As a grocery store or market owner or owner in another industry that utilizes a walk-in freezer, you know the importance of keeping this resource in top shape. After all, losing this one tool can cost you greatly in terms of lost product and rob you of the man hours needed to invest in the cleanup process. Therefore, cleaning your walk-in freezer on a consistent basis is incredibly important.
Importance of Regular Cleaning
Your walk-in freezer when well-maintained will provide added safety for the employees who access them as well as run more efficiently. Some people mistakenly assume that the cold environment means that microbes aren’t an issue, but that is not the truth. In fact messes in a walk-in freezer can be immensely costly for a business as previously mentioned. Therefore, maintaining a clean environment inside your walk-in freezer is imperative. This means performing regular cleanings, depending on the freezer’s use, either weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly.
Gather Your Supplies
As a way to make the regular maintenance easier and ensure that you have all the cleaning supplies on hand you need to do the job, you should make sure you have all the following supplies gathered and stored in a specified location:
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Including gloves and safety glasses.
- Cleaning cloths, such as microfiber cloths
- Freezer cleaner
- Coil cleaner
- Stiff bristle brush
- Vacuum
- Broom
- Mop and bucket or auto scrubber
Steps to Cleaning Your Walk-In Freezer Floor
Now that you have your supplies gathered, and your cleaning schedule outlined, it’s important to follow the steps listed below to do the most thorough job cleaning your walk-in freezer:
Track Expiration Dates for Food Inside
Cleaning the inside of your walk-in freezer presents the ideal opportunity to look at all the food inside and get rid of items that are out of date. Items that are close to being out-of-date could be put on sale. It’s especially helpful to remove any food that has spoiled that could leak and cause a mess or contaminate other food that is still in-date. Also, spoiled food tends to attract pests and will release spores that can reduce the life of other food, so keeping an eye on the dates and the condition of food stored in a freezer is immensely important.
Regularly Sanitize and Clean Surfaces
Use a brush to loosen dirt and dust from interior fans and other lingering debris. Then, using cleaning cloth, it’s helpful to wipe down the interior of the freezer with a freezer cleaner as a way to clean and sanitize the space. It’s important to use a freezer cleaner as this will help melt the ice that naturally builds around the shelving units and walls. This is important to do regularly to maintain a clean interior and prevent the freezer from getting too fifthly.
Maintain Door Seal and Temperature
Mold is a common problem for many walk-in freezers, as even a slight change in interior temperature or a reduction in the seal of a door can lead to these issues.Therefore, ensure the door closes and maintain its seal and temperature at all times.
Sweep and Mop the Floor
Sweep and mop floors regularly to avoid attracting pests from food spills and debris, which is how to clean a walk-in freezer floor. Make sure to clean up spills as quickly as possible after they happen to avoid additional messes.
Commercial Cleaning with Oracle Cleaning Solutions
Whether you have a business, operate an educational or retirement facility or are in nearly any other industry, commercial cleaning services can ensure that the environment in which you work is clean, sanitary, and well organized. For more tips on cleaning your walk-in freezer or to get help with this job, contact us at Oracle Cleaning Solutions.