Extend The Life Of Your Commercial Dish Machine With Our Wet Waste Interceptor
Your commercial dish machine is one of the hardest-working pieces of kitchen equipment in your commercial kitchen. It’s responsible for keeping dishes, utensils, and cookware clean and sanitized at a rapid pace.
With such heavy daily use, it’s no surprise that your dishwasher can wear out faster than expected without the right care. Neglecting proper care of your dishwasher can lead to breakdowns, costly repairs, and even premature replacement.
The good news is that with proper maintenance and thoughtful use, you can significantly extend the life of your dish machine and protect your investment.
Keep It Clean—Every Day
Routine cleaning is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways to prolong the lifespan of your commercial dish machine. At the end of every shift, it’s important to remove leftover food debris, wipe down all surfaces, and empty the filters.
Leftover food, grease, and mineral deposits all end up damaging your equipment. Spray jets within the mechanism can become clogged with food particles.
As such, daily maintenance is a must. Utilizing the proper cleaning method ensures consistent water pressure. If your dishwasher becomes clogged, the machine has to work harder. In turn, this leads to unnecessary wear and tear.
Installing a wet waste interceptor to capture food debris can prevent your dish machine from getting clogged.
These daily tasks help prevent clogs and reduce the risk of odor or bacterial buildup. On a weekly basis, a more thorough cleaning should be completed, including descaling the interior and scrubbing the spray arms and nozzles to ensure they remain free from blockages.
A clean dish machine doesn’t just perform better—it also lasts longer.
Don’t Skip Routine Maintenance Checks
A regular maintenance schedule can catch minor issues before they turn into costly repairs. Make it a habit to inspect and replace worn-out gaskets and seals, which are essential for maintaining a tight seal during wash cycles.
Keep an eye on the spray arms and ensure they’re spinning freely and distributing water evenly. Also, monitor water pressure and temperature, as irregularities in either can put undue stress on your equipment.
Consistent maintenance protects both the mechanical components and the efficiency of your dish machine.
Load It the Right Way
How your team loads the dishwasher can have a surprising impact on the machine’s longevity. Overloading racks or placing items improperly can block water flow, reduce cleaning effectiveness, and strain internal components like pumps and sprayers.
Following the manufacturer’s recommended loading guidelines helps the dish machine run efficiently and reduces the chances of unnecessary wear and tear. Training staff to take a few extra seconds to load properly pays off in the long run.
Water Quality Makes a Difference
Hard water is one of the silent enemies of commercial dishwashers. Over time, mineral deposits can accumulate inside the dish machine, leading to scale buildup that damages heating elements, clogs jets, and shortens the overall lifespan of your dishwasher.
Using filtered or softened water can make a big difference. If your kitchen has particularly hard water, installing a water softener or filtration system can be a smart investment to protect your equipment and ensure consistently clean dishes.
Use the Right Detergents and Chemicals
Not all cleaning products are created equal. Using the wrong type or amount of detergent can not only lead to poor cleaning results, but also corrode internal parts of the dishwasher.
Always use commercial-grade chemicals recommended by your dishwasher’s manufacturer. Properly storing and measuring these chemicals also prevents damage caused by overuse or misuse.
The right cleaning agents help your machine work efficiently while minimizing wear on its components.
Train Your Team for Success
Even the best equipment can be quickly damaged by improper use. Training your team on how to properly operate, clean, and maintain the dishwasher is essential.
Clear instructions, easy-to-follow checklists, and visible reminders can ensure that everyone follows the same best practices.
Empowering your staff to take ownership of dishwasher care creates a culture of responsibility and helps prevent neglect that can lead to expensive repairs.
Bring in the Professionals
While daily care and regular in-house checks go a long way, there’s no substitute for professional servicing. Scheduling a professional inspection at least twice a year allows a trained technician to assess all internal systems, fine-tune performance, and replace any aging parts.
Preventative service appointments can often identify issues long before they affect operation, saving you time, money, and headaches down the road. It’s also a good opportunity to ensure your dish machine remains in compliance with local health codes.
Know the Warning Signs
Understanding the early warning signs of trouble can help you address problems before they escalate.
If your dish machine is taking longer to complete cycles, failing to reach the proper temperatures, or producing inconsistent cleaning results, it may be time to replace worn parts or schedule a professional assessment.
Unusual noises, leaks, or error codes should never be ignored. Addressing these signs early can keep your dishwasher running smoothly and extend its lifespan.
Follow the Manufacturer’s Recommendations
Your commercial dishwasher came with a manual for a reason. Manufacturer guidelines are full of valuable information on operation, cleaning, maintenance, and part replacement.
Following these instructions ensures that you’re caring for the machine as it was designed to be used.
Be sure to register the equipment for warranty coverage and maintain a record of all service, repairs, and parts replacements. Staying organized with documentation makes it easier to troubleshoot issues and manage long-term maintenance.
Extend The Life Of Your Commercial Dish Machine With Our Wet Waste Interceptor
If you want to keep your floor sinks from getting clogged with food solids, The Drain Strainer™ wet waste interceptor captures food debris that either can be disposed of or kept for composting.
The Drain Strainer™ can help you avoid issues with what gets put down your 3 compartment sinks. No matter how much you focus on employee training, short cuts are always going to be taken and items are going to be put down your commercial garbage disposal unit that can harm it.
A well-maintained commercial dishwasher can serve your kitchen efficiently for many years. With consistent cleaning, smart operation, and scheduled maintenance, you can reduce breakdowns, improve performance, and avoid premature replacement.
Investing time and attention now means fewer interruptions later—and more money saved in the long run.
If you want to avoid issues with clogged grease traps or commercial garbage disposal units that are leaking or have burned out motors, The Drain Strainer™ scrap collector system is an effective and affordable commercial garbage disposal alternative that doesn’t require the use of water or electricity.
Invented by a former restaurant owner, The Drain Strainer™ can eliminate issues with mangled silverware or dangers from employees putting their hands down the commercial disposal unit trying to clear out a clog.
Click here to find out more about how our food scrap collector can keep your grease trap free from clogs.
Let The Drain Strainer™ keep your floor sinks running smoothly by capturing food solids and avoiding any drain problems.