A high level of hygiene maintenance in commercial kitchens is crucial for the safety of everyone who works there or comes to buy food. Although employees have enough chores when it comes to serving customers and ensuring that their needs are met, the prescribed standard of cleanliness simply has to be at a satisfactory level. Cleaning all devices must be a daily routine and not an occasional activity or otherwise, the restaurant is threatened by constant inspection visits and the risk of closure.
We’re sure that no owner wants that, which is why they should pay special attention to this aspect of the business. A responsible attitude towards hygiene is necessary primarily for the preservation of the health of employees, and then for the best possible client experience. However, the device that’s often neglected in the cleaning process is the kitchen hood. Restaurant owners are usually unaware that this is unacceptable because irregular cleaning of the hood can cause fire and other types of serious damage.
In practice, there have been many examples that confirm this claim. In addition to the worst-case scenario, there’s a high risk of pollution, as well as endangering human wellbeing. These are just some of the reasons why regular cleaning of the hood is significant, but you should definitely pay attention to the following lines as well. They’ll give you a broader picture of it and make you become aware of why it’s important to change some of your current habits in maintaining your restaurant.
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Understanding kitchen ventilation
Source: a1hoodcleaners.com
Considering the all-day and uninterrupted work of the restaurant kitchens, a system that’ll remove all the grease and steam is more than necessary. The principle of ventilation isn’t complicated, but it has to follow the prescribed standards. The role of the ventilation system is to expel contaminated air, grease, and odors from the kitchen and to insert some fresh air through a cyclic process.
Huge amounts of polluted air move through the small openings on the hood, which can lead to the deposition of grease and other impurities inside the ventilation system. In case that these accumulated greases come in contact with an open flame due to the disregard of the employees, they will act as fuel if the unit catches fire.
Depending on the architectural design, construction, and correctness of the installation, we can talk about the quality and safety of the hood and the entire system. What represents the most significant factor is the way of maintenance, which requires the presence of professional services. A simple occasional wiping with a cloth doesn’t guarantee safety and probably won’t do the job.
The importance of regular hood cleaning
Source: imc.cc
To raise the awareness of restaurant owners about the reasons why regular maintenance is necessary, it’s fundamental to understand the risks they are exposed to first, along with their coworkers.
The first and biggest risk are the above-mentioned fires, so let’s have a look at a practical example. So, after numerous gases have passed through your kitchen hood and accumulated impurities in the filters, without the regular maintenance service, they will simply remain there. If someone accidentally approaches any kind of flame to it, it can come into contact with the hood and filters and ignite them. The fire will continue to spread further through the entire ventilation system and you’ll quickly realize you urgently need firefighters.
The next risk is the risk of endangering health. Taking into account the clogging of the filter, further conduction of polluted air to the outside is disabled. All contaminated particles return to the place where they came from, and both staff and restaurant guests can inhale them. In that way, the health of the lungs and respiratory tract in the body is endangered, which can cause long-term consequences.
In addition to endangering the safety and health of all persons present in the catering space, you also run the risk of being fined by the inspection for non-compliance with the prescribed standards. If the inspection concludes that you are violating the legal regulations during the visit, you’ll have to either pay the fine or close the restaurant. This further implies a loss of profit, as well as a lot of time and cash to regain the conditions for opening and to regain the previous trust of the guests. You may also be rejected by the insurance company, which can refuse to bear the costs caused by insufficient cleaning.
What should motivate you the most is preventive action against the formation of moisture and mold on the walls, which might affect the appearance of the kitchen, but also – and again – the health of the workers.
Benefits of hiring professional hood cleaning services
Source: inxtechnology.com
Many restaurant owners want to save money by making hood cleaning a regular obligation of their employees. However, does this really achieve the required efficiency? Is the risk of potential hazards reduced? Or is the cost the only thing reduced by that? Let’s take a look together.
The device can indeed be cleaned with a cloth on the surface, but that’s not enough to pass the inspection and to be able to say that it’s really clean. Such maintenance is often time-consuming and difficult because it involves disassembling the entire system, which further implies the need for knowledge of its anatomy. Also, there are special chemicals that need to be used, so the only way of getting the best results by hiring experts who know exactly what they need to do. At hoodcleaningservicesatlanta.com, they suggest that in addition to the good price that customers are asking for, the quality of service that you can only get from experienced services is also crucial. That’s why they don’t limit their services to the hood cleaning only, but they also help with other kitchen equipment.
Employees who have no experience with such systems may cause a malfunction, disassemble the device incorrectly or fail to restore it to its previous state. This can lead to even greater complications and costs. Professional services can do this job much more efficiently and faster, and they are also familiar with fire safety rules.
Once you understand the importance of expert opinion and how much cash you could actually save with it, you will never want someone else to maintain your ventilation system and hood instead.
What can you check for yourself before calling for help?
Source: safeguard.cleaning
Among the many things we don’t advise you to do alone in such cases, there are some checks you can perform by yourself, though. You should periodically check the fan belt, for example, which, if wrongly attached, could cause major problems. If you notice an irregularity, it would be good to service it and thus reduce the risk of unforeseen situations.
Regular hygienic maintenance of the hood in your restaurant will reduce the possibility of dangerous situations and you’ll find peace of mind. Besides, the working conditions of your employees and guest satisfaction will be at a high level. Don’t forget to leave everything in the hands of professionals, because otherwise the costs can be much higher than you think – but with their expertise, the efficiency of the work done will be more than satisfactory!
