Ensuring Ice Machine Cleanliness With Regular Sanitation and Maintenance
Whether you are a commercial kitchen, a hotel, or a hospital — you need an ice machine to do business. But is your ice machine as clean as it should be?
Ice machines are often overlooked when it comes to maintenance and cleanliness. People assume that because they are cold and serve water only, ice machines don’t need cleaning. This falsehood is a dangerous one, as an unclean ice machine can have a big impact on your business.
Not only is an unclean ice machine a sign of a neglected, under-serviced business, but it can also make your customers sick. A dirty ice machine is a preventable issue that can make your whole establishment look bad.
We did the research to find out why it is important to clean your ice machine and the best ways to do it.
Table of Contents
Why Is It Important To Clean an Ice Machine?
In the medical service business, details matter. A clean ice machine isn’t just about making customers happy — ice is often used in medical settings to prevent swelling or relieve pain. Dirty ice can be a sanitary risk. In addition, ice machines are expensive, and keeping them in proper working order supports your bottom line.
8 Reasons To Regularly Clean Ice Machines
#1: Clean, Quality Ice
Why is it important to clean your ice machine? For better ice!
Ice complements beverages, and people notice dirty ice quickly. If your ice machine is not properly cleaned and serviced it can cause mold and mildew to grow or allow deposits of limescale and calcium to form on the ice. All of this causes the ice to smell and taste funky, something people notice right away.
In addition, a dirty ice machine is inefficient and makes ice worse. The shape of the ice is smaller and full of impurities and oxygen. This ice melts faster in drinks, filling the beverage with dirty, unpalatable water.
Dirty ice is gross and leaves patients wondering what else is unclean in your establishment. Clean ice indicates cleanliness in other areas of the hospital or medical facility.
#2: Elimination of Mold, Bacteria, and Biofilm Slime
Do you want to give customers ice that is full of mold, bacteria, and biofilm slime? If you do not clean your ice machine regularly, you may be doing just that.
Sometimes it is as obvious as mold in the ice chute, but other times these biohazards form in the inner workings of the machine. This is more dangerous, as the contamination is less obvious.
Mold, bacteria, and pink slime aka biofilm slime can all form in the ice machine. All of these contaminants are extremely dangerous to your customers and staff — pink slime is the result of disease-causing microorganisms growing on a surface. Pink slime is extremely difficult to clean out of an ice machine and will cause the machine to be down while sanitation takes place.
This bacteria can get into the ice machine in many different ways, as the bacteria that cause pink slime is airborne. It can come from human hands, the floor, loading trucks, and other innocuous sources. But the results are far from innocuous — contaminated ice poses a real threat to staff and patient health.
Even if your facility uses the best food-handling practices, airborne contaminants may land on your machine. That is why it is so important to regularly and thoroughly clean your commercial ice machine.
#3: Plentiful Ice Production
You need everything in your facility to work at peak productivity. If your ice machine is not regularly cleaned and serviced, you can lose a lot of ice production.
Hard water deposits and over-freezing can cause the mechanisms within the ice machine to slow, causing more power use for a less efficient product.
#4: Health of Staff and Clients
Did you know that ice can transfer dangerous bacteria such as E.coli onto food and into drinks? It’s true — unclean ice machines present a real threat to your staff and clients.
A BCC study found that many popular local coffee chains had fecal bacteria in their ice due to poorly cleaned and maintained ice machines. The bacteria found are pathogens capable of causing serious disease when ingested.
It’s not just restaurant kitchens that have a dirty ice problem. A 2012 study found E.coli in several samples of bagged ice from hotels.
The danger of contaminated ice machines in commercial kitchens and hotels is obvious, but that goes double for ice machines in hospitals and medical settings where ice packs are often used to reduce surgical inflammation and control pain.
#5: Compliance With Health Codes
As far as the FDA is concerned, ice is considered a food. Therefore, it needs to be handled with FDA standards of cleanliness.
Your commercial kitchen, hotel, or hospital must keep its ice machine up to local cleanliness codes. For most places, that involves cleaning and servicing your ice machine according to the manufacturer’s specs.
#6: Optimum Machine Functionality
Whether in a commercial kitchen, a hospital, a hotel, or a nursing home — all the machinery present needs to operate at top functionality.
If your ice machine is not cleaned and maintained, it can break down. This costs time and money, waiting for a technician to fix the machine while it’s down and possibly buying a replacement. If you get your machine cleaned and serviced, you save yourself a headache down the road.
