If there’s one thing that restaurants should be at all times, it’s clean. Of course, the taste and quality of the food they serve are also important, but a dirty restaurant is not where customers want to be, no matter how good their food may be. So, here are four maintenance tips you can use to make sure that you’ll never be on the receiving end of a bad review due to hygiene and sanitation:
Tip #1 Regularly Clean Your Vents
You won’t want dust particles and other pollutants mixing with the food you serve to your customers just because you forgot to clean your vents. Make it a point to regularly schedule a vent cleaning because the airborne pollutants stuck in these air ducts may trigger allergic reactions in your customers.
It’s one thing to get complaints from your customers that there’s hair in their food, but to deal with an allergy or asthma attack because there’s too much dust in the air is an entirely different matter. Don’t allow your situation to get to that point. Instead, preempt the matter by doing preventive maintenance.
Plus, it will be unsanitary to keep your vents dirty despite knowing about it, particularly because the air you breathe comes from them. So, if you can’t clean the vents alone, don’t hesitate to hire professional cleaners to do the work for you. This way, you can avoid being in such sticky situations.
Tip #2 Take Care of Your Plywood Deck
A lovely wooden deck is perfect for sunny mornings and cloudy afternoons, especially because it’s appealing to customers who enjoy eating al fresco. However, since the materials are exposed to the elements, there’s a bigger chance of experiencing irreparable damage due to wear and tear.
If the problems become too serious for repairs, you might need to replace the entire thing. Plus, damaged wood can be a safety hazard not only to your customers but also to your servers. So, if you want to avoid having a mossy, slippery, or damaged wooden deck, you might want to consider doing proper maintenance.
This will include looking into waterproof coating products for decks that you can use to preserve the quality of the material. By waterproofing the surface, you can prevent the rainwater or melting snow from seeping through the cracks and damaging the wood from the inside, which means the material will become more durable.
Tip #3 Don’t Forget to Disinfect Every Day
These days, you can never be too safe when disinfecting and sanitizing surfaces that many people can touch. Even if most people are vaccinated against COVID-19, there’s still a risk of contracting the virus when in an enclosed space with a known transmitter. So, take matters into your own hands.
In between the lunch and dinner rushes, consider disinfecting the entire restaurant to kill any bacteria, especially since the coronavirus is believed to be airborne. Don’t let your restaurant be ground zero for new COVID-19 cases just because you forgot to disinfect after the rush hours. If it helps, work around a schedule so that all your employees are aware of the disinfection time.
However, even if there’s no longer a threat of contracting the virus, it won’t hurt to continue the habit of disinfecting the restaurant, albeit less frequently than usual. This way, you can keep your food safe and delicious for all your patrons. It can also help you create more loyal customers in the long run.
Tip #4 Do a Deep-clean Twice a Month
Restaurants can be sanitary and unsanitary at the same time. This is because the kitchens and dining areas are mostly kept clean. After all, these are where food is made and served. However, the same cannot be said for the toilets, parking lots, and alfresco areas because these places receive much more foot traffic than the others combined.
Although most restaurants keep to a specific cleaning schedule, it won’t hurt to squeeze in a deep-cleaning session at least twice a month. This way, you can clean all the nooks and crannies that are often neglected because you don’t have enough time to go through them during your operating hours.
If you don’t want your staff to handle this deep-cleaning session, you can always hire professional cleaners who can do the job for you. By doing so, you will not only help out fellow local business owners, but you’ll also catch up on some much-needed rest. It will be like hitting two birds with one stone.
There’s no such thing as a perfect way to maintain your restaurant environment. As long as you’re doing what you think is needed, then you won’t have to worry about your restaurant being a breeding ground for bacteria, insects, and other creepy crawlies. But there’s no harm in looking for better ways to maintain your place because it is your restaurant, after all.
