A Guide to Buying a Commercial Dishwasher

If you own a business with a kitchen, you need a commercial dishwasher to run an efficient, clean, and productive business that provides quality food and experience to its customers. With a commercial dishwasher, you can be sure that every food you prepare and serve has touched nothing but clean, shiny dishware and glassware. When you can do that, it’s also easier to gain better reviews and pass sanitation codes to keep your establishment running.

However, how do you look for a commercial dishwasher? Well, if there is one thing you need to know, it’s not the same as getting a dishwasher for your house. Since you will use it for an establishment, you need a commercial dishwasher that meets your needs. To ensure the cleanliness and health of your wares, you need a commercial dishwasher that can provide the right temperature, the right type, the right size, and of course, your needs and budget.

Here are the 5 features to look for when buying a commercial dishwasher.

Type of commercial dishwasher

There are many types of dishwashers, and you can’t expect one type to perform the functionalities of another. Getting the right type depends on what you’re looking to clean. You also need to consider the capacity, efficiency, and speed. If you’re wondering which type of commercial dishwasher to get, here are some of them:

  • Glasswasher – Glassware is fragile, which means you need a machine that can keep it clean while also keeping it intact. Generally, glasswashers are just as powerful as regular dishwashers but use less water pressure that still provides great cleaning but avoids breakages. Glasswashers can wash a large amount of glassware in a short time, clean well, and dry the glassware quickly so you can use them again as soon as possible, which is vital when you have to serve drinks to many people.
  • Rack conveyor dishwasher – If your establishment is a hotel or restaurant that continuously has a large number of people needing to dine and use your glasses and plates, a rack conveyor dishwasher will be great for you. With this, you can just put all the dirty dishes in, wait a few minutes, and you can get them back clean and dry.
  • Utility washer – A utility washer is a heavy-duty type of dishwasher designed to clean heavily greasy and soiled pans and utensils. Not only that, but they also typically offer a large capacity so you can fit even your biggest pans.

Size and capacity

When buying a commercial dishwasher, it’s important to make sure that you get a product with the right size and capacity, depending on the demand your business has in terms of how many plates, utensils, and kitchenware you need to clean on a day-to-day basis.

It’s because when you don’t have enough size and capacity, you will have dirty plates queued up to get washed. On the other hand, get one a little too big, and you’ll be wasting money on more power you don’t need and on utilities.

If your business is small, there’s even a chance that you can get away with an under-counter dishwasher, which is still a commercial dishwasher but is slightly bigger.

Temperature

Temperature plays a huge part in how clean your wares are going to be. Generally, dishwashers clean in two ways, which are low and high temperature. While they both use the same cleaning products, the difference can be seen in how the temperature influences the sanitation process.

With high-temperature dishwashers, dishes are exposed to rinsing cycles up to 180 degrees Fahrenheit and sanitized by being exposed to extremely high temperatures reaching upwards of 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

On the other hand, a low-temperature dishwasher uses chemical sanitizing agents during the sanitation process. In terms of temperature, the wash and rinse cycles only go up to around 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

The tricky part here is determining which type you need, as they have unique characteristics. Both can clean well, with the difference being the high-temp ones are typically bigger and tougher to install because they have a condensate hood. On the other hand, low-temp dishwashers can cause damage to your wares over time due to the chemical agents, but they are smaller because they don’t have a condensate hood.

Efficiency

For commercial dishwashers to work, they need a high amount of water and electricity. Since you need a commercial dishwasher, you can expect them to use more of these resources because they have better power and capacity.

With an efficient model, you won’t just save money on utilities; you’ll also be doing a favour for the environment. For better efficiency, look for commercial dishwashers with low-consumption features.

Cost

When buying commercial dishwashers, many things can contribute to costs. The bigger the dishwashers are, the higher their operating costs. Also, you need to get a long-lasting product for reduced maintenance costs.

Furthermore, consider the temperature. High-temp models dry dishes a lot faster but consume more energy, while low-temp models can damage your wares. While money is important, you also need to make sure not to get a cheap commercial dishwasher that doesn’t provide what your business needs.

Conclusion

A commercial dishwasher is a considerable expense that impacts your establishment’s efficiency. Get the wrong product, and you might end up with wares that are still unwashed because the cycles are too long, and while you’re waiting, people are getting hungry.

It’s why it’s important to find commercial dishwashers for sale Australia that fits what you need in a commercial dishwasher.