Cleaning & Disinfection of Stainless Steel For Covid19

Covid19 have bought many extra restrictions for the hospitality industry. As we return to some level of
normalcy within our industry here are a few key points to remember when you are cleaning your stainless steel benches.

It’s important to clean before disinfecting because organic matter and dirt can reduce the ability of disinfectants to kill germs. A combination of both will be most effective in preventing spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Cleaning and disinfecting are two different processes:
Cleaning means physically removing germs, dirt and organic matter from surfaces.
Disinfecting means using chemicals to kill germs on surfaces.

1. General Cleaning Methods

Mild detergent and hot water are the most effective day to day cleaning method for stainless steel benches.
Remember to polish or wipe with the grain of your bench top to help diminish marks or scratches.

2. Disinfecting

Only alcohol disinfectants can be used on stainless steel. Alcohol-based disinfecting solutions should be at least 70% alcohol and can be used to clean a variety of surfaces such as things like table surfaces,
light switches, and mobile phones.
When disinfecting, special attention should be given to frequently touched surfaces and objects such as handles and bench edges.

Do Not Use Bleach on Stainless Steel

Harsh bleaches can permanently ruin any stainless steel surface.
Bleach is often a go-to for disinfecting stainless steel appliances. However, this can stain or corrode the material, as well as quaternary ammonium compounds and oxygen bleach. Please check the list of ingredients, to ensure that bleach is not listed as one of the ingredients.

For the best stainless sink bench options and cleaning tips, contact our friendly Brayco team today.

Some General Points to Note

The virus is highly contagious and it is important to make sure that frequently touched objects are cleaned properly to prevent the spread. Frequently touched objects can vary by location, for example, light switches, doorknobs, handrails, kitchen appliances, tables, drawer pulls, sinks, handles, elevator buttons, keys, and remote controls. Your staff should follow existing procedures for using gloves or other personal protective equipment (PPE). Post cleaning, the gloves should be discarded.

Useful further reading:
https://www.insider.com/how-to-kill-germs

https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-information-specific-audiences/covid-19-general-cleaning-and-disinfection-advice

Benefits Of Stainless Steel For Commercial Kitchens & Catering

As Australia’s leading stainless steel benches and cabinet manufacturers, we find ourselves providing bespoke solutions for a lot of commercial kitchens.

Stainless steel is the most hygienic choice for kitchens because it is an affordable and reliable material.

Other than using a highly expensive metal such titanium, stainless steel provides a surface that is easy to keep sanitary in a commercial kitchen environment.

Cleaning Stainless Steel Surfaces

You may have heard that stainless steel is crucial for hygiene in commercial kitchens and catering environments.

In hospitality or commercial kitchens, sanitation is important to prevent food related illnesses. In particular when it comes to stainless steel sink benches, where dishes are washed, it is paramount to prevent food from being cross-contaminated by other substances.

Stainless steel’s hygiene properties can be summarised through it’s easy maintenance. Daily cleaning of all kitchen benches and cabinets is commonplace. This means that stainless steel needs to be highly resistant to rust and scratches.

Stainless steel surfaces don’t have pores, making it impossible for dirt, bacteria, fungi or viruses to gain a “foothold” – if you don’t own a stainless steel bench yet you will love how easy it is to clean.

The cleanability of stainless steel is similar to that of glass. It is far superior to materials such as plastic or aluminium. When all of this is considered, you have a surface that provides aesthetics, economy, durability and protection against bacteria. No wonder it’s such a popular choice in restaurants and hospitality businesses around Australia!

Stainless steel benches is ideal for food applications so that it’s no surprise that it’s an established material of choice for food businesses.

Stainless Steel Corrosion Resistance

Its resistance to corrosion makes it last a long time. This can be attributed in part to its non-porous nature.

While stainless steel is a durable and sturdy surface, it is also soft enough that it can be easily formed into whatever piece of equipment is necessary, which makes it an ideal material for use on kitchen benches and sinks.

Stainless Steel Types – 304, 316 and 430

Now you may be wondering what type of stainless steel is best for your commercial sinks kitchen.

The stainless steel types range from 304, 316 to 430 as the most commonly used steel surfaces for manufacturing.

To find more about stainless steel types in our article:

Stainless Steel Types For Restaurant Kitchens & Hospitality

Commercial Kitchen – Cabinets, Benches & Shelving Layout

The key to your success as a food business is in the kitchen design.

