Ware washing is one of the most resource-consuming activities in your kitchen. Reducing the chemicals used is beneficial for both your wallet and the environment, as well as for the work environment and well-being of your staff.
Getting familiar with your local water characteristics can actually lower your chemical consumption. For example, if you have hard water, which means your water contains a lot of lime, you will most likely have to use more chemicals to remove limescale. By installing a water filter you will get rid of some of the lime before it enters your equipment, which will both save you the cleaning work and lower your chemical consumption. A win-win for your business and the environment!
Conclusion: Understanding your local water quality = an opportunity to lower your chemical usage.
A tunnel machine is a good choice when serving a high number of portions and washing larger volumes of tableware, but there is definitely one thing the tunnel machine is not optimized for and doesn't handle well: washing pots and pans.
First of all, you have to use precious water and often chemicals to soak, scrub, and pre-wash the items before they go into the tunnel – no good for your sustainability initiatives, nor your margins.
Unnecessary use of water and chemicals.
What is also an issue is that GN pans have a large surface and don't fit well in the dishwashing baskets. In turn, the tunnel machine is optimized for washing items that fit in the wash baskets - so what happens is that the GN pans, not possible to be positioned straight, push water forward or backward in the tunnel machine (depending on where in the basket the highest part of the pan is positioned). If pushed forward, the water from the dishwashing zone will end up in the rinse-zone, and then further into the drying zone. In severe cases, the water could end up outside the machine and create a wet, slippery floor.
One thing is sure, however: either scenario will result in the machine detecting low water levels in the wash tank, causing it to start filling and heating new water to make up for the loss, and dose more chemicals to create the right balance.
Conclusion: Use the tunnel machine for what it is optimized for: washing a high amount of items that don't need pre-washing, and fits well within a dishwashing basket - and invest in a proper ware washing machine that is optimized for washing and sanitizing pots and pans.
If you have a tunnel machine you're most likely descaling on a regular basis, as lime and grease tend to gather in the corners inside the tunnel machine, which is why descaling is needed.
Descaler however is acidic and not very environmentally friendly – yet, necessary for tunnel machines. Just be sure not to apply this routine to all your machines. If you have a Granule ware washer, for example, descaling should not be needed as the granules and high-pressure water inside the machine will prevent build-up. If limescale still happens, it’s an indication that something is not working correctly and you should ask your detergent supplier to check your dosing levels.
Conclusion: Avoid acidic descalers when possible.
Bad wash results often lead to the conclusion that something has to be wrong with the chemicals – and more often than never, you simply try adding more. Of course, it’s not always that easy and that’s why it is important to let an experienced detergent supplier handle your chemical dosing. Because handling chemicals for ware washing is not as easy as one might think. There has to be a precise chemical balance in order for the wares to get clean, sanitized, and dry quickly.
Right chemicals to the right ware.
As established in point 1, the quality of the water is an important factor for choosing the right chemicals, but so is the type of items you're washing. Are you washing a lot of crockery, or mainly wares made of aluminum?
Adding to this is also the factor of the right balance between detergent and rinse aid. The rinse aid will work poorly if the wares are not completely clean, and the detergent will not work well if there is a lot of lime in the water, etc etc. It’s easy to find yourself in a vicious cycle where it is hard to know why the results are not spotless, but a skilled detergent supplier should be able to help you out.
Conclusion: An experienced and well-renowned detergent supplier is key to getting a perfect chemical balance, not having to overdose the chemicals needed for ware washing.
Granule technology uses granules, high temperatures, high-pressure water, and only a small amount of detergent to deliver a powerful mechanical scrubbing effect. All in all, it uses on average 70% less water, energy, and chemicals than any other pot washing method.
Granule technology takes care of the entire washing process of pots and pans inside of the machine and eliminates manual steps like soaking and scrubbing. With no taps running uncontrolled or manually over-dosing of detergent, you stay on top of your resource consumption and get a perfectly sanitized wash result, every time.
Conclusion: Consider new ways of washing your wares and contribute to a better, healthier planet with fewer chemicals. Read more about Granule Technology from Granuldisk here.
Since Granuldisk started in the late '80s our biggest mission has been to help our customers to save water, energy, chemicals, and improve work environment in the kitchen. Having met millions of customers in the commercial kitchen industry world-wide, week after week, year after year, we’ve gathered a lot of knowledge on how to make savings in the kitchen and particularly in the pot washing area.
Let us help you with your pot washing
Compare your current costs with your potential savings in a business evaluation. All free of charge, of course.
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