#7: Lower Energy Consumption
If your ice machine is not making enough ice, that does not mean it is using less electricity. In fact, an unmaintained ice machine needs to consume more fuel to stay functioning while still producing less ice.
Hiring a professional HVAC-R team like Heritage Systems Services costs money — but it also saves money in the long run by making your commercial ice machine more efficient.
#8: Higher Return on Investment (ROI)
Commercial ice makers aren’t cheap. If they are not cleaned and maintained, ice machines run inefficiently, use more electricity, and break down more often. All of these things are more expensive than regular maintenance.
How Often Should Ice Machines Be Cleaned?
Ice machines need to be cleaned regularly. The rule of thumb is that ice machines need to be deep cleaned at least twice a year or every six months. This cleaning involves turning the machine off, removing the ice and fully sanitizing the entire system.
This is a time-consuming process, and hard to manage in a busy medical or restaurant facility. That’s why so many people choose to outsource this task to a trusted HVAC-R company, like Heritage Systems Services. Not only will they clean and sanitize your ice machine, but they can also do preventative maintenance, keeping the machine in top working order and saving money long-term.
Keeping Ice Machines Clean and in Top Shape With Regular Maintenance
Want to know how to keep an ice machine clean? Cleaning and sanitizing every six months is necessary for ice machine maintenance, but it is far from all that is needed to keep the ice machine in good working order.
We have broken down the daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual maintenance needed to keep your ice machine functioning at its best and to prevent it from developing dangerous mold and bacteria growth.
Daily
- Check the machine’s exterior for possible damage and water leaks.
- Sanitize visible ice machine components, such as the chute and the ice scoop. Check your machine’s manufacturer’s instructions for more info.
- Check the ice level — does the ice look the way it is supposed to? Any discoloration, funky smells, etc?
- Dispose of any ice that has been sitting for over 24 hours to prevent mold growth.
Weekly
- Check the machine’s condenser coil for any leaks or dirt
- Clean the machine’s air filter — this important step is often overlooked, causing preventable damage to ice machines. A clean air filter allows the machine to run properly!
- Check the evaporator for scale buildup from water.
- Check the water filter. If your ice is smelly and cloudy the water filter is likely clogged or dirty and needs to be replaced.
- Clean the water distribution system.
Monthly
- Every month take the time to deep clean your ice machine, including internal components.
- Monthly cleaning should also include the drain system and drip tray.
- Confirm the door is sealing properly and make sure the rubber gasket is in good working order.
Quarterly
- Check the ice bin to ensure it is clean and functioning.
- Inspect electrical connections.
- Confirm refrigerant levels.
- Clean the water inlet valve and check for scaling or pink slime.
- Consider ice machine maintenance from a trusted HVAC-R professional like Heritage Systems Services.
Annually
- Confirm that the fan motor and blades are clean and free of dust buildup.
- Confirm ice sensor is in working order
- Inspect the compressor and clean if necessary.
- Check the ice harvest cycle.
- Get a tune-up and preventative maintenance from an HVAC-R professional.
Signs That It’s Time To Clean an Ice Machine
Worried your ice machine might need maintenance? If you notice any of the following, give your ice machine a deep clean:
- Unpleasant taste or odor in ice
- Small or misshapen ice cubes
- Quickly melting or soft ice
- Cloudiness in ice
All of these symptoms are indicative of a problem with your ice machine, which can have severe consequences for your business. If you experience any of the above, clean your ice machine and reach out to Heritage Systems Services for an ice machine evaluation and tune-up.
Heritage Systems Services: Servicing Commercial Ice Machines To Guarantee Regular Cleaning and Preventative Maintenance
The engineers at Heritage Systems Services have decades of experience cleaning and sanitizing HVAC-R systems in medical settings. They recommend getting your facility’s ice machine cleaned and serviced quarterly, especially in sensitive medical environments.
This prevents microorganism build-up that can spread very fast. Depending on the bacteria that get in contact with the machine, the contamination can grow as quickly as two weeks! Yes, two weeks is all it can take for your clean ice to become dangerous in a medical setting.
We know the safety of your clients and staff is paramount to your business. That is why we take pride at Heritage Systems Services in ensuring clean ice machines and making sure that every company, clinic, or hospital can keep customers and patients happy and healthy. Call our number to schedule a professional sanitizing of your ice machine today!
The content in this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.