A strong design will make your kitchen run smoothly and efficiently, so everything must be planned long before you open your restaurant. Everyone knows you need great staff, solid equipment and a chef who knows what they’re doing – but a vital part of your operation is the design of your commercial kitchen.

In our opinion there are five aspects to the optimum kitchen design. These are:

1. Storage: Ingredients must be kept fresh and free from contamination and at the right temperature depending on the product. Utensils must be easily accessible.
   Storage can be split up into dry storage and cold storage.
   DRY STORE: A dry storage room or allocated area is a must in a kitchen environment and houses all of the ambient goods that are used – whether it’s tinned or canned goods, spices or fresh produce. Similar to the freezer room, when you are designing a smaller environment and space is limited, then kitchen wall shelves and over bench shelving are valuable options.
   COLD STORE: Of course the preferred choice would be a walk-in freezer store but when designing smaller environments this is normally one of the luxuries to be sacrificed. Walk-in freezer stores differ from cold stores in the fact that they need an insulated floor to maintain its optimum temperature.
   This is achieved by having either a raised floor creating a step into the room or by creating a recess in the slab so that the finished surface of the freezer room can be flush with the surrounding floor heights, thus creating the ability to roll in trolleys directly. In a lot of cases, freezer storage capacity is created using upright stand alone shelving, especially where space is at a premium.
2. Food Preparation: Whether you’re chopping onions or poultry, it’s vital to segregate different types of food during prep. Sinks with extra bench room and sink covers allow for extra prep space in a small work area. Another option is to add a central work table with over bench shelving for convenience and to double up storage space.
3. Cooking Station: The cookline is the heart of the kitchen and the engine. The location of the cooking equipment is vital to a smooth operation and can be seamlessly integrated with your stainless steel benches. A combination of benches and cabinets for easy transition from prep to cook area offers valuable workspace and storage, keeping items within easy reach.
4. Food Service: Efficient kitchen design means front-of-house staff have rapid and safe access to the pass without disrupting the kitchen flow. Stainless cabinets in this area can house plates and service ware and are neatly tucked away when not required.
5. Cleaning and Washing: Plates, glasses, cutlery constantly need to be washed ready for re-use in a busy kitchen. A stainless steel sink bench is the perfect way to wash dishes efficiently. A well designed wash-up that allows adequate space for sorting and handling in conjunction with the correct dishwasher is vital. Combine dishwash benches and sinks with an open lip to slide the wash trays into the washing machine and out. Add a tap with shower head to help rinse before putting in the washing machine.

Kitchen design is a laborious task and can take many hours of head scratching to figure out your best layout.
Come and see us in the branch and we can show more options to help you finalise your kitchen layout.

 

Also checkout:

• Epoxy wire shelving for cool rooms

Is Stainless Steel The Perfect Material For Commercial Kitchens?

Why Use Stainless Steel in Your Kitchen?

Stainless steel is one of the most common materials found in kitchens today. It’s used in everything from appliances to cookware, dishware, flatware and utensils because it is durable, easy to sanitize and corrosion resistant to various acids found in meats, milk, fruits and vegetables.

At Brayco, we understand that commercial kitchens are the busiest places in the hospitality industry. The rush goes on from morning to night without any respite. This calls for increased efficiency and an utmost hygienic atmosphere with extremely durable equipment.

Stainless steels’ impermeable surface prevents the absorption of moisture and the resulting decay. Most importantly though, stainless steel is a safe option when it comes to use with food and beverage, as there are no chemicals that can migrate into your food from these products.

The major stainless-steel components of a commercial kitchen are food-grade work benches, sinks, shelving, cabinets as well as cool and dry storage.

Brayco Stainless Steel Products

• Stainless Steel Benches
• Stainless Steel Cabinets
• Stainless Steel Sinks, 1,2 & 3 bowl
• Stainless Steel Wall Mounted Sinks
• Stainless Steel Taps
• Stainless Knee Operated Sinks
• Stainless Steel Wall Shelves
• Stainless Steel Dishwasher Compatible Sinks and Benches
• Stainless Steel Trolleys
• Stainless Steel 4 Tier Shelf Units

Stainless Steel: Composition and Types

Stainless-steel is the name given to the category of several iron-based alloys that have at least 10.5% of chromium. It is an amalgamation of iron and different metals in different ratios.

