Rather than employ people to wash dishes in your restaurant, you’ll find that commercial dishwashers are an essential tool in your restaurant.
Commercial dishwashers take anywhere between one to four minutes to thoroughly clean your dishes. They reduce the amount of labor needed to wash a large amount of dishes manually.
Why Should You Invest In Commercial Dishwashers?
As mentioned earlier, dishwashers are able to clean dishes much faster than how one can do it manually. The FDA food code requires all restaurants to have a 3 component sink for washing dishes by hand.
This is a requirement in the event the dishwasher breaks down and the restaurant has to provide clean dishes. There are several advantages of owning a dishwasher:
- It improves availability of flatware, glasses and kitchen dishes for restaurant rushes
- It increases efficiency of labor and kitchen space
- It saves time by washing multiple dishes in a short time frame.
- You will gain the confidence of serving your customers on sanitized dishes
Commercial dishwashers come in a variety of sizes so you can choose one that suits the size of your commercial kitchen. You can also choose the type of dishwasher that suits your needs.
How Do You Know You Need A Dishwasher
Having highlighted the importance of having a commercial dishwasher in your restaurant, the big question is, do you really need it? Many restaurants have compartment sinks to wash pans, pots, glasses and dishes but this is simply a back up method. You need a dishwasher if the traffic in your restaurant exceeds the ability to manually clean enough dishes in time for the rush.
What Size Dishwasher Do You Need?
When shopping for a commercial dishwasher, you have to choose one that will meet your establishment’s needs. Below are some tips that will help you determine what size dishwasher you need.
1. Typical Turn Rate
How often do you clear dishes from tables and does it coincide with how long your customers are seated? Typical turn rates for fine dining establishments is two hours, for quick serve restaurants it’s half an hour and for fast casual restaurants it’s one hour.
2. Less Than 400 Racks Per Hour
If you have a medium sized commercial kitchen, you will need either a conveyor, door type or an under counter dishwasher. Each of the dishwashers has arms that sanitize and clean the dishes while the ware-washing racks hold the wares in place.
3. More Than 400 Racks Per Hour
If you need to wash 8, 000 dishes per hour, you should invest in a flight dishwasher. With a flight dishwasher, you place dishware directly on the conveyor so it’s able to calculate its capacity using dishes per hour.
4. Large Amounts Of Glassware
If your restaurant has a bar section, then you will probably be doing very many beverage refills and this will increase the amount of glassware that needs to be washed. A glass washer is ideal for washing glasses because it uses low water pressure to protect your glasses from breakage.
What Else Should You Consider When Selecting A Commercial Dishwasher?
When shopping for a dishwasher, there are certain features that you should consider:
- The life expectancy of a dishwasher is ten years or more in any commercial setting so if you plan on acquiring a second hand dishwasher, you should ask the supplier how long it has been in use.
- Warranties vary from one manufacturer to another although labor and year parts warranties are typical.
Leasing Commercial Dishwashers
Commercial dishwashers are not cheap and can take a toll on your restaurant’s finances. Leasing is a great way of acquiring a dishwasher at a relatively low price. Leasing has plenty of advantages over making direct cash purchases. For instance, when you make a direct cash purchase, you own the equipment so all repairs and maintenance costs will be on you.
When you lease on the other hand, you don’t own the equipment so your equipment lessor will shoulder the cost of repair and maintenance. Moreover, you can upgrade to better models at no extra costs at the end of your leasing period. If you would like to own the equipment at the end of the leasing, you can always sign a lease-to-own agreement before commencing with your lease.
For more information on leasing commercial dishwashers, simply CLICK HERE.