Restaurant Cleaning Checklist: A full guide to a clean spring

1. Front of house

The front of house is where your guests reside and where they experience your atmosphere and delicious food. It’s never a bad idea to start off your commercial restaurant cleaning here because of its importance in the product your business offers.

Dining area:

There is nothing that will turn your customers off quicker than an untidy dining area. As traffic picks up through the spring and summer, spring cleaning is a great opportunity to make sure your dining area is in order.

To Dos

• Start with your dining tables. Make sure they are wiped down, clean and structurally sound.
• Mop and deep clean all floors. Get any carpets in your dining area professionally cleaned.
• Wash all windows and make sure they are free of dirt and smudges. Washing and dusting the baseboards.
• Clean any central areas in which your customers gather from a central table with condiments to your salad bars and drink machines.
• Clean all signage, fans, light fixtures around your dining area. If you have a menu displayed on a wall, make sure it is wiped down and cleaned.

Bathrooms

Dirty bathrooms are a telltale sign of a business not caring about the little things. Don’t skip over your restrooms in your spring cleaning process.

To Dos

• Change out and clean soap dispensers. Make sure they are full of soap and functioning properly
• Replenish and clean the towel dispensers and hand dryers and that they are functioning properly
• Wipe down and degrease bathroom stall doors
• Clean your toilets, change tables and sinks

2. Back of house

The back of house operation is where you make food for your customers. Beyond the obvious need to pass health inspections easily, keeping it clean and sanitary with a deep spring clean will make things easier for you and your staff in the long run.

The kitchen:

To Dos

• Mop the floors
• Clean the walls, particularly behind your kitchen equipment. This is a prime place for dirt, dust, debris to accumulate
• Disinfect the trash cans
• Clean and inspect cups, forks, knives, plates and other dishes and utensils

Cooking equipment

Your cooking equipment helps you make the tasty items on your menu. They also collect dirt, food particles and grime over time. Your top-of-the-line restaurant equipment deserves a restaurant deep cleaning to avoid an uncleanly kitchen environment and potential equipment malfunction. Quality restaurant equipment requires regular cleaning and maintenance.

To Dos

• Ensure all equipment is cleaned and functioning properly
• Equipment list: stoves, ovens, flat tops, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, char broilers, grills
• Clean fryers and used cooking storage tanks, as well as maintenance check
• Wipe down and dust all storage shelves, pantries and closets

Restaurant hood cleaning

Your hood systems are important to keep tidy not only from a cleanliness perspective, but also to avoid a potential hazard. Over time, grease, dust and debris accumulate in the kitchen exhaust hood system and surrounding areas. This restricts the amount of heat and smoke that escapes the room and building, which increases the risk of fire.

• Clean off exhaust filters
• Empty grease catch and wipe away residue
• Check the fan belt and remove any build up

Don’t let messiness lead to a fire. Make sure your hood ventilation systems are clean. It will help keep your food tasting good, your equipment functioning as intended and your employees safe.

3. Outside the restaurant

Patio area:

As the weather warms up during spring, if your building has outdoor or patio seating, guests are likely to spend time there. Make sure that area is clean so your guests can enjoy the weather while also enjoying your food and drink.

To Dos

• Remove any furniture covers from the winter and ensure any dust buildup from the furniture being covered is cleaned properly
• Wipe down all chairs, tables and furniture
• Power wash (or mop depending on surface) the patio floor
• Dust off and clean any fans or heaters on the patio

Parking lot and surrounding area

The parking lot is the first place your customers will be upon entering the premises and the last thing they’ll see before they leave. Cleaning up in and around your parking lot is an important way to give off an orderly and inviting impression. From trash corrals to parking lot trash, make sure it is all included in your spring cleaning plans.

To Dos

• Clean up trash, cigarette butts and other debris
• clean up the area around your dumpster corral and your outdoor grease container
• Power wash the sidewalks
• Ensure any exterior doors and windows are cleaned

4. Maintenance

The last thing your restaurant needs in its busiest seasons is a major malfunction to your used cooking oil recycling or grease trap maintenance systems. Routine maintenance checks to see if your indoor or outdoor used cooking oil storage tank, is functioning properly. The same goes for your grease trap. Have a plumber inspect your pipes annually and invest in kitchen line jetting as needed. Don’t let an overflow or backup grind your operation to a halt. Make sure these facets of your kitchen are up to par.

To Dos

• Check your used cooking oil storage tank for leaks
• If you have direct connect: make sure the connection between fryer and storage tank is solid
• Clean your used cooking oil transfer equipment such as grease caddy or filter machine
• Have your grease trap inlet and outlet pipes professionally line jetted
• Check and clean your grease trap manhole cover
• Set up regular, preventative maintenance service for your restaurant grease trap

Spring is an optimal time to get cleaning and maintenance done as your restaurant enters its busiest season. This restaurant cleaning checklist will help you and your staff get the process started and make sure a thorough job is done to keep your restaurant running smoothly.