Commercial Kitchen Equipment: Common Cleaning Mistakes

Not all commercial kitchen equipment cleaning is the same (obviously), but you wouldn’t think that cleaning a deep fryer is that complicated. Because it really isn’t. There are only a few steps. However, the reality is that people make a lot of mistakes when cleaning the deep fryers, which are a staple in every commercial kitchen.

This could be for many reasons, including that the cleaning process is time consuming and requires a lot of effort, as well as a good attitude and patience. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the cleaning of commercial kitchen equipment generally involves cutting corners and doing minimal upkeep. As long as it serves its purpose, why spend the time, right? Wrong! Here are common mistakes made when cleaning commercial fryers. Avoid them for your, and your patron’s, health and safety!

Let the Frying Oil Cool to Room Temperature

A very common mistake made when cleaning commercial kitchen fryers is not letting the oil cool after turning the fryer off before cleaning. The first risk is to your safety, as the first step to cleaning is draining the fryer of its oil. Second, and most important to the maintenance and preservation of your commercial fryer, is that hot oil can and will damage your fryer’s filtering equipment during the process of draining.

Leave the Frying Baskets in the Fryer During Boil-Out

Another mistake made concerns the effective cleaning of your fryer’s accessories – the baskets which contain the items you intend to fry. Experts recommend leaving the baskets in the fryer, submerged in fryer cleaning solution you’ve filled the fryer with during the boil-out stage of cleaning. 

Why? Some kitchen staff remove the baskets and send them to the dishwashing area to run through the more conventional wash cycle. This often results in the fryer baskets not being effectively cleaned and cleared of grease, which may serve to contaminate the newly cleaned fryer and fresh frying oil.

Don’t Omit Cleaning the Exterior!

With so much time and attention committed to cleaning the inside of the commercial fryer, many people will skip or forget to clean the exterior of the fryer. You may not think that cleaning your fryer’s exterior is a necessary step, or that it doesn’t affect the fryer’s function and longevity, but in the long run it does.

Once the inside of your fryer has been effectively cleaned and has cooled down, using the appropriate solutions (including a degreaser), wipe the outer surfaces clean of oil and debris. This will help eliminate odors, which can affect the quality of the food items that are fried, and reduce the potential for grease buildup to affect the function of the fryer over time.

Other common mistakes include not using the appropriate cleaning solutions, especially during the boil-out phase. Contact us if you’re confused!