Guide To Clean a Commercial Ice Maker
Owning a commercial ice maker is a big plus for any commercial store, restaurant, or relaxation hub. You get tonnes of ice available to serve everyone—whether it’s a few cubes for a chilled drink, or a bag of ice for domestic use. As much as you’re paying attention to ensure that your water source is pure and hygienic, there’s another key area to pay attention to, which is how to clean the commercial ice machine!
Knowing how to clean a commercial ice machine is critical for a hygienic ice-making process, especially if the ice maker works for hours non-stop. As a proud or soon-to-be owner of our Euhomy commercial ice maker, you’re about to discover how to thoroughly clean out the ice maker to continue to produce fresh and clean ice to meet the demands of your patrons.
Step-by-step Guide for Cleaning a Commercial Ice Machine
Knowing how to clean your ice machine is essential, especially if you’re keen on doing it right without interfering with the functionality of the machine. Cleaning also helps to prevent mold from building up within your machine and keeps the ice fresh, clean, and uncontaminated. A lot can go wrong with a dirty ice maker. Apart from the ice ruining the taste of the drink, it could also make people fall ill or hamper the effectiveness of the machine.
The following easy steps will guide you on the proper process for your ice machine cleaning and help you avoid all the troubles that come with using a dirty ice machine.
1. Have your cleaning supplies handy:
Before you commence your cleaning process, it’s essential to have your cleaning items handy for a thorough and effective cleaning process. It’s important to have all of these items handy or work with available alternatives that will get the job done.
These items include:
- 2 Dish clothes for wipe downs
- A bowl
- Sufficient water supply
- Mild liquid dish soap or liquidized detergent
- Lemon water or acid vinegar
- Ice machine cleaning solution (not compulsory)
- Soft brush
2. Empty out the ice machine:
You need to plan your ice machine cleaning day, which could be at least once a week, such that you’re not doing it at a time when ice is in high demand, for instance, on a hot and sweltering afternoon. You may choose your cleaning time before the start of the work day or after. At this time, you’re sure that all the ice produced has been used up and the machine is ready for a clean-up.
Also, shut down the machine using the power button or disconnect it from the power source while cleaning for safety purposes, and only switch it back on when you’re about to run the cleaning cycle.
3. Start cleaning the machine:
Now that you’re set, put some water into the bowl and put in some mild liquid dish wash. Ensure that you’re using something mild, as something strong can leave a scent in the machine, even when washing is over, that could affect the taste of the ice. Use a piece of dishcloth dipped in the soap and water solution to wipe down the exterior of the ice machine while it’s turned off.
Move on to cleaning the machine’s interior by mixing some lemon or vinegar acid in a bowl of water and pour into the water tank for deep cleaning. For light cleaning, the soapy water from the liquid dish soap or detergent mixed with water will do. Otherwise, you can use a store-bought cleaning solution for cleaning.
Open the machine’s lid to access the ice-making chamber, and gently rub the brush and water on the surface and corners for effective cleaning and to remove mold. To clean the inner chambers, power on the machine, then press the timer button for more than 5 seconds to get it into cleaning mode. Allow this to run repeatedly for up to 30 minutes.
4. Rinse and drain out with clean water:
After the washing process, uncover the cap of the drain port just behind the unit and plug in the drain pipe, so all the soap water flows out. Afterward, repeat the clean cycle with pure water, and soap is drained out of the system. After the process, unplug the pipe and replace the cap of the drain port so water doesn’t flow out unexpectedly.
5. Do a thorough wipe-down with the other napkin:
Use a piece of dishcloth or napkin to dry off the machine’s interior and exterior. For safety, after the cleaning cycle, set up the machine to run an ice-making cycle and discard those. This is to ensure that all bad water is out of the system, and you can now set up the unit to produce clean and safe ice for public consumption.
After finishing all the steps above, now go ahead and make your clean ice cubes with Euhomy commercial i
