When it comes to food establishments, nothing sets an impression like cleanliness. While bathrooms are more visible to visiting customers, clean kitchens are just as important. Food quality and employee safety are dependent on clean kitchen equipment and supplies. Keep on reading for some tips on how clean your commercial kitchen. 

Floors and Surfaces

It’s surprising to see how many commercial kitchens still rely on equipment that, if used improperly, have little impact on cleaning floors and surfaces. Mops, for example, only spread dirt and germs across kitchen floors if the water isn't switched out frequently. Cleaning solution must be added to the mop bucket’s water. Once you dip the mop into the bucket, make sure you wring the mop to remove excess water. Starting at the farthest point away from the kitchen entrance, mop a small area of the floor. Slowly tackle one area of the floor at a time and work your way to the kitchen entrance. Depending on the cleaning solution used, you’ll need to leave the kitchen floor wet for a certain amount of time (e.g. 10 minutes).

Countertops and other surfaces need to be cleaned with a sanitizing solution. Surfaces should then be rinsed with damp rags or towels after cleaning. It’s important to dry all surfaces to make sure no water puddles are left behind.

Equipment

Proper care of kitchen equipment extends their lifespans and ensures the cleanliness of food and ingredients prepared on them. Grills, griddles and fryers should be cleaned after every cooking shift (i.e. breakfast, lunch, dinner). Kitchen cleaning supplies such as grill cleaning pads are made specifically for scrubbing grills, plates and other kitchen equipment.

If your kitchen is fitted with stainless steel equipment, you’ll need to take extra precautions to make sure they’re cleaned properly. Mild detergents or soap can be added to water for cleaning stainless steel surfaces. While standard bar or kitchen towels can be used, specialized products like griddle blocks are available. Make sure to always wipe in the direction of the equipment’s finish. Surfaces should be rinsed afterwards to remove leftover detergent or soap. Finally, surfaces should be dried right after rinsing to avoid water spots.

Supplies

Kitchen supplies including dishes, glasses and utensils need to be cleaned after use. Organization is key to ensuring all supplies are cleaned and for reducing accidents. All used supplies should be stacked in an assembly line next to the kitchen sinks. Before washing, remove all large pieces of food and put them in the garbage disposal. Supplies are washed in the first sink, which should be prepared with hot water and soap. Next, supplies move to the second sink for rinsing. Finally, move supplies to a third sink prepared with cold water and a sanitizing solution.

Trash

How often your employees take out the trash depends on how busy your kitchen gets. Whether you take out the trash twice a day or at the top of every hour, the key factor is to never let your kitchen overflow with trash. Every kitchen needs all trash removed at the end of the day. 

Cibowares has all the cleaning supplies you need to keep your commercial kitchen looking fresh after every shift. Our glove products are made from a variety of materials, such as poly and vinyl, to best fit your kitchen needs. Proper fry oil filtration products are necessary to extend the life of your fry oils. We’ve got a wide selection of scouring pads, sponges and disposable cleaning towels. No matter the food you prepare or equipment you use, we have the cleaning supplies to keep yours looking brand new, every single day.

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