According to a P&G-sponsored study conducted in 2017, nine out of ten Americans consider cleanliness a major factor in their decision to patronize a business again. This also extends to establishments like your restaurant. After all, no one truly wants to eat in a dirty place, do they?
However, a restaurant’s cleanliness extends to the kitchen, too, not just the dining area. But how often should a restaurant kitchen be cleaned, and what parts need cleaning more frequently than others?
Let’s look at the work of restaurant kitchen cleaning and why it might be good to have restaurant cleaning professionals handle the job for you.
Why Does Cleanliness Matter to a Restaurant?
Cleanliness is vital to your restaurant business because it prevents pathogens from spreading and causing cross-contamination issues. Food that’s stored, prepared, and served in unsanitary conditions can cause a wide range of foodborne and waterborne diseases, including diarrhea, amebiasis, salmonella, and cholera.
When you can show that your dining and kitchen areas are clean, customers are reassured that they're eating food that isn't just delicious but also safe. It reflects how well you run the restaurant—investing in sanitation means you take your customer’s health and satisfaction seriously.
How to Maintain Cleanliness and Health Sanitation in Your Restaurant Kitchen
So how do you get started keeping the kitchen sanitized? Here we’ve compiled the must-do tasks in a typical restaurant cleaning checklist. Some of these need to be done daily, while others can be done monthly, quarterly, or at least once a year.
Daily Kitchen Cleaning Tasks
As a rule of thumb, utensils, equipment, and other items in the kitchen that constantly come in contact with food and waste should be cleaned regularly. Daily cleaning tasks include:
Cleaning and changing the foil linings on the grill, range, fryer, and other cooking equipment
Cleaning and disinfecting cooking and eating utensils, tableware, and glassware
Cleaning and disinfecting the food prep tables
Cleaning the sinks
Sweeping and mopping the floors, walk-in freezers, and other storage areas
Wiping the walls that have oil or other types of splatters
Emptying, cleaning, and disinfecting the garbage cans
Washing rags, towels, aprons, and uniforms
Weekly Kitchen Cleaning Tasks
Each week, your kitchen equipment should get a more thorough cleaning so it can be in good shape for the next week. Cleaning duties can entail:
Cleaning and deliming beverage equipment, faucets, sprays, and sinks
Boiling out the deep fryer
Pouring drain cleaner in floor and sink drains to prevent clogging
Cleaning out the oven
Washing and scrubbing the floor mats
Monthly or Quarterly Kitchen Cleaning Tasks
The monthly or quarterly jobs are generally for giving the entire kitchen and equipment a deeper clean. Some of the cleaning tasks involved are:
Emptying the grease traps
Washing the vent hoods
Washing the refrigerators and freezers and cleaning their coils
Washing the walls and ceiling
Emptying and sanitizing the coffee/espresso machines (if you have any)
Washing behind the cooking equipment (oven, fryers, grill, etc.)
Annual Kitchen Cleaning Tasks
Though it also depends on the equipment’s user manual, there are also some tasks to do at least once a year:
Cleaning and deliming the ice machines
Cleaning and deliming the dishwashers
While not strictly a part of kitchen cleaning, it’s also a good idea to have the restaurant’s plumbing and HVAC systems checked and cleaned before the winter and summer seasons. This reduces the risk of having plumbing or HVAC-related issues affect the kitchen, such as flooding or dirty ventilation systems.
Why Consider Professional Restaurant Cleaning Services?
Learning about how often a restaurant kitchen should be cleaned and discovering the amount of work that goes into cleaning can be daunting—even more so when it’s time to actually clean. Fortunately, there are restaurant cleaning services that can do the job for you. Here are some of their benefits:
They’re Better Equipped for the Job: Professional cleaning services already have the skills and equipment to clean your restaurant quickly and thoroughly. This saves you from having to invest in cleaning equipment.
They’ll Do the Work Employees Might Not Want To Do: “Dirty” jobs like cleaning garbage cans or emptying the grease trap are often disliked by employees, and there’s a chance they might do the task haphazardly just to get it over with. A cleaning service will ensure that such jobs are done correctly every time.
Save Your Crew Time and Effort: Cleaning duties only add more work to what your restaurant crew already does. Hiring a cleaning team saves them from having to do all of these tasks, which leaves them with more energy to do their actual jobs better.
We’re Here to Help with Your Kitchen Cleaning
Looking for a team who can help save your crew from the hard work of cleaning a restaurant? Let’s take the first step to a cleaner establishment today. You can contact us here on the site to discuss your needs further.