With so many different cleaning points you need to hit to maintain a clean and organized professional kitchen, it can be a little confusing when categorizing and assigning cleaning activities. What should you hire a company for and what should your staff do on their own?
In a nutshell, your staff should take care of light external cleaning while a cleaning company takes care of heavy external and internal system cleaning. But what does that mean, exactly? What should you hire a company for, instead of having your staff complete the job?
A professional cleaning company is capable of handling all major nightly cleaning tasks in both your kitchen and front-of-house. Your staff only needs to pick up the larger debris and make sure all cooking utensils and equipment is put up and out of the way. No matter how dedicated your staff is to the cleanliness of your kitchen, it is often much more economical to hire a professional, licensed cleaning company to handle the major jobs.
Let your staff focus on serving-up the best in guest satisfaction and hire a cleaning company to provide the following services:
- Nightly detailed kitchen cleaning. This includes baffle filter soaking and pressure washing, cleaning of all cooking appliances, all surfaces for food prep, and mopping the floors.
- Nightly janitorial of dining and entrance spaces as well as restrooms. All bars, tables, chairs, decorations, and the floors surrounding them too.
- Complete exhaust system clean cleaning. Scheduling regular deep cleans will mean less work for your kitchen staff overall and create less chance of a malfunctioning device due to poor upkeep. Having regular cleans will also mean that if your exhaust system is breaking in anyway, you will be able to catch the problem and fix it sooner.
- Responsible grease disposal. Restaurants have many grease traps and filters, but there is a special way to actually transport and dispose of grease. Your cleaning company will be able to do all the dirty work in an efficient and legal manner.
- Deep cleaning of rooftops. You might be able to hose down your roof yourself for a little upkeep, but how often is your staff on the rooftop? If you don’t keep up with the condition of your roof on a regular basis, a professional cleaning company should be there to help.
- Ductwork cleaning. Ducts require a professional cleaner when being fixed up, especially older and long ducts.
- Exhaust equipment replacement. It can be tricky to install exhaust system equipment. Hiring a professional to install the appliances for you can save a lot of time and hassle.
- Exterior pressure washing. This can be done by the restaurant of they have their own pressure washer, however, if you don’t know how to operate a pressure washer and the proper pressure, water type and cleaning agents on each piece of equipment, it’s best to hire a company to perform these duties.
- Grease containment system cleaning and maintenance. Professionals know how these systems work and can be trusted to effectively clean and care for them, so make sure to hire a reliable company instead of letting any person mess with very expensive, important equipment.
Your kitchen staff, janitors, and cleaning company are invaluable for your restaurant’s care. Make sure to assign each job appropriately in order to have a good, trustworthy team and a well-organized schedule that promises a clean, comfortable, cared-for restaurant you and your customers will enjoy for years to come.
