Most people will not have to deal with Florida's tropical storms or Michigan's heavy snows, but no matter where you are, you'll have bad weather that causes customers to track dirt into your restaurant. Dealing with food spillage is the biggest problem with restaurant kitchen floors, but in the front of the house, it's the customers themselves who create most of the dirt. Unless you want to spend a good portion of your day cleaning floors, the smartest thing to do is to prevent as much being tracked in as possible. You may not be able to control the weather, but you do have some control over how much the effects of the weather impact your business.
Floor Mats
Every restaurant should have floor mats in front of the door. Don't skimp on quality, as they will trap most of the dirt and water you're trying to avoid. Choose thick mats that cover the entire restaurant entrance, and use two mats if one doesn't cover the entire area. A good quality commercial floor mat will trap dirt and dust from dry shoes, mud and water on stormy days, and snow, salt, and ice crystals during northern winters. Keep at least two or three sets of mats and switch them out nightly, more often if one gets soaked or covered in mud. Hang wet mats overnight to dry, and clean dirty ones on a daily basis. Or, consider renting from a company that will swap them out regularly.
Cleaning Floors Frequently
A nightly cleaning might be enough for the front of the house during good weather, but on days when customers are likely to track something in, it makes sense to increase your cleaning schedule. Pull up the mats and shake them outdoors, trade them out for clean or dry versions if they can't be used, and clean the floor underneath and around the area before replacing the mats. This will clean up anything the mats missed, keeping it from spreading to the rest of the floor.
Floor Cleaning Methods
Traditionally, restaurant owners cleaned their floors with a mop and bucket, which mostly just pushes the dirty water around on the floor surface and never picks up all the soil and water on the floor. The OmniFlex Dispense-and-Vac for Food Service has improved on that method, with a system that includes always-fresh cleaning solution, heavy-duty scrubbing brushes, and a vacuum removal system that takes care of all residual dirt as well as the water that can become a safety hazard and hold soil on the floor tiles. Instead of spreading around mop water and propping up Wet Floor signs, you'll have a clean and dry surface for your customers to walk on safely.
To learn more about cleaning restaurant flooring, click here.
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KaiVac 1250 No-Touch Cleaning® SystemWhen it comes to restrooms and other heavily soiled areas, nothing beats Spray-and-Vac cleaning. Kaivac's No-Touch Cleaning systems are built for extreme soil removal, empowering workers to clean hygienically without touching contaminated surfaces. Plus, it cuts labor, chemical and equipment costs.Achieving great, consistent results is easy with these patented systems. Simply apply automatically diluted cleaning solution to fixtures and floors in a low pressure fan spray, and then rinse surfaces and floors with always-fresh, clean water. The built-in power of the indoor pressure washer flushes soils out of grout lines and tight places that mops can't reach. Finally, just vacuum the floor dry -- completely removing soils, moisture and contaminants from all surfaces, grout lines and crevices, leaving the floor virtually dry and soil free.The Kaivac 1250 is ideal for smaller areas. It boasts a 12 gallon fresh water and a 12 gallon recovery tank. The system is powered by a 500 p.s.i. pump and a powerful 3-stage wet/dry vacuum.
KaiPow™ DegreaserKaiPow is a general purpose degreaser that rapidly penetrates oils, greases, fats, and soils. KaiPow is perfect for food service, food processing and industrial applications where stubborn, greasy soils are prevalent.Like all Kaivac chemicals, KaiPow is designed specifically for use with our wet vacuum systems. Too often, users simply apply common cleaning detergents or mop soaps when cleaning and then carelessly vacuum them up. This is like pouring standard dish soap into an automatic dish washer. The result is predictable - extreme foaming, filling the vacuum tank with useless suds and causing premature shut-off. Worse, the excess foam has the potential to damage the vacuum motor. We are so confident in the performance and suitability of our chemicals that we extend our equipment warranty to customers who use them exclusively.Now also available in 8 oz. preportioned packets
OmniFlex™ Dispense-and-VacThe OmniFlex Dispense-and-Vac system offers a simple, fast approach to cleaner, safer floors. Its extreme cleaning capabilities achieve hygienic results in even the heaviest soil and grease conditions. In fact, like most Kaivac systems, it's up to 60 times better at removing soil and contaminants than mopping. That makes the Dispense-and-Vac is perfect for food service establishments, industrial facilities, light duty public restrooms and much more.Just apply fresh cleaning solution to the floor, spread and lightly brush into grout lines, and then completely vacuum away all soils and liquid, leaving floors really clean and bone dry. It's perfect for daily cleaning and degreasing of commercial floors. It's also great for applying and removing stripper on finished floors. The process is radically better, faster and safer than cleaning with a mop.
Click here to see the compact Space Saver Dispense-and-Vac model
OmniFlex™ AutoVac™ Add-on KitThe AutoVac Add-on Kit quickly transforms your OmniFlex into an automated high performance floor machine that rivals the performance of an autoscrubber - at a fraction of the cost!A really fast, simple approach to clean, safe floors, this system is perfect for high speed cleaning of hard surface areas, such as hallways, cafeterias, lobbies, warehouses, fitness areas and more. It’s as fast and effective as an autoscrubber without the added cost or complexity, making it perfect for building service contractors and facility managers alike.Simply combine this kit with an OmniFlex Trolley-Bucket and an OmniFlex Wet Vacuum and start cleaning!
