areas include tables, cutting boards, sinks, doorknobs, counters, refrigerator and oven handles, and any other surfaces that come into contact with food. One important trick to remember is that sanitized surfaces should air dry. Drying these surfaces with towels introduces the risk of recontamination.
Vacuum Regularly
Vacuuming might seem more common in office spaces than in commercial kitchens, but a high-quality vacuum can be just as important to a restaurant as a spatula. Carpeted areas, including entryways and dining rooms, should be vacuumed daily (at a minimum).
Wet/dry vacuums are great tools for cleaning grout, clearing vents, and reaching under equipment and behind appliances—areas that brooms or mops often miss.
Scour Equipment
Dirty equipment not only contaminates food with bacteria and mold but also causes performance problems. Regularly cleaning deep fryers, microwaves, ovens, refrigerators, griddles, steamers, and blenders helps extend their lifespan and lowers the risk of fires or sparks, which can endanger employees and buildings.
Pester the Pests
Foodies enjoy restaurant dining, and so do pests. Mice are drawn to crumbs and debris (and everyone knows there’s no such thing as just one mouse); rats and insects are also attracted. The best pest control is preventative. Use liners in trash bins, empty them frequently, and sanitize them to eliminate odors. Clean drains with enzymatic cleaners to prevent clogs. Remove food debris from floor drains and sinks as soon as it accumulates—seal cracks, holes, and other openings where pests can enter.
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