In our next few Blogs we want to share some insight into the services and training we offer our clients. This first installment is for how to start taking care of your commercial dishwasher. Its one the hardest working items in a commercial kitchen. Sadly it is also the most neglected piece of equipment.
Check your machine daily.
Temperature - needed for thermal sanitation
Low wash tank temperature causes foaming which results in rinse arms not spinning.
For best results wash tank temp should be 50-55ºC
Low final rinse temp will not allow sheeting of water, instead water droplets appear. Final rinse should be 80-85ºC
Wash arms - washing
Remove daily to prevent blockages and bacteria growth.
Blocked wash arms will not wash tough protein soils like eggs.
Always check wash arms are spinning freely by gentle spinning arms. If arms do not spin freely, remove and investigate problem.
Rinse arms – drying
Rinse jets will not spin if blocked, facing same direction, low water pressure or foaming inside machine which is caused by low wash tank temperature or from foaming detergents.
The stainless steel rinse arms normally have 2 x small stainless screws underneath near middle. They do become loose or get lost. You need these screws.
Rinse arms also have round stainless nuts for removing wash / rinse arms. When lost, they are usually replaced with rusty bolts which nobody can remove and problems start.
Check arms, remove and clean daily.
If your glasses have white streaks running from top to bottom, it is the caustic from the detergent which is corrosive and will affect the taste of the beverage.
The glasses must be rinsed with running water.
Always check rinse arms are spinning freely by gentle spinning arms. If arms do not spin freely, remove and investigate problem.
The final rinse temperature should be at least 80 ºC which gives thermal sanitation of dishes and glassware.
Plates should be dry in less than a minute. If not investigate when needed.
Glasses need good water pressure, if your rinse arms do not spin when in rinse cycle, investigate.
Sieves- prevent blocked wash arms and damage to motor or drain.
Metal sieves which stop food soils from entering wash tank and blocking wash arms also cause problems.
Do not hit sieve on edges, this bends edges which raises sieve. Food, bones, sweet packets, teaspoons etc can now enter wash tank and wash pump.
The raised edges of the sieves also restricts rinse arms from spinning and rinsing.
Plastic sieves crack when you repeatedly hit them against bins to remove food, plastic etc. These soils should not enter machine at all.
Pre scrapping – Avoid blocked wash arms and poor results
Poor pre scrapping is the reason why your results are poor.
First waiters discard, all food soils, serviettes, tooth pics etc. and cutlery into pre- soak, then place plates / cups on correct pile of same size dishes.
The sculler then selects 8 big and 8 small plates, never overlap plates.
Either dip in water or spray overhead spray with cold water to remove sauces, egg yolk etc.
Bowls and other similar items need special attention. They must lay slightly forward in plate rack or face down in open bowl rack, otherwise the insides will not be washed or rinsed.
We hope this provided some insight.
For further assistance please get in touch with Marc 084 77 11 717 or Peter 082 781 9220
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