Proper Grocery Refrigerator Cleanliness Prevents a Dire Chain Reaction

Maintaining grocery refrigerator cleanliness gives so many wins to store managers. Well-cleaned refrigerated cases work at peak efficiency, requiring less energy, and fewer service calls. The practice maintains temperature in produce, dairy, and meat cases, keeping product safe and cutting food waste. Good grocery store refrigeration maintenance protects human health, equipment health, and the health of your store’s reputation.

So why don’t managers keep regular refrigerated case cleaning on the schedule?

Because cleaning those refrigerated cases is a huge pain. The process is time consuming and unpleasant. Plus, the mess is largely hidden behind equipment casings and under shelves making it easy to postpone the task—or forget about all together.

Until equipment faulters and fails. This sets off a dire chain reaction of leaky cases, lost product, high energy bills, and expensive service calls. At its worst it can lead to customer illness and surprise visits from the health department. All while your brand image goes down the clogged drain.

There is some good news. A grocery refrigeration cleanliness solution exists. It disrupts that sinister chain reaction, protecting your store’s assets and your good name.

The Dirty Refrigerated Case Chain Reaction

Here’s how the dirty refrigerated case chain reaction works and what it costs your grocery store. It all starts with the equipment. There are over 1.5 million cooler cases in the United States, costing about $1,500 per unit. That adds up to a $2.5 Billion investment.

Once installed these units get dirty. And that’s where the chain reaction begins. Dirty equipment works harder to maintain temperature. It doesn’t take much to make a big difference. Take energy costs for instance. As little as 0.042” of dirt on condensing coils cause a 21% drop in efficiency, increasing energy use by 35%, sending high electricity bills even higher.

The extra strain also cuts the expected lifespan of equipment. Produce cases, meat cases, and dairy cases could last 15-20 years. But dirty refrigerated cases last only 10 years. This means earlier turnover of expensive equipment.

Eventually poorly maintained units clog and leak. This is particularly true for produce cases filled with unpackaged fresh fruit and vegetables. Bits of food, think carrot tops, lettuce leaves, and cilantro, shed and make their way under shelving units to clog drainage systems.

This food shed creates the perfect environment for dangerous bacterial growth. Your refrigerated cases start to smell. Water (or some mystery liquid) pools around the cases. Customers take notice. In extreme cases they get ill, the health department stops by to investigate health code violations, and your store’s reputation is forever tarnished.

Commercial Refrigeration Cleaning Solutions Stop the Chain Reaction

Regular refrigerated case cleaning is the only way to stop this dire chain reaction. But asking employees to take on the task is hit or miss. Cleaning cases is time consuming, tedious, and frankly unpleasant. Employees are not well equipped to handle the job, and managers can’t find time to add it to their already tight schedule.

So, they farm the job out to expensive third-party vendors. Calls to refrigeration experts account for one/third of a grocery’s repairs and maintenance budget adding up to an average of $33,900 per location per year.

There is a more cost-effective way to disrupt the chain reaction and ensure grocery refrigeration cleanliness. The Refrigerated Case Cleaner from Kaivac integrates everything your workers need to clean cases on one platform. This innovative cleaning solution institutes repeatable outcomes resulting in consistent, repeatable results.

That means no improvising with whatever tools workers find in the cleaning closet. And no excuses for dirty cases. The advanced cleaning machine is easy to learn and gets the job done three times faster than traditional methods. Think of it as a workforce multiplier, letting your staff do more in less time.

Disrupt the sinister chain reaction in your refrigerated cases. Contact Kaivac for your commercial refrigeration cleaning solution today.