Almost all food service settings, from bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and cafeterias to hospitals, nursing homes, and health care facilities, use ice for many reasons and purposes. Since ice is an essential part of the industry of food service, it is crucial for experts to know how to provide proper commercial ice maker maintenance.

Importance of ice maker maintenance

For those who don’t know, ice makes are one of the dirtiest machines in the kitchen. While each ice maker has its own special maintenance needs, majority of these follow the basic process.

Health Safety

According to FDA, ice is also a food, which only means that it should be handled and cared for in the same way as some food products. Regardless of what kind of ice maker your business uses, it is important that you maintain, sanitize, and clean it. Any part of your unit that has contact with water could develop slime, scale or mold any time. These would contaminate your ice and harm your customers potentially.

Maximize Unit’s Efficiency

You must sanitize and clean your ice maker at least once every 6 months to maximize its efficiency. Clean your unit to get rid of mineral, lime, and scale deposits and sanitize it through disinfecting the unit. Ignoring the routine maintenance may cause buildup of scale that could make ice stick to evaporator plates. This could hinder the heat transfer and make freeze-ups, reduction in capacity, long harvest times, and expensive repairs. Not cleaning ice makers could damage your unit, yet it may also lead to the formation of harmful mold and slime.

When to Clean Your Ice Maker?

You may clean your ice maker anytime you want. It depends on how regular maintenance schedule. If you don’t know the right time, just call for the help of professionals as they can give you the best recommendation and services that your unit requires.

Regular sanitizing and cleaning of ice makers will ensure that your system produces sanitary ice and would run optimally for a long period of time. Whether you are producing ice for drink services or using that for chilling foods and keeping them fresh, keeping your ice maker clean can make a difference to avoid expensive Manitowoc Ice machine repairs va. Other than that, you will also be able to enhance the efficiency of the machine, reduce energy costs, and keep the ice ready, clean, and safe to use.