Keeping Your Restaurant Clean
Although it’s always been important to keep your restaurant or food establishment clean, it’s even more important now. Proving to your customers that you follow protocol and keep a clean restaurant will help you keep a good and solid reputation.
Maintaining a high level of cleanliness in your restaurant doesn’t have to be difficult though. A good portion of the cleaning can be done with supplies you already have in your establishment. But don’t miss the often overlooked areas!
Clean With What You Have
Utilizing items and supplies that are already in the restaurant is a good way to save money and keep your place clean. Many kitchen tools can be repurposed to accommodate cleaning needs.
Some examples include:
Squeeze dispensers that are commonly used to keep toppings, batters or condiments can be used to store sanitizers and disinfectants. The small containers work great for portioning out the sanitizer or cleaner.
Heavy-duty stock pots that are intended to be used for soups and stocks are perfect to use to mix disinfectant liquids that can be separated into smaller containers.
Induction range that is used in the kitchen can be used to simply boil water to clean with and sterilize surfaces.
All of these products or tools are commonly found in a kitchen, so there is less need to purchase additional cleaning supplies. Using what you already have in the establishment is a great way to save money and time. The continued use of these tools, in addition to its original use, will also clear up some storage because the items will be continuously used.
Neglected Items
Now that you know how to use common, everyday items from the kitchen to clean and sanitize the restaurant, you’ll need to remember to clean all of the spaces. Especially, the overlooked, often forgotten areas.
Soda fountain drink dispenser nozzles should be cleaned regularly. The sugary syrup from the soda can get stuck to the nozzle and create a great environment for bacteria to grow. While it may seem that these don’t need to be cleaned often, it is recommended to clean them daily. They can be cleaned by removing the nozzle, scrubbing them to get rid of any buildup and then let them soak for a few minutes. Then just rinse them and replace them.
Booster seats or high-chairs can carry and be home to a lot of bacteria. Children are not the cleanest and cause big messes. Therefore, any seat or eating tray they use should be cleaned thoroughly to prevent any spread of bacteria. Properly cleaning the seats or high-chairs can prove to be a little more difficult because of the small items like the straps. But they should be cleaned after each use to prevent bacteria buildup and prevent the child from getting sick.
Another small utensil that is often overlooked when cleaning is a can opener. They are a staple utensil that is used in everyday food preparation, but they are not always cleaned properly. It’s important to clean the blades and handle on the opener to prevent any cross-contamination or bacteria.
These are just a few of the most often overlooked items in a restaurant. However, it is important to clean them and to clean them regularly. This will help prevent the spread of bacteria and possibly disease.
Low and High-Touch Areas
In addition to cleaning the neglected areas, it is important as always to clean the areas and spaces that are commonly used. Some of these are considered high-touch areas meaning they are used by a multitude of people during the day. While low-touch areas are the opposite, meaning they are used, but not as much.
Some high-touch areas that need to be cleaned throughout the day include door knobs, faucets, pan handles, oven controls and restrooms. This list is not at all comprehensive and there are many other areas that should be cleaned more than once during the day. So don’t forget to continuously clean and sanitize the areas that are most often touched or used.
Low-touch areas can include shelves, walls and even filters. Similar to high-touch areas, these should be cleaned thoroughly, but probably don’t require as frequent of a cleaning. You don’t want to forget to clean these areas though.
As always, a restaurant, the whole space, should be cleaned regularly. It is not hard to maintain a clean space, but it can be tedious and time consuming. However, it is not something you should skip out on or take lightly. It’s a pretty simple general rule, keep your restaurant clean and sterile to keep your customers coming in the door.
