Tips on washing your wares

Whether you’re a popular gastro pub serving hundreds of covers a day or a small cocktail bar with just a few glasses to clean at the end of the night, you need to make sure you choose the right equipment for your particular operation. Poor decisions here will often lead to the hardware letting you down when you need it most.

Below, we have compiled our top tips when selecting the warewashing equipment for your establishment.

- Ensure the equipment specification matches your needs. There is little point buying a small frontloading washer for a busy commercial kitchen.

- Be wary of the ‘false economy’ of purchases. Although it may appear you are saving money if you buy smaller or cheaper equipment, when it cannot cope with the throughput of items at a crucial time, the consequences for staff and ultimately your customers could be disastrous.

- Often the largest resource in commercial kitchens, it is vital to consider the equipment’s energy efficiency. More efficient products have systems in place that convert the energy from waste steam and waste water and use it to reheat the cold water supply, resulting in energy savings.

- If you do not serve food, your requirements should be based on how busy the bar gets at peak times ie. how many glasses will be needed in an hour. Allowing a few minutes per wash should ensure there is always clean stock available.

- For busy venues, consider using a hot water washer as this will decrease the time needed on initial heat up and mean there is no recovery time between wash cycles.

- Ensure you have checked the height of the waste pipe before selecting your washer. If the entry point of the waste pipe is not lower than the machine, then a drain pump is required – these can be bought separately or in some models, are included.

- Our most popular glasswasher is the Classeq Duo 2, as it already includes all the necessary pumps and it is more energy efficient than most models, as it has a double-skinned cabinet to keep heat locked in and make the machine quieter in operation. It also has a type A air gap meaning the machine meets with current water board regulations. Find the Classeq Duo 2 here http://www.stephensons.com/classeq-duo-series-glasswashers/221191-classeq-duo-2-glasswasher-16-pint-glass-capacity-br.html