A messy commercial refrigeration system may not seem like a big problem, but when it starts to impact the ambient smell of your restaurant or make it difficult to control food sanitation, the situation could spiral quickly. Unfortunately, when restaurants are busy, the tidiness of walk-in coolers tends to suffer. Here are a few tips for keeping your walk-in cooler clean, so you can maintain a sanitary, professional kitchen space. 

How to Keep Your Commercial Refrigeration System Clean

1. Clean Up Messes Immediately

Train your employees to clean up spills and other messes in the cooler immediately, instead of waiting until the end of their shifts. While it may slow down service slightly, tidying up immediately can also help prevent bad smells and slip-and-fall incidents in the cooler.  

2. Label Everything

Leftover ingredients and dishes are one of the biggest causes of dirty commercial refrigeration units, so label everything to make it easy to see what can be used and what needs to be thrown away. Keep markers and sticky labels near the walk-in cooler, so everyone has a quick, easy way to label ingredients.

At the end of your shift, go through the cooler and spend some time throwing out old ingredients and running the dishes through the dishwasher. In addition to keeping the walk-in cooler clean, you can also prevent cross-contamination and foodborne illnesses since old ingredients won’t be used in new dishes unintentionally. 

3. Sweep & Mop Daily

If you don’t already, make a point to sweep and mop the walk-in cooler at the end of every shift. In addition to eliminating food crumbs, smears, and other messes, a focus on daily cleaning can help set a precedent for cleanliness and order. 

If your commercial refrigeration unit is too small to keep clean, consider upgrading today with help from the contractors at Ron Hammes Refrigeration in La Crosse, WI. Since their inception almost 50 years ago, these dedicated HVAC and refrigeration contractors have been working directly with businesses to provide custom solutions. Learn more about their services by visiting their website or calling (608) 788-3110.