Sure cooking gets all the wraps and plaudits when it comes serving delicious food.
If we look at dishwasher on face value, then you would say they don’t add any value or taste to your food. But if you dig deeper, your dishwasher doesn't just clean your dishes. Your Dishwasher also sanitises your dishes.
So there's not much point cooking mouth-watering food if you just plonk it down on any plate.
Just as you must have a Safe work practices to protect your employees it's vital you take steps to assure your food is guaranteed to be safe for customers.
It's easy to focus your Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan at the big Hygiene risk factors, such as transportation, storage, preparation and serving of food. But Cleaning up and storage of kitchen utensils and dishware plays a vital role in delivering safe food.
Can you imagine how your customers would react if served their food or drink on something wasn’t clean? This would be your worst nightmare. It wouldn’t matter how good your food is.
So the Australian Standard for the designing, constructing & fitting out a commercial kitchen requires your sinks to have water temperature at least 45°C for washing and 80°C for sanitising your glasses, plates & cutlery.
If you do a lot of cooking using big pots & pans then this a problem because if you're doing this by hand, then you putting staff at risk with such high temperatures.
So it may not come as a surprise that, hand washing is not only labour intensive and it's risky, it also wastes lot's of water and causes your energy bills to skyrocket.
So how do you decide on the best dishwasher which reduces your costs?
Just like in buying a car some are more fuel efficient than others, so it is with Dishwashers. Not all dishwashers are created equal, so you need to understand how and when they will be used to get the biggest savings.
So let’s assume you done your homework on your dishwasher needs and you know the answer to these questions.
If you're not sure of any the answers, then our get Free Dishwasher guide.
Some dishwashers are specifically designed to only wash glassware or pots and pans. If your commercial kitchen has space, then it’s a good idea to split dishwashing tasks between two specialised dishwashers.
So now you worked out the basics it's time to work out the cost of ownership of your dishwasher.
So before you get a new dishwasher you want to look how you can save on running cost and reduce the long term cost of ownership through efficiency and lower maintenance and service costs.
How to choose a Dishwasher which will save money
ESWOOD SMARTWASH SW900V Pass Through Dishwasher with Heat Recovery System
- Initial, Operating & Maintenance Cost of a Dishwasher...
- Size & Capacity of your Dishwasher...
- Your Dishwasher's Speed...
- Getting on top of your Dishwashers Energy and Water Use...
- Dishwashers reduce your Labor requirements...
Initial, Operating & Maintenance Cost of a Dishwasher
Every time you save a dollar in your costs, you get to keep that money.
It’s competitive out there. So I'm sure you don’t want to waste your money.
This is why your costs are one of the biggest factors in running a successful restaurant.
Don't make the mistake of thinking short term, by locking yourself into expensive running costs, which will cripple your business.
Its bad business selecting a dishwasher with a low purchase price but has high long-term operating and maintenance expenses. So now your dishwasher is chewing up your profits.
You should expect at least 5 years service from your dishwasher. You would feel sick if you could have bought 2 dishwashers with all the extra money you are spending on running your so called cheap dishwasher.
Size and Capacity of your Dishwasher
If you choose a dishwasher that is not big or fast enough for your business, then you potentially slow down the kitchen. So now your customers have to wait for their food. This is not good for your business.
Your Dishwasher's Speed
You will be surprised how often we get asked. "What’s the difference between A commercial & a domestic dishwasher?"
The simple answer is Speed.
My domestic dishwashers at home can take up an hour to wash my dishes. With your Commercial Dishwasher, cycles times can vary between 1 and 3 minutes.
It gets stressful in a kitchen during Rush Hour, Lunch and Dinner.
So you want a Dishwasher with enough capacity and with a fast cycle time. It pointless if your dishwasher can fit 200 plates but takes 70 minutes to complete a cycle.
If your dishwasher takes a long time, you will need more plates, glasses and cutlery. Do you really want your chef screaming? "I need more clean wares so I can plate the food,""
Getting on top of your Dishwashers Energy and Water Use
Your Commercial Dishwashers has the potential to be one of your largest water and energy consumers in your kitchen. Some models will use more than ⅔ of your Commercial Kitchens overall water usage.
