Deliming Your Commercial Dishwasher: Top Tips for All Restaurant Owners

Kitchens are certainly the busiest areas in any restaurant. They are the lifeline of the business, as they host the staff and equipment needed to prepare and serve meals. Therefore, it is paramount to have fast cycle times in the kitchen so that you don't keep your customers waiting. Having a commercial dishwasher will save you lots of time when getting utensils ready for cooking and serving your clients. Additionally, it will free up a few people in the kitchen so that they can pay attention to more important tasks when need be. If you have just bought a commercial dishwasher for your restaurant, here are the best tips you need for proper deliming:

Talk to Professionals

Basically, deliming refers to the process of removing the thin film of scale deposited on the walls of a dishwasher as a result of using hard water. Some commercial dishwashers rely on chemicals as a mode of sanitisation and scale removal. The most common chemical sanitisers include iodine, chlorine and quaternary ammonia. Before you delime the machine, it is important to talk to a specialist to verify the type of chemicals that you should use. Mixing chemicals of this calibre can produce noxious and pungent gases. To add on that, some reactions produce corrosive acids and bases that may damage the walls of the dishwasher and injure employees.    

Use the Recommended Amounts

When using deliming solutions, make sure that you use the right amounts, as recommended by the manufacturer. Keep tabs on the water-to-solution ratio when mixing the deliming agent. If the manufacturer recommends twenty millilitres of deliming agent for every ten litres of water, follow these directions to the letter. Excessive dilution of the mixture will result in improper deliming, while under-dilution contaminates your utensils when using the machine.

Drain the Machine Manually

Today, modern dishwashers come with an automatic deliming cycle to make things easier in terms of maintenance. However, it is advisable to drain your dishwasher manually before filling it with water and a solution of deliming agent. Manual draining helps to get rid of notorious scale that builds over time despite the automated cycle.

Check Your Work

After every deliming cycle, inspect the machine to make sure that you have done a thorough job. Some scaling is bad enough that you cannot remove it with one deliming cycle. If the walls still show signs of scaling, repeat the cycle until it's all gone.

To learn more about maintaining commercial dishwashers, contact a company like Ian Boer Refrigeration.


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