When we value something, we put effort into its care. In the foodservice industry, this means putting care into how well we prepare our recipes. However, how well we prepare our food begins with how well we care for the equipment we use to prepare it. These useful tips to maintain your commercial kitchen equipment will help accomplish this goal.
Practice Regular Cleaning
Sanitation is more crucial to this industry than it is to any others. However, cleaning your kitchen equipment shouldn’t end with merely wiping down surfaces. Cleaning tasks that should be added to your routine include:
- Air filters
- Drain tubes
- Evaporator and condenser coils
- Combustion fans
- Grease traps
Performing these tasks regularly will help prevent equipment issues such as breakdowns, loss of temperature control in refrigeration units, and fires.
Emphasize Employee Training
When you use any equipment regularly, wear and tear becomes inevitable. However, it’s possible for equipment to break down more quickly when it isn’t used correctly. Train employees to use equipment properly—how to clean it, turn it off and on correctly, remove and replace filters, etc. This will ensure no breakdowns will happen, and also helps prevent accidents that are dangerous to equipment and staff.
Perform Periodic Inspections
One of the key factors that should be included in employee training is how to properly inspect equipment. Otherwise, small issues may go unnoticed until they become much worse. As an owner, it’s important to make sure employees know to keep an eye on things such as
- Cracks in cooking surfaces
- Temperature of refrigerators, freezers, fryers, and ovens
- Tears in gaskets
- Breaks in seals
- Refrigerant levels
- Leaks
- Filters
Additionally, employees and managers should inspect the area surrounding equipment. Factors such as the room temperature being out of control and clutter that obstructs outward-facing filters can also affect equipment functions.
Tend To Minor Repairs Quickly
In order to maintain your commercial kitchen equipment, simply being aware of issues isn’t enough. Staff must take action while the issue is still small. If not, it may spiral out of control, bringing even more costly damages to your equipment and impacting your restaurant’s regular operation.
For guidance on how to make these repairs, always refer to the equipment’s manual. Otherwise, contact an outside source to perform the repairs correctly the first time. Here at Jay-Hill Repairs, we offer commercial kitchen equipment repair for a wide variety of culinary machinery to help you return to creating the foods your customers love.
