Understanding Warewashing 2011

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Understanding

Warewashing


Warewashing equipment is the collective industryname for dishwashers and glasswashers.

It derives its name from glass “ware” and table “ware.”

A common question from caterers is why can’t they use thesame machine for both glasswashing and plate washing?

The answer is, you can and very small establishmentscannot justify the cost of a dedicated glasswasher anddishwasher, but there are problems in using the samemachine for glassware and tableware.

The wash time for glassware is very short, so puttingglasses in with the longer wash cycle needed for tablewarewastes energy.

Food debris from tableware can easily cause smears andspots on glassware, leading to the need for hand finishingor re-washing.

Even putting glasses in the washing machine on their ownfollowing a tableware washing cycle can still producesoiled glassware.

Dishwashers are often programmed to do a pre-rinse cycleto clear loose food waste stuck to plates and may have ahigh finishing hot rinse to aid sanitisation.

Understanding Warewashing:


Glasswashers

Glasswashers tend to be front-loading compact machines forsmall to moderate usage of glassware, often fitting under acounter or on a bench in a preparation area.Being compact leads to fast turnaround of soiled glasses,avoiding the need for heavy glass stocking levels.While they are often sited underneath the bar because ofspace restrictions, it is better to use the bar area for retailingrather than glasswashing.Busy pubs and bars may need to move to a pull-down hoodmachine which enables rapid washing of a large volume ofglasses.

Undercounter dishwashers

Dishwashers start as compact, limited footprint machines.These look and operate in a similar way to glasswashersand are designed to fit under a bench-top in a back-of-housescullery area, still-room or satellite kitchen.These units commonly come as a front loading operation forsmall to moderate sized establishments.There are two types of undercounter dishwashers, the firstbeing a pressure type machine, this relies on the in-housewater pressure to rinse.The second is a atmospheric machine, this utilises a rinsepump to ensure a complete coverage during the rinse cycle.

Types Of Machine Available:


Pull-down hood type dishwashers

The next stage up in machine design is a pull-down hoodmachine. These are more powerful, faster and are manuallyloaded with a basket of soiled tableware. They are usuallyconfigured with stainless steel tabling either side of thedishwasher so while a basket of dirty tableware is beingwashed, another basket of dirty tableware is being loadedready to go in and a washed basket on the other side of thehood washer is waiting to be emptied. This gives a continualcycle of plate washing.

Rack conveyor dishwashers

These work on a pass-through system where the baskets ofsoiled tableware are on a conveyor belt which passesthrough the washing machine, going through wash zoneswhich start at pre-rinse, go’s to hot wash, then hot rinse andcome out on the other side of the conveyor ready forstacking away.

Flight dishwashers

These are a semi-automatic dishwashing system, similar inprinciple to rack conveyor systems, but very much bigger.They are designed to cope with huge volumes of soiledtableware which might be found in a university or hospitalkitchen, an airline food production kitchen, large staff

feeding facility or a conference and exhibition centre.

Types Of Machine Available:Cont.


Which size of machine to choose

Many small to medium businesses underestimate thecapacity of warewashing machine they need.

The big mistake is looking at the overall daily throughputand basing machine size choice on that.

This is to ignore there are always peak demand times in theday when tableware and glassware is needed very quickly.

Also, buying a machine for current needs makes noallowance for an increase in business.

The safest way toavoid buying the wrong size machine is toask manufacturers for advice.

Make An Informed Choice:


Questions to ask before buying

There are strict national regulations on how dishwashersand glasswashers should be connected to the water main toprevent contamination of the mains water system throughaccidental backflow of dirty water.Some cheaper machines may not fully comply with watersupply regulations, involving costly later modifications.Check that the machine complies.Ask about the type of steel. All warewashing machines offerstainless steel wash-tanks, but there are different gradesused in manufacture.The best is Grade 304, much more corrosion-resistant thanthe cheaper 430 grade stainless steel, though both look thesame.Ask about noise and heat emissions.Double skin casings will reduce noise, operating cost and becool to the touch.Study the energy and water consumption performance.What may seem a cheap machine to buy could prove to be avery expensive machine to run.Ask advice on the fitting of a water treatment system toprevent Limescale build-up in the internal pipework of themachine.Water treatment is essential in hard water areas andrecommended in other water areas.Be very specific about the availability of spare parts, the

turnaround time for spares and what are the serviceoptions offered with the machine.

Make An Informed Choice:Cont.

THE DECISIONS WEMAKE TODAY WILL

IMPACT ON THEENVIROMENTTOMMOROW


Look After It!

Warewashing equipment has heavy use during every serviceperiod. It is built for hard work, but not for neglect or abuse.

The biggest drain on maintenance cost of a warewashingcabinet is the failure to fit a water softening system.It is normally an extra item to a new machine, but it is not aluxury. Mains water contains dissolved salts which whenheated break out of the water and attach to metal.This will be heating elements and pipework. This familiarfurring up of metal increases energy costs and in furring upof pipework in a dishwasher can lead to serious internaldamage.

There are relatively few moving parts on a dishwasher, themain two being the pump that circulates the water aroundand the wash arms.Fitting a cheap pump is invisible and it may even deliver acomparable time for the wash cycle to an expensive unit, butit will break down quicker and more often than a well-madepump.

All warewashing machines have filter systems to trap fooddebris, but a dishwasher is not a waste disposal system andexcess food waste should be scrapped first into a dry wastebin and preferably with a pre-rinse using either a sink hoseor a simple dip and scrub in a sink or by using a wastedisposal unit.




Larger dishwashing system are built to deal with foodresidues, but with smaller cabinet machines, allowing excessplate waste to go into the cabinet could cause clogging of thewater filter system.

Under-performance of dish and glasswashing machines oftenhas nothing to do with the machine, but with the quality ofthe detergents being used.

Cheap detergents will not damage a washing machine, butcan lead to double washing because the plates and glasseswere not clean.Like any item of catering equipment, regular servicing is thekey to keeping warewashing equipment running effectively.

In BriefDo

Fit a water softening systemCheck the detergent dosing levels

Scrap plates thoroughly before washingTrain staff on good work practise

Check and un-block spray jetsDon’t

Use cheap detergentsUse a dishwasher as a rubbish bin

Neglect to clean filtersMix dirty plates and dirty glasses

Overload the machine

Documents

Understanding Warewashing 2011