Cleaning is incredibly important in the food service industry for preventing cross-contamination and passing health inspections. It’s imperative that you clean your restaurant regularly and thoroughly. With so many things to clean in a restaurant, it can be difficult to remember all the individual cleaning tasks that you need to take care of and how regularly you need to clean your equipment. To lessen the burden, we created this restaurant cleaning checklist that your employees can use to keep track of the cleaning tasks that need to be completed.
Back-of House Cleaning Checklist
Cleaning the back-of-house area consistently and thoroughly is important for preventing cross-contamination and the spread of bacteria. Here is the list of things you should be cleaning in the back-of-house:
Daily Restaurant Cleaning Checklist:
- Disinfect prep area surfaces
- Wipe down the walls wherever there are splashes
- Clean the grill, griddle, range, flattop, and fryer. Make sure to get underneath the equipment, also
- Change the foil lining on top of the ranges, grills, and flattops
- Wipe down other equipment, such as coffee makers, microwaves, toasters, and meat slicers
- Clean beverage dispenser heads in the soda fountains, and bars should clean the tips of the soda guns
- Wash the utensils, smallwares, flatware, and glassware and let them air dry overnight
- Clean the sinks
- Wash rags, towels, aprons, and uniforms in the washing machine
- Sweep walk-in refrigerators and storage areas
- Refill soap dispensers and replace empty paper towel rolls
- Disinfect the waste disposal area and clean the trash cans
- Take out the trash and recycling
- Sweep and mop the floors
Weekly Restaurant Cleaning Checklist:
- Delime the sinks and faucets
- Clean ovens, including the walls, door, and racks
- Boil out the deep fryer
- Wash and sanitize the walk-in refrigerators and freezers
- Clean any anti-fatigue mats
- Use drain cleaner on the floor drains
Monthly Restaurant Cleaning Checklist:
- Wash behind the hot line to prevent clogs
- Run cleaning and sanitizing chemicals through the coffee or espresso machine to remove built-up grime
- Clean out and sanitize the ice machine (every 6 months)
- Clean and sanitize the freezer
- Clean refrigerator coils to remove dust
- Empty grease traps
- Wash walls and ceiling to remove grease buildup
- Wash vent hoods (every few months)
- Replace pest traps
Front-of-House Cleaning Checklist
Having a clean front-of-house area is obviously important because the cleanliness of your dining space affects how your guests perceive your business and whether they choose to become repeat customers. Here is a checklist of things you need to clean in your front-of-house:
Daily Front-of-House Cleaning Checklist:
- Inspect and wipe down the condiments and salt and pepper shakers
- Wipe down the walls if necessary
- Sanitize the tables
- Wipe down all the counters
- Run cloth napkins, tablecloths, and wait staff aprons through the washing machine
- Take out the trash and recycling
- Clean the interior and exterior of all the trash and recycling bins
- Vacuum the carpets
- Sweep and mop the floors
- Clean and sanitize your bathrooms by:
- Disinfecting the toilets
- Clean the seats and benches
- Wiping down the sinks
- Emptying out feminine hygiene product bags
- Taking out the trash
- Sweeping and mopping the floors
Weekly Front-of-House Cleaning Checklist:
- High dusting – dust and wipe down the light fixtures
- Disinfect the door handles
- Wash glass windows and doors
Monthly Front-of-House Cleaning Checklist:
- Dust any decorations or wall art
- Check the ceiling for cobwebs
- Wash the walls
Consider Getting Some Help
Too many restaurants and bars rely on their staff to do all the cleaning. Finding good, reliable help is always difficult. So why risk burning them out? The last thing talented chefs, line cooks, sous chefs, servers and front-of-house staff want to do after a long shift is lots of scrubbing, mopping and cleaning. Keep your employees happy and focused on what they do best – serve your customers. Let us take the load off, especially with deep cleaning chores. Call One Stop today to get your place looking great without burning out valuable staff.
One Company. Many Locations Served.