If you let your water usage get out control because your thirsty dishwasher demands more water, then you’re going to get hit with expensive bills.
Preparing Your Dishes For Washing
When you’re looking for a Commercial Dishwasher, you should be aware some models require the dishes to be pre-washed or rinsed before going through the machine.
Best practice for getting cleaner dishes and reducing the wear & tear on your dishwasher is to remove food bits and other debris before you load your dishwasher. The most efficient way to accomplish this is to use a pre-rinse.
This helps remove loose or ‘sticky’ food before it goes in your dishwasher. So your dishwasher will last much longer because it does not have to work so hard in cleaning your plates & cutlery.
Here’s the scary problem, washing dishes will typically consume two-thirds of all water used in your restaurant. But it gets worse because pre-rinsing operation uses twice the volume of water than your dishwashing equipment.
Pre-Rinse Spray Valve
JETSPRAY JS007 Pre-Rinse Arm Assembly
So if you’re Pre-rinsing before you load your dishwasher, then you need to get more a efficient Pre-Rinse Spray Valve.
The new Pre-Rinse Spray Valve (PRSV) clean dishes in less time, so they use less water.
A good effective PRSV relies the amount of force the water exerts on the food residue.
Science Warning
If you're like me, then you probably skipped Physics. So let give you the simple of version & why this useful to know in your kitchen, rather than trying to wrap your head around Newton's Second Law.
You see Force is based on 2 factors, Mass & Velocity.
So in your kitchen, that means Mass comes from the volume of water & the Velocity is the speed of the water.
To save water with your with Pre-Rinse of your dishes adjust the valve in your PRSV. So you reduce the volume of water used & increase the speed out the nozzle, so it has the same force to rid of food residue.
Is your Dishwasher a Hungry Energy Pig?
The cost of electricity is rising, so don't get caught feeding a energy hungry dishwasher pig.
Commercial dishwashers have quick cycle times, so there should be no reason for running it with a couple of items in half empty racks because now you’re consuming additional water & energy.
An energy inefficient dishwasher costs you money to run.
So what should be looking at in a dishwasher to reduce your Power bills
You can now get commercial dishwashers which have been designed to improve energy efficiency, so you save money by reducing your power consumption.
- Wash tank insulation...
- Wash compartment insulation...
- Sensors to control conveyor movement...
- Multi-staging systems that reuse rinse water to pre-rinse dishes...
- Built-in booster heaters...
- Built-in heat exchangers...
- Advanced rinse nozzles...
- Infrared burners ...
- Double wall construction...
The Australian government agency Energy Star now rates commercial dishwashers for their energy efficiency. Energy Star rated units will operate more efficiently than non-rated ones.
So talk to us, and we’ll help you compare the Energy Star ratings when you're buying a commercial dishwasher.
The heavy cost of Labour
If the thought of how much water you waste pre-rinsing doesn't scare you, then think how much it costing you in man hours.
If you have to pre-rinse plates, glasses & Cutlery before loading them into your dishwasher, then This will require manual labour from someone.
Do you have a spare person in your kitchen waiting around to pre-rinse every dish?
Your dishwasher should be easy to use. The last thing you want to do is having to keep explaining how to turn your dishwasher on because it’s so complicated.
Just by getting a dishwasher which does not require Pre-rinsing you're saving water & reducing wasted labour. They can now do more productive prep work, rather be a slave to the dishwasher.
I’m sure there’s still going to be certain items that still need a pre-rinse to loosen baked on food. If you’re finding this a constant problem, then you should look at getting a Combi Oven. This will not only save you time & money, but it also reduces the time & effort to clean your Trays & Pans.
How many man hours you will save by investing in a faster, more labour saving dishwasher?
We understand that cafes & restaurants run on a tight budget. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of going for the cheapest option without weighing up. How much will this dishwasher cost to run?
Getting a dishwasher which saves you money on time, water, power and labour does not have to cost you an arm and leg to buy.
So before you get your next dishwasher talk to Sydney Commercial Kitchens so, we can help you compare the Initial & ongoing, Operating & Maintenance Cost of your dishwasher.
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