An Essential Guide To Commercial Kitchen Maintenance
Commercial kitchens and food service businesses rely heavily on their equipment, whether commercial warewashers, refrigeration or cooking equipment.
If something goes wrong with a crucial piece of equipment, you need to resolve the issue quickly to keep the business running smoothly. But this raises the question: could regular maintenance have prevented the problem? In this article, we’ll discuss the steps you can take to prevent your commercial kitchen equipment from breaking down.
Why Should You Maintain Your Commercial Kitchen Equipment?
For your kitchen equipment to operate effectively and efficiently, it’s crucial to maintain it regularly. Regular maintenance can prevent any issues and help you spot the signs of a potential issue before it becomes one. In addition, regular kitchen equipment maintenance will ensure hygiene standards remain high and increase the longevity of your equipment.
Our Tips & Recommendations For Commercial Kitchen Maintenance
We’ve worked with numerous food service businesses of various sizes and setups. However, when it comes to kitchen maintenance, there are some basic practices that’ll enable any commercial kitchen to extend the lifespan of its equipment and avoid any business downtime.
Introduce A Cleaning Routine
When cleaning your commercial kitchen correctly, you should have a daily, weekly and monthly routine. A cleaning routine will ensure your equipment is clear of daily grime, food or dirt, which could build up and impact the performance of your appliances. In worst cases, a grease build-up can block essential ventilation or create a potential fire hazard. Regular cleaning of your commercial kitchen also ensures you meet hygiene regulations while creating a pleasant environment for staff and customers.
Conduct Regular Kitchen Inspections
Alongside regular cleaning, you should inspect your kitchen appliances often. As a team, you can schedule monthly inspections of equipment to ensure they are performing effectively and look for any troubling signs that you can resolve sooner rather than later. Ultimately saving you money and stress by minimising any unexpected issues.
Hire A Professional Maintenance Service
For more in-depth maintenance of your commercial kitchen equipment, we recommend booking professional engineers at least twice a year. An industry professional can spot problems you might not notice and provide expert advice to try and keep costs down on equipment repairs or replacements.
Keep Up-to-Date Records
Like you would keep a service log for a car, you should keep service records for your expensive kitchen equipment. This’ll allow you to track your equipment’s performance and identify any areas of concern. Not only for yourself but if an engineer asks you any questions about a particular appliance, you have its history to hand. It can also help you budget and plan for when you may need to purchase new kitchen equipment.
Address Issues Promptly
If you have a faulty piece of equipment or have spotted a concern, it’s important to address the problem straight away. If ignored, it could become dangerous, perform poorly or eventually break down, which could incur unexpected costs or kitchen downtime. By approaching the problem at first sight, there’s most likely to be a quick and easy solution.
Follow Manufacturer Guidelines
Not every type of cleaning product is suitable for every type of kitchen equipment. In some cases, the wrong cleaning product could damage your appliance resulting in a more expensive fix. Ensure you keep your manufacturer’s instructions somewhere safe and accessible for your staff. Invest in the cleaning products they suggest and train your staff to clean each piece correctly.
Use The Right Tools
Manufacturers will also advise the correct tools to clean or repair kitchen equipment. Commercial kitchen appliances cost a lot of money, and you don’t want to cause further damage and expense by using the wrong tools. If you’re unsure, speak to a commercial kitchen equipment specialist who can help.
Train Your Staff On Kitchen Maintenance
Misuse of kitchen equipment is one of the biggest causes of damaged equipment. Kitchen appliances can be hazardous if misused, potentially leading to wear and tear, breakdowns and becoming unsafe to use. It can also invalidate your warranty or insurance, not to mention the cost to repair or replace an appliance. A simple solution is to include regular training sessions to educate new starters and refresh existing staff.
Contact INOX
The INOX Equip team are experts in commercial kitchen maintenance. If you’re unsure where to start or looking for a professional review of your kitchen equipment, contact us today to discuss further.
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