A restaurant can offer the best food in town, but if it doesn't keep a clean kitchen, it won't keep its doors open for long. Typical household cleaning products aren't enough to keep a commercial kitchen clean and up to code.
In this simple guide, we'll share the most important cleaning chemicals for commercial kitchens.
1. Dishwashing Machine Detergent
How often do you run the dishwashing machines in your restaurant kitchen? At least once an evening. Commercial dishwashers are convenient, but over time, they get dirty and grimy.
For food safety purposes, it's important to invest in a good quality detergent for your machine. It's equally important to use a dishwashing machine sanitizing solution on a regular basis.
Sanitizing solutions not only clean the dishwasher itself, but also remove bacteria and germs left behind on cookware, plates, utensils and other dishes.
These cleaning solutions are chlorinated to provide the highest level of sanitization possible.
2. Dishwashing Soap
Many restaurants do not have commercial dishwashing machines and wash dishes by hand. Even those that do have dishwashers still have manual washing stations.
For those times when manual washing is required, a quality dishwashing soap will provide the sanitation and de-greasing required for restaurant standards.
Choose soaps that are gentle on the hands and have a concentrated formula to make each bottle last longer.
3. Oven Cleaner
If there's one thing every restaurant needs, it's cleaning chemicals for kitchen ovens. Grime, grease and soot can not only affect the quality of the foods cooked in them, but also affect the oven's performance.
Good old-fashioned oven cleaner will remove baked-on grease and leftover food particles in ovens, broilers and fryers.
Spray cleaners are the most convenient and can be used on both cold and warm ovens. Heavy-duty and fume-free formulas are available to meet your restaurant's and staff's needs.
4. Grill Cleaner
One of the most important cleaning chemicals used in kitchens, grill cleaners will keep our kitchen's cooktops looking like new.
After a long day – and a few extra-busy hours – of serving customers, your grills and cooktops may start looking extra-grimy. To keep up to standards, you'll need to remove the grime, grease and baked-on food bits leftover from the day's cooking.
Commercial formulas are designed to dissolve grease, grime, soot and food on broilers, grills and fryers. Some products can also be used inside of ovens.
Choose a product with a concentrated formula to make each bottle last longer.
5. Chlorine Test Strips
Restaurants often forget to include chlorine test strips to their kitchen cleaning products list. If you use chlorine solutions as part of your cleaning routine, these test strips will help ensure that your solution is the right concentration for sanitizing your food processing equipment.
Simply dip the strips in the solution and compare the color to the chart on the tube. A solution that is 200 ppm is strong enough to destroy bacteria, while a solution of 10 ppm is nearly inactive.
These strips allow you to determine, at a glance, the strength of your cleaning solution.
6. Ice Machine and Freezer Cleaners
Ice machines allow you to serve cold fountain drinks, coffees and alcoholic drinks. But just like any other machine in your restaurant, ice machines also need to be cleaned on a regular basis.
Sanitization products are designed to kill 99.99% of harmful bacteria found in ice machines. You'll also find products that remove mineral build-up in ice machines, which is important for restaurants that have hard water.
Along with ice machine cleaner, you'll also want to invest in a good freezer cleaner. These chemical solutions allow you to clean the walls, floors and storage shelves in freezers with temperatures as low as -5 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Coffee Machine Cleaner
If you serve coffee at your restaurant, you'll need to add coffee machine cleaner to your list of cleaning chemicals.
Over time, build up from coffee grinds and residue can give coffee an unpleasant or burnt taste.
You'll find cleaners for espresso machines, drip coffee pots and even milk frothers. Cleaners are available in liquid, powder and capsule form, so you can choose an option that is most convenient for your restaurant.
8. Bar Glass Washing Chemicals
After last call, it's time to clean up from the day. That means washing all of the bar glasses. Special cleaning solutions are available for your beer, wine and cocktail glasses.
You'll find cleaning chemicals in powder and liquid form.
Some restaurants prefer to use simple liquid dish soap, while others prefer to use specialized cleaners. This is more of a personal preference and will depend on how busy your bar is on a daily basis.
9. Beer and Wine Line Chemicals
Add this to your list of restaurant kitchen cleaning chemicals if you have beer, wine and/or cider on tap. Line cleaners will keep your beverages tasting great by removing any leftover residue or grime left behind.
These cleaning solutions are designed to dissolve bacteria, biofilm, tartrates, tannins, mold and yeast.
10. Deep Fryer Cleaners
From French fries to fried shrimp, mozzarella sticks and fried pickles, a deep fryer allows you to add a variety of tasty foods to your menu. But fryers also require special care and cleaning.
Deep fryer cleaners will eliminate the causes of rancidity to keep your fried foods tasting their best. They remove baked-on grease and carbon and are safe for use with most metals. They also extend the life of oils, so you spend less on oils over time.
Every restaurant kitchen should have special cleaners for its ovens, fryers, grills, beer and wine lines, coffee machines, glassware and dishwashers. These cleaners will help you maintain the standards required by food and safety laws.
Not sure where to find the best kitchen cleaning products? Check out our catalog to find all of the cleaning solutions you need and much more.