According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-in-six Americans get sick from consuming contaminated food or beverages every year. This isn’t surprising considering commercial kitchens can serve as a hot spot for germs and bacteria if they aren’t properly maintained. In fact, it's probably the most important thing you can do for your customers, employees and business; and it should always be a top priority.
Kitchens in commercial facilities are among the most difficult spaces to properly clean and maintain. They are frequently subjected to high foot traffic with little downtime for cleaning, as well as a variety of potential pollutants, whether that’s food waste or even cross-contamination (the act of transporting germs and bacteria from one place in a facility to another) and is most often done unintentionally during cleaning.
Your five-star dishes could easily become irrelevant if your kitchen's cleanliness is not up to standard. It might sound harsh, but it could be a matter of life and death. Therefore, you should seriously consider hiring a commercial kitchen deep cleaning company if you haven't already. In this article, we'll explain the benefits of hiring professionals and what to have in mind when making your choice.
The Importance of Kitchen Hygiene
If you are thinking about hiring a commercial kitchen deep cleaning company, first you need to think about the reasons and importance of commercial kitchen hygiene. Here are just some of them:
Prevent disease/contamination spreading - Cleaning your kitchen regularly will reduce the risk of spreading infectious diseases between your employees and customers. This is essential nowadays when the chances of cross-contamination from Covid-19 are higher than ever.
Regular health inspection - There are specific cleanliness standards that every commercial kitchen should follow. If you are preparing food in unsanitary areas, it can lead to bacterial growth. This will not only cause you to lose points on your next inspection, but it can also cause major health to your staff or your customers. Keep in mind that hygiene in a commercial kitchen is as important as fire safety.
Make an impression - It might not seem as important as the two reasons listed above but making an excellent first impression can make or break your restaurant(just take a look around on social media). If your customers notice a dirty area, they will automatically assume that the rest of the place, including the kitchen, is as dirty. They might walk away, and you can lose customers without them ever trying your food.
Things to Keep in Mind When Hiring a Commercial Kitchen Deep Cleaning Company
First let’s clear up some confusion, there is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between a janitorial services cleaning and a professional commercial kitchen deep cleaning company. Janitorial companies empty trash, push rags around to clean counter tops or prep tables, mop floors and dust.
On the other hand, a professional commercial kitchen deep cleaning company starts where the janitorial crews leave off. For the deep cleaning crew, it’s about breaking down equipment to clean the interior, moving tables and equipment where able and cleaning back into the corners that are never seen, but hide all the dangers. Simply put, it’s about the details. Hiring a professional deep cleaning company has other benefits as well. For example, you can arrange with the company to work around your schedule so there is little or no business/customer impact, clean only specific kitchen areas of the kitchen or even specific equipment and when done properly, can often put your commercial kitchen back to a “like-new” state.
Let’s be honest, your staff is already working hard in their positions every day and when the working hours are done, they’re usually exhausted and the last thing they want to do is a detailed cleaning which often (if done properly) can take hours.
Therefore, hiring professionals is something you should definitely consider. Here are some other things you should have in mind before making your choice.
Does It Fit Your Budge?
Before hiring a commercial kitchen deep cleaning company, the first thing you need to consider is if your business can afford it. You really need to sit down and put pen to paper. You need to know exactly what you can and can’t afford. Then look for a company who had great reviews (more than a word or two) and get them onsite to look at what you want to do.
Any reputable commercial kitchen deep cleaning company will provide you a free onsite visit and estimate. Be honest about what you want to accomplish and what you have for a budget.
The costs of hiring professional cleaners will vary depending on your kitchen's size, areas you want them to clean, level of debris/build up and the frequency of cleaning. If you are financially tight, you can still hire professionals to help.
In that case you can choose to have just a portion of your kitchen cleaned or have less frequent visits. Many commercial kitchens can benefit from just an annual cleaning to help mitigate bacteria/contamination, make nightly and weekly cleanings easier on the employees.
As said, one of the best parts about cleaning companies is that they're very flexible so you can make an arrangement that is the most suitable for you. For example, you can hire professionals to only clean the parts of the kitchen that need to be degreased and train your staff to clean the rest.
How Often Do I Need Deep Cleaning Services?
Another thing you should have in mind before hiring professional cleaners is the frequency of cleaning. This is tightly connected to your budget as sometimes, even if you would like to have your kitchen cleaned by professionals daily, your finances might not allow you to.
Or, perhaps hiring professionals is a one-off thing for you. Let's say you're moving your restaurant to another location. You will need to hire reliable movers to have the office transfer handled as smoothly as possible. On the other hand, you'll want your new place to wait for you sparkling clean. Sure, you and your staff can spend days scrubbing and disinfecting the kitchen. Or, you can rely on trained and experienced professionals and be sure that the job is done up to a standard.
Therefore, make sure to think about the types of services you need and how often you need them before making your choice. By setting your expectations from the start, it will be that much easier for you to find the right company to hire.
What Types of Products Do Professional Cleaners Use?
When you hire professional cleaners, you are also hiring their equipment and cleaning supplies. It is another essential thing you should have in mind and look into before deciding which company to hire.
Commercial kitchen deep cleaning companies have professional cleaning products for each kitchen area that needs to be cleaned. Most of the companies nowadays choose to go green so you can check and be sure that the products they are using are eco-friendly. On top of that, their staff goes through extensive training, and knows exactly how and when to use each cleaning supply. By relying on professionals, you can be sure your kitchen will be spotlessly clean and, most importantly, not a potential disease source.
On the other hand, if you decide that your staff should be cleaning your kitchen, keep in mind that you should invest in top-quality supplies. There are many cheap cleaning products, but this is not something you want to save on. If you don't choose the right ones, you risk poor cleaning quality or, even worse, spreading an infectious disease.
Conclusion
Hiring a commercial kitchen deep cleaning company can make yours, and your staff's lives, much easier. First, you will have more time to improve your service or create a new marketing campaign. Also, your team will be happy and thankful, which could positively influence their productivity. But, most importantly, you can rest assured that your kitchen is sparkling clean and the risks of cross-contamination or bad customer reviews are as low as possible.