As a restaurant operator, cleanliness and hygiene must be a priority. In fact, there is an expensive price to pay if your restaurant is not sanitary enough. If you fail to maintain the required restaurant cleanliness, then you are risking violations that may lead to hefty fines or even permanent closure by the health inspection officers.
Moreover, a dirty restaurant is prone to spread food-borne illnesses that may lead to customers developing food poisoning from your eatery. If such a thing happens to a client, your restaurant’s reputation is not only damaged but also you will lose your client –sooner or later you will be out of business. Although maintaining optimal cleanliness and hygiene may seem overwhelming, it is actually not that hard. It just requires some effort, scheduling, and consistency. Here’s a practical guide to keeping your restaurant sparkling clean. Let’s dive right into it!
1. Eliminate Rodents and Pests
Rodents and pests can really taint the reputation of your restaurant. As a matter of fact, if a client notices some pests or rodents in your restaurant, they may never come back again. To make matters worse, they can spread the word, or take a picture and post on social media hence ruining your restaurant’s entire reputation. If you are looking for effective rodent control for restaurants, then look no further. There are great companies that can help to eradicate your pest problems. So, in case you notice a pest or rodent in your restaurant you should never hesitate to contact an exterminator at once.
2. Hire Professional Cleaners
Hiring professional cleaners is another awesome idea. They are generally highly experienced in a wide spectrum of cleaning services. You can rest assured of good results at all times. Moreover, professional cleaners are equipped with the necessary cleaning tools and equipment that will leave your restaurant’s surfaces, floors, and kitchen appliances sparkling clean. Another thing, professional cleaners do not just clean your restaurant, they will also use cleaning products that are harmless to your staff and customers. Moreover, their cleaning services are more than the basic cleaning activities; they will remove dust, pathogens, allergens, deeper dirt, debris, molds, and bacteria.
3. Maintain a Regular Cleaning Schedule
Well, maintaining the required and regular clean-up for a restaurant can feel like an overload, especially for a busy restaurant. Nevertheless, creating a regular cleaning schedule system goes a long way in ensuring proper hygiene in the kitchen area, floors, dining area, restrooms, etc. The cleaning should be done daily, ensuring that all the surfaces, floors, and kitchenware are thoroughly cleaned. Additionally, don’t forget to clean kitchen fridges and freezers where you keep sensitive and perishable foods.
4. Restrooms Should Be Cleaned Daily
Before anything else, most people will first examine the restrooms to determine the overall cleanliness and hygiene level of a particular restaurant. In fact, for those busy restaurants, they should be checked on an hourly basis. Otherwise, clients will use the restroom conditions to judge the restaurant’s cleanliness and other activities.
5. Employees Personal Hygiene Matters
The level of your employees’ personal hygiene determines how your customers perceive the overall hygiene of the restaurant. Therefore, you must ensure you conduct a regular staff health exam at least every six months –especially for the employees dealing directly with food. Additionally, all employees must observe personal hygiene measures such as:
- Trimming and keeping their nails clean
- Wear hairnets to cover their hair so that hair doesn’t get into the foodstuff
- Wash their hands often
- There should be no smoking in the kitchen
- Wear disposable gloves when working on high-risk or perishable foods, etc.
Even the smallest aspect of cleanliness can end up being costly if overlooked. Nonetheless, the above restaurant cleaning guide comes in handy in ensuring your restaurant maintains the required industry standards of cleanliness and hygiene.
