Did you know that Albert T. Marshall invented the first refrigerator in 1899?
When you really think about it, it completely transformed the food business. Nowadays, no business even remotely related to food and beverages can go around without heavy-duty commercial refrigeration.
To get the most out of your refrigerator or freezer, you need to maintain it regularly. If you have a walk-in cooler at home, you’ll need to maintain it just as much as if you had industrial refrigeration. Keep on reading for our full breakdown on commercial refrigerator maintenance and the best practices you want to add to your existing protocol.
Commercial Refrigeration Care 101: Always Check on Your Door Seals
Regularly inspecting the door seals is an essential part of your maintenance schedule. Keeping cold air in and heated air out is one of the most critical functions of the seals.
Use the dollar bill test once a month to ensure they’re safe. Close the door and place a dollar note in the door frame with some peeking out. Try to get the note out. If it’s easy to remove, you may need to fix your door seals.
Then, every six months, thoroughly clean the door seals. You may need to use a powerful cleaner in a business situation. Sodium bicarbonate and water, on the other hand, are potent combinations.
Food particles may gather in the door seal over time. Using a moist cloth to remove them and then a tiny brush (such as a toothbrush) for a thorough clean is all that is needed. High-quality industrial fridges will make your cleaning job so much more straightforward, just by the superior material quality and design.
Make Sure to Stock Your Fridge
For refrigeration equipment to function correctly, it must be almost filled. Thermal mass, or having enough frozen stock within to keep the temperature steady, is a need.
When a freezer is empty, opening it has a more significant influence than when it is complete. This simple approach reduces commercial cooler repair costs because the cooling unit doesn’t have to work as hard.
You may store jugs of water in a household refrigerator. Even though you may do this in a home freezer, you must consider the expansion of the water as it freezes. Keeping a commercial unit filled should not be difficult for obvious reasons.
It would be best if you avoided sealable containers at all costs. You may need a smaller refrigerator or freezer if you do this regularly. Having a vast unit might be nice, but smaller ones can be more efficient in the long run.
Daily Check for Your Thermostat
Broken thermostats are a common cause of walk-in cooler maintenance. A thermostat can cease reading the temperature correctly if left alone. Home refrigerators and freezers are no exception.
Thanks to frequent inspections on your freezer maintenance checklist, you can prevent this. Check the temperature of your appliance using a thermometer to make sure it’s accurate.
When it comes to commercial and residential units, you may find this in your owner’s handbook. It’s simple to call in a professional to detect problems with the temperature your unit’s thermostat is reading.
Frequently Clean Your Condenser Coils
This procedure may not be feasible in all business buildings due to the cooling system’s limitations. However, maintain the condenser coils clean if you can.
It’s just as simple in a home freezer since they’re generally grouped, making it convenient for you to get to them quickly. Repair and maintenance of your walk-in cooler should always involve cleaning. Do the following to clean the condenser coils.
To reach the coils, unplug the device from the wall and relocate it. Then, to see the coils, remove the grille. Gently brush the coils using a vacuum cleaner’s brush attachment.
Next, you’ll want to remove the dust, so you may have to enter the area with a cloth. Restart the machine by putting everything back where it belongs.
Depending on where you store the unit, you should do this maintenance at least twice a year, if not more often than that. Regularly inspecting and cleaning the condenser coils should be on your freezer’s maintenance routine.
Thoroughly Clean the Freezer Itself
It’s also critical to maintaining the device itself in good condition. If you work in a kitchen, you presumably already perform this as part of your walk-in cooler repair and maintenance.
Refrigerators and freezers should be cleaned regularly as a preventative maintenance plan. However, in a residential setting, it’s just as critical. The freezer’s exterior is primarily concerned with looks, but it also helps to clean the interior.
If your appliance has an automatic defrost feature, you may include it in your defrosting process. If yours does not, make a point of doing it by hand at least once a year to be safe. When the moment is right, there will be a lot of ice on the sides.
Removing the meal and turning off the appliance is all that’s needed to thaw it. After the ice has melted, you may drain the water out of the drain hole. After that, you may begin cleaning.
Keeping a freezer clean isn’t that difficult. Start at the top and work your way down with a hot soapy water mixture. Start with the insides, and then work your way out.
Take care to rinse and dry everything with clean water when you’ve completed the task. If there is any glass, you may use vinegar to clean it. Do your best to stay away from harsh chemicals that might end up in your diet.
Unlocking Commercial Refrigerators Maintenance and Care
Similar to any other gadget and appliance out on the market, a commercial refrigerator can only last as long as you properly take care of it and maintain it on time. We hope that we’ve shed some light on maintenance nuances when it comes to commercial refrigeration.
And, if you’re looking for more details and helpful tips, you can check out our business section for all the advice you could possibly need.