The sun is shining and the air is warm—it's summertime, and for many people that means ice cream. Your ice cream shop's business will skyrocket this time of the year, but this increase in customer traffic leads to a lot more dirt and mess to clean up. Whether you've got a stand at the beach or a store in the middle of the suburbs, warm weather brings its own challenges when it comes to ice cream shop cleaning.
High-Traffic Areas
More business means more mess, all day long. You might be able to get away with sweeping and mopping once a day during the winter months, but all those extra customers will require more frequent cleaning on your schedule in the summer. Depending on your environment, you may have to do the floors every two to three hours, just to combat sand and grass that's constantly being tracked in on flip-flops and sandals. Plus, lots of little customers mean more sticky messes on tables and chairs, so add frequent and regular wiping into the maintenance mix.
Table Cleaning
Most of the mess on your tables will be melted ice cream, which has a high concentration of sugar. If you're using traditional rags or sponges and buckets, then you're simply dissolving the sugar and rinsing it off into the bucket. Once the sponge is dipped back into the water, it picks up some sugar water and spreads a thin layer of it all over the table. Ever wonder why the flies love your tables so much? There's more than likely a microscopic layer of sugar painting the tabletop. Combining a microfiber pad and squeegee into one simple cleaning system eliminates this problem. You simply spread a cleaning solution onto the tabletops, then use the squeegee to remove dissolved sugar, soil, bacteria, and other foreign objects. The result is a table that's clean, dry, and free of germs and sticky sugar.
Outdoor Eating Areas
If you've got an outdoor eating area, then you've got the capacity to serve more customers; however, this presents you with a unique cleaning problem. Insects will have a field day on your furniture unless you clean it very frequently. While a squeegee and microfiber towel are ideal for wiping down tables, chair seats, and picnic table benches in between customers, the busiest ice cream days should rely on a Spray-and-Vac system. Just apply the environmentally safe cleaning solution, which will let you rinse off your tables and chairs without worry, then use the high-pressure sprayer to remove even the most dried-on ice cream drips. The wet/dry vacuum will let you vacuum up any water that pools in hard-to-reach places after you have blasted your outdoor seating area clean. One short treatment at the end of the day will leave all your outdoor furniture clean and ready for the next day's customers.
For more tips on ice cream shop cleaning and other commercial kitchen cleaning, click here.