How often should I get my Ice Machine Serviced?
We know how important general maintenance and preventive service is to ensure the consistent quality product you strive for, and your patrons have come to expect. Whether you self-maintain or use a service company, the reliability, speed, and quality is the end result of a properly maintained ice machine.
If ice machines and other food equipment are not serviced on a regular basis, you may be undermining the integrity of your product. Ice machines that are not properly cleaned and maintained can be as much a source for food contamination as improperly handled meat and other food products.
Ice machines required have a potable water source and, the quality of the ice is solely dependent upon the quality of this water. Water filters on ice machines can help with this issue by not only remove chemicals & contaminants; they can also remove minerals from water that will adversely affect the flavor of your ice that will transfer to your beverages that it is placed in.
Ice machine, like your freezers, requires that Proper ventilation be available for your evaporators & condensers in order for them to remain at a cool operating temperature. Restriction of this airflow will cause the components to overheat reducing production & life of these components. In addition, energy consumption will be increased and the quality & production of the ice will be greatly reduced.
The storage bin of the ice machine can be as contaminated with bacteria as a kitchen floor drain if it is not properly cleaned and sanitized on a regular basis. Mold can collect around door seals and in the ice machine bin, contaminating your clean ice supply and adversely affecting the flavor of your beverages. The cleanings are done with an antimicrobial cleaner and scale cleaner recommended by each Manufacturer of the ice machine.
Today it is recommended that cleaning maintenance is performed every 6 months, typically in bakeries where live yeast is present you may want to consider doing it more often and possibly installing a UV light or other products that will assist in managing the live airborne bacteria. This process can be coordinated through your customized life cycle maintenance program.
A proper maintained ice machine will aid in your commercial kitchen producing the quality of your products that your customers have come to expect.
About General Parts Group
General Parts Group is a provider of Commercial Kitchen Equipment Repair Services. Founded in 1939, the company has grown to be a distributor of O.E.M. parts and provides service for over 60,000 customers and 400 manufacturers of commercial foodservice equipment. Corporate headquarters are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and with major branch operations strategically located in Arizona(3), Colorado, Florida, Idaho(2), Illinois, Indiana(2), Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri(2), Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma(2), Oregon(2), Tennessee, Texas(2) and Wisconsin(2), we are ideally positioned to provide Quality Service for over one third of the United States. We are viewed as the market leader in most of the markets we serve and in terms of overall sales, General Parts Group ranks in the top five of independent service companies nationally.