Every restaurant owner worries about keeping their establishment clean. The impact to the quality of food, loyalty of the staff and satisfaction of customers. The kitchen most of all, considering how central it is to the running of a restaurant. Of course, this also raises the question: how often should you deep clean your restaurant kitchen?
The legal requirements
Now, legally speaking, when it comes to how often you should deep clean your restaurant kitchen, the answer is at least every six months. However, that's just the bare face of things. Leaving your kitchen to languish for six months without thorough cleaning makes the other legal requirements hard to meet.
Namely, that your kitchen is up to the standards of the health and safety codes. Admittedly, some restaurant kitchens might be able to get away with a deep cleaning every six months. It mainly depends on the type of food you cook and the cuisine you specialize in. However, if you do any frying, especially deep frying, then cleaning that rarely will simply not cut it. If you want to stay on top of your game, then a deep cleaning every three months is a more realistic number.
The necessity of trust
The next complication to consider when discussing the frequency of deep cleaning is trust. Or rather, just how well the job is done. If you can be sure you are working with the utmost professionals for commercial kitchen cleaning, you might be able to relax. However, things get tricky if you still do not have a business you rely on regularly. Unfortunately, testing out the quality of their work comes down to references and giving them a shot. And even if the references you are provided with are seemingly stellar, you can't know if that's true. In a business like running a restaurant, such uncertainties are the bane of your existence. If the deep cleaning is messed up even once, you'd have to keep your restaurant closed for longer and spend a lot more money to get someone else to do the job right.
The fact of the matter
In the kitchen, accidents can happen more often than not. In other words, you might need their services frequently even if you work only with the best commercial kitchen deep cleaning companies. Spills occur in kitchens, oil splashes out of pans, and things get dropped and quickly mopped away. You can't clean up everything perfectly during a busy day at a restaurant. Some bits always slip by, especially under hard-to-reach surfaces and corners. And those things seriously threaten the healthiness and upkeep of your kitchen and workers. Even past the health and safety concerns, such filth and gunk adhere to your equipment and threaten its lifespan. Therefore, it's in your best interest to put aside the time for a deep clean.
The danger of allowing a buildup
If you do notice gunk and other unpleasant matter building up in your restaurant kitchen, then you need to act. Especially if it's in your exhaust hood or fans; we cannot overstate the larger danger to your kitchen's sanitation this poses. The ventilation systems are an integral part of a kitchen. Their continued proper functioning is not a matter you can leave to chance.
Even if all it does is make ventilation harder, this puts a lot more pressure on your staff. After all, constantly working in a stuffy kitchen filled is neither safe nor enjoyable. Not to mention all sorts of sanitary troubles it brings up too. The extreme buildup may even force you to look into storage solutions for your equipment. Be sure to do proper research before renting anything to avoid mistakes when renting storage for business. This way, you'll know what to avoid and get your equipment to safety.
The image of your restaurant
Safety, health, and sanitation are not the only things to worry about when planning how often you should deep clean your restaurant kitchen. A serious concern is also the image of your restaurant in the eyes of your customers. For example, rooftop grease buildup is an actual concern. If you let it get out of hand to the point that it's visible to your customers, then people are unlikely to be motivated to pick your restaurant. Similar logic applies if your restaurant is designed in a way that lets people get a glimpse of your kitchen.
The reason why professionals are needed
As we hinted before, some parts of a kitchen simply can't be cleaned through a process that's not deep cleaning. For example, even with access panels, hood cleaning is impossible for a regular member of your staff. Getting to all the hard-to-reach bits of your kitchen is a nightmare for anyone not professionally trained, too.
The daily effort
The final thing to mention when talking about how often you should deep clean your restaurant kitchen is what can help delay the frequency. Thankfully, while it takes dedication and hard work, it is perfectly possible to achieve this through regular and thorough cleaning. You really should consider getting employees dedicated to cleaning duties. And equip them with the requisite knowledge and equipment to do the task. While they will never be able to pull off commercial kitchen hoods or exhaust cleaning, they will still be able to keep your kitchen in optimal condition for much longer. Even if it takes an initial investment, it will pay off over time. Not only will it let you stretch the time between deep cleaning a bit longer, but it will also contribute a lot to the longevity of your kitchen equipment. And, naturally, you'll improve the health and safety of your establishment.
Final comment
So, how often should you deep clean your restaurant kitchen? While there is no honest answer, an approximation would be every three to four months. Of course, should the need arise due to something unplanned, don't hesitate and wait to organize a cleaning service.
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