Blog
Is There Mold in Your Restaurant? Pay Attention to Commercial Cleaning Sooner Than Later
Mold can be found everywhere you go. In the United States alone, there are 1,000 species of mold and around the world, more than 100,000 species are out there. While not all types of mold are dangerous, the last thing you want is to waste time-solving signs of this fungus inside your restaurant.
A restaurant kitchen has a certain humidity that makes it particularly prone to mold that will not just ruin the quality of food and cause issues with health inspections. At the same time, this can also cause illness among your employees and customers. If you want to get rid of mold in your kitchen and keep it free from mold, there are some considerations you should remember:
Telltale Signs of Mold
Restaurateurs usually pay more attention to the dining area’s appearance that they tend to overlook the condition of bathrooms and kitchens. Mold thrives in moist and warm environments and there are many surfaces in restaurant kitchens that don’t get aired out that often. As a result, kitchens are the most common areas in restaurants where mold can grow.
It is critical to conduct a thorough mold inspection so never forget checking easily overlooked spots like behind freezers, the panty, under sinks, around the microwave, and the like. Most of the time, the fungus is not visible to the eyes but you can smell it. Since mold usually grows in dark and undisturbed areas, musty odors are usually the first signs of their presence. You can watch out for slimy, fuzzy, and discolored patches and even leaks and damps.
How to Get Rid of Mold
Once you have detected that your restaurant kitchen is infested with mold, it is important that you address the issue right away as it can quickly spread. Even if the bloom is just a small one, you can solve the problem on your own using the mixture of water and bleach. In one gallon of water inside a plastic container, dilute one capful of bleach. Transfer this solution in a spray bottle.
Keep the furniture and items covered before you spray and wear goggles and gloves to protect your eyes. Make sure that the area is also well-ventilated by keeping doors and windows open and turning on the exhaust fans. Spray all affected surfaces and allow the mold to penetrate for a minimum of 5 minutes. Get rid of the fungus growth using a stiff scrubbing brush.
Prevention
You can take some precautionary measures to prevent the growth of mold from happening. You can try scheduling deep cleaning on a regular basis to put a stop on the problem before it even occurs. Try enforcing policies to ensure that restaurant garbage gets thrown out on a regular basis. Immediately address sources of excess dampness like leaks.
Mold is not something that you can just take for granted. The last thing you want is for your restaurant business to suffer because of the dangerous effects of mold. Hire the team at Courtesy Building Services Inc to help you address your mold problem sooner than later.