chafers' Journal

Tips for Cleaning Catering Equipment
It doesn't matter what branch of food you're involved in - even catering - you're likely to be surrounded by stainless steel. It's in your prep area, it's your food racks, your tools, your appliances and it's certainly in your catering equipment. Keeping all of that stainless clean is extremely important because it contributes to your overall image.
Catering Equipment - Trying to find the best thing to use to keep that stuff clean is the real challenge for many caterers because there's no shortage of commercial cleaning products that make promises to the starts. You just need to find an effective method to keep it clean without spending a lot of money. It gets dirty, stains, streaks and smudges with fingerprints easily. To tend to that, here are some simple and effective tips to help you avoid investing in expensive cleaners.
Clean with the Grain -Pretty much everything you work with on a daily basis has grain. Things like wood, other manufactured products, even stainless steel. When you're cleaning, don't rub against the grain. This can damage the surface of the stainless and scratch it. Instead, clean with the grain and use a gentle towel. This is the best way to get the surface clean with a long lasting shine.
Don't Use Abrasives - When you're dealing with cast metal parts and stubborn grease you can use abrasive cleaners. When you decorative metal and catering equipment, you don't use abrasives. Things like brilo pads will remove the grease but they'll also remove a lot of the surface finish of stainless steel while also scratching it. If you have stubborn spots, soak and use some other cleaning methods.
Hot Water or Cleaners - there are a lot of cleaning agents out there but you don't need to rely on those in order to get your stainless steel clean. Soaking in extremely hot water and a simple degreasing solution can often help in removing stubborn grease and it costs very little. If you clean it regularly you won’t have to worry as much about stubborn grease.
Glass Cleaner - Glass cleaners should never be used as an all purpose cleaner because they don't effectively sanitize and can leave residue on food surfaces. They do make an effective cleaner for removing smudges and fingerprints as well as streaks from the decorative surface of stainless steel. This is the ideal choice for spot cleaning your stainless steel.
Mild Detergents - When you're dealing with stubborn grease that just won't break loose, sometimes the best choice is to upgrade to a mild grease-fighting detergent or dish soap. Commercial cleaners are available that can help cut through the stains commonly found in stainless steel that have been exposed to flame from a sterno for too long.
Catering Equipment - Finally, if you're still faced with stains that won't break free and come clean on your stainless steel the try heated water with club soda or vinegar. If you let the stainless soak and then clean and work on the stains you should find they are far more willing to give.

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