Man versus Machine – it’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it

When it comes to maintaining fully food-safe, compliant kitchen facilities, daily cleaning routines and equipment with self-clean programmes are no substitute for professional deep cleaning regimes.

Barry Osborn from TWO Services explains:

Now it is common to find self-cleaning systems and programmes incorporated into modern commercial kitchen appliances. The theory is that this will clean the oven whilst not in use, helping prolong the life of the appliance and maintain the quality of the food by reducing residual odours. However, in reality, self-cleaning ovens do not do all the work on their own and there is no magic solution.

Manual intervention

For example, to optimise the self-cleaning process, kitchen staff still need to manually clean any pooled grease or thick spills from the oven floor, door frame and walls and remove any pieces of food and debris that have escaped from trays.

Also the self-clean function will clean the cavity of the oven, but it does not clean other aspects such as door seals, which are vulnerable to collecting food debris, nor will it remove the build-up of carbon deposits on the actual racking of the oven.

What’s more, different models have different ways of dealing with fat – and it is essential that any drip trays or drains are cleaned regularly to avoid a dangerous build-up of combustible oils and grease.

In comparison, a thorough deep clean regime by trained professionals will help to ensure that all the complex elements of equipment that work in delicately balanced harmony -such as electricity, water, circuitry and heat, are properly cleaned and, more importantly, functioning correctly post-clean.

The right tools for the job

Daily cleaning materials used by kitchen porters and staff, will of course be very different to that of professional deep cleaners. While they help to maintain basic hygiene levels, during a deep clean we use all sorts of appliances such as wet vacuums, floor machine scrubbers, deck scrubbers and a variety of cleaning products specially formulated for degreasing filters, or sanitizing food surfaces.

Health & safety

Even more importantly, our staff are trained in working with ladders to clean at high levels, as well as in how to move and dismantle heavy equipment to clean hard to reach areas not dealt with on a daily basis. All of this results in a transformative effect and we issue a certificate of hygiene that will keep your kitchen compliant with health and safety regulations.

How often?

We advise that deep cleans are carried out at the minimum, every 6 months. We’ll clean and degrease every inch of your ovens, refrigeration, storage, racking, equipment, counter tops, ceilings, walls and floors.

We can even do it all overnight if required, so there’s no disruption to your kitchen and it doesn’t cost any more than daytime.

It all helps your kitchen to remain spotless, safe and keep equipment running reliably. People often cite budgetary constraints as a reason to put off their deep cleans, but it doesn’t cost that much – especially when compared to the unthinkable alternatives of kitchen closures due to fire damage, invalidated insurance claims, neglected duty of care or worse.

If you would like more advice or information, call 0800 22 44 33 or visit www.two-services.com