304 Stainless Steel

This is the most popular stainless steel type used in industrial applications. It contains 65% iron, and its major components are 18% chromium and 8% nickel.

It is high in demand for its non-magnetic quality. This alloy features a lower conductivity of heat and electricity as compared to carbon steel and regular steel. It can withstand the corrosive impacts of chlorides and other minerals found in water. These attributes make the 304 stainless steel stress corrosion-resistant and thereby crack proof.

These steels also exhibit excellent resistance to a wide range of atmospheric, chemical and food industry exposures. Typical uses include architectural mouldings and trim, surgical equipment, kitchen equipment and food processing.

Most of our Brayco Products are made with ultra durable, rust resistant and easy to clean 304 Stainless steel.
Use of 1.2mm thick 304 steel on benches ensures strength and durabilty.

430 Stainless Steel

This alloy has a greater quantity of iron and negligable nickel. It is made of 80% iron, 16-18% chromium and 3% constitutes the other non-iron metals. Due to its high iron content, it falls under the ferritic category of steels – magnetic. It is resistant to corrosion, does not react to nitric acid. These crucial properties make the 430 steel more suited to automotive trim and molding, furnace combustion chambers, dishwashers, range hoods, gas burners on heating units, gutters and downspouts.
430 Contains a negligible amount of nickel and therefore has a reduced corrosion resistance (is more likely to rust than 304 but still high quality). It does not provide the resistance to pitting by dilute reducing acids that is provided by the 304 grade steel.

NB: Nickel enhances the corrosion resistance of stainless steel. Therefore, the higher the nickel content, the more resistant the stainless steel is to corrosion.

Frequently Asked Stainless Steel Questions

Are all stainless steel food grade?

The most common of all stainless steel grades. 304 is used in kitchens throughout the world.
Other grades are more suitable for marine applications, cutlery and food storage containers.
There are many different kinds of food grade stainless steel options available for your kitchen. Whether you need food grade containers or food grade pots and pans, please make sure you check the quality of the steel before you buy.

Difference between 304 and 430

The “grade” of stainless steel refers to its quality, durability and temperature resistance. The main difference is the composition of the stainless steel and the amount of chromium and nickel in the product

304 grade stainless steel contains a considerable amount of nickel unlike the 430 grade which makes 304 more corrosion resistant and particularly suitable for harsh environments.

304 is non-magnetic stainless steel whereas 430 have high magnetic properties. Though generally very weldable, some ferritic steel grades can be prone to sensitization of the weld heat-affected zone and weld metal hot cracking.

The presence of nickel makes 304 more corrosion resistant; it also makes it much easier to press and draw. The absence of nickel in 430 grade means the stainless steel will most likely crack or fail completely compared to pressing 304.

Crevice Corrosion. Periodic disassembly and cleaning out of all areas where crevice corrosion may occur is recommended on 430 grade steel. When narrow crevices and other “nooks and crannies” on stainless steel kitchen equipment get filled with solutions that cannot easily exit, protective films can break down and corrosion set in. As evaporation and refilling alternately recur, the trapped solution gets stronger and stronger, speeding up the corrosion process. Gaskets, washers, sharp corners, overlaps, and flanges are frequent “targets” of crevice corrosion.
304 is more expensive, while 430 is considerably cheaper.

Is stainless steel rust-free?

No stainless steel product is completely rust-free if exposed to non-suitable conditions. However, the 304 stainless used in Brayco products is almost-completely resistant to rust if maintained correctly. Visit the best stainless steel benches for more info.

Why use stainless steel

In addition to resistance to weathering and therefore the inability to rust, the material also features extremely important technical characteristics which make it particularly suitable for use in the professional kitchens of great Chefs. Indeed, it proves to be:

• Long-lasting
• Biologically pure
• 100% recyclable
• Easy to clean

Stainless steel is the ideal material for hygiene in domestic and commercial kitchen settings, because it is easy to clean and biologically neutral, in addition to being an eco-friendly product that is 100% recyclable. An eternal material, one that is charming and functional that ages slowly without losing any of its characteristics.

Why choose Brayco Stainless Steel?

Brayco has made the most of the know-how of skilled stainless steel craftsmen and our 15 years industry experience to offer a comprehensive range of professional-grade, fully modular kitchen benches, sinks such as wall mounted mop sink, cabinets and shelving.

Our clients have been loving our stainless steel products for over 15 years. Why not visit us in one of our 7 locations across Australia and get a hand from our friendly staff?