Whether you have a small café or you’re managing the kitchen for a large hotel, you can greatly benefit from buying a commercial glasswasher. This piece of equipment is designed to wash and clean hundreds of cups and glasses per hour, ensuring that you’ll have a steady supply throughout the entire shift, and that you can easily keep up with customer demand. With the right glasswasher, you can save time and labour, reduce customer wait times, and create a more positive overall experience for your guests.
Dishwasher vs. Glasswasher: What’s the Difference?
Many business owners wonder if they should purchase a glasswasher if they’ve already bought a commercial dishwasher for their kitchen. It’s true that a lot of businesses can get by with just a standard dishwasher. However, if you’re running a bar, coffee shop, or any other establishment that gets dozens of drink orders throughout the day, you’ll get to enjoy many benefits if you decide to invest in a glasswasher.
One of these benefits is significant time savings. Remember: dishwashers are designed to clean a wide range of items, so their turnaround times are much longer to accommodate the cleaning needs of bigger pieces of crockery. This is fine if you need to wash plates, cutting boards, and various utensils, but it can be a huge hassle if you simply need to wash glasses. If you have a glasswasher, though, you’ll save a significant amount of time since it’s designed to have a shorter load cycle and can clean hundreds of glasses per hour.
Another benefit of having a glasswasher is that it’s designed to give glasses a gentle yet thorough clean. This means that your glasses will be crystal-clear at the end of each wash cycle, and that they won’t end up with unsightly streaks that will put off your customers. Commercial glasswashers are also gentle enough to clean even the most delicate glassware, which means that you won’t have to wash them by hand nor worry that they’ll get destroyed and break into pieces.
Factors to Consider When Buying a Commercial Glasswasher
If you’ve decided to invest in a glasswasher for your commercial kitchen, you’ll want to narrow down your options and find the make and model that perfectly suits your needs. You can do so by taking note of these factors.
- Size & Capacity
Commercial glasswashers are available in several sizes. In-sink glasswashers, which are small enough to fit under the sink, are some of the smallest options and are a great choice for small bars and coffee shops. Under-counter glasswashers are a bit bigger and are similar in size to residential dishwashers. They’re the ideal choice for mid-size establishments as well as for businesses that get specific high-traffic hours throughout the day (such as the breakfast rush or happy hours). If you’re running a big hotel, hospital, nursing home facility, or school cafeteria, you’ll want to get a conveyor glasswasher, which is designed to accommodate up to 400 racks per hour.
- Physical Dimensions
Aside from the unit’s size and capacity, you should also look into its actual physical dimensions and make sure that you have enough room for it in your commercial kitchen. You don’t want to end up buying a glasswasher that’s too large and will impede the flow of traffic in your kitchen.
- Efficiency
Wash and dump glasswashers have been around for many years and are used in many establishments. However, they’re the least efficient option in the market since they expend water after each cycle and takes in a new load of water for the next. As a result, they can use up to 12 litres per cycle and have a longer wash cycle compared to other types.
A lot of businesses nowadays use cold-rinse glasswashers, which use around 7 litres of water per cycle and is comparatively better than wash and dump glasswashers. However, since they use both hot and cold water in every cycle, they can consume a lot of power and leave businesses with high utility bills.
For many businesses, the best option in terms of efficiency is the recirculating glasswasher. It consumes around 1.5 litres per cycle (depending on the load), and it maintains the water at a steady temperature throughout the entire cycle and keeps its energy consumption at a minimum.
Glasswasher Accessories You Might Want to Purchase
While most glasswashers are ready to use right out of the box, many businesses choose to purchase accessories that make their glasswasher more efficient and functional. One example is the utensils basket, which allows you to wash spatulas, decanters, wine breathers, and other barware items along with your glasses. A utensils basket is also a great investment if you have a few oddly shaped glassware that might not fit in your glasswasher.
Buying a few extra racks might also be a good idea, especially if your establishment gets busy hours throughout the day, and you need to wash more glasses than normal. If you have narrow-necked glasses, consider buying a couple of racks that are specially designed to accommodate them.
If your glasswasher doesn’t with an automatic liquid soap dispenser, you’ll want to buy an aftermarket kit. Having an automatic dispenser isn’t necessary, but it can be a huge help since it will make the washing process much easier.
Get in Touch with Us
Choosing the right commercial glasswasher isn’t a walk in the park, but you can make the process easier by taking the time to inspect your options and researching which one best fits your business’s needs. If you’d like to get more tips on glasswasher selection, or if you’re ready to buy one for your business and would like to start shopping, don’t hesitate to call HE2020. We have a wide range of commercial glasswashers from Lamber, and we can walk you through the models that meet your criteria, explain the features and specifications of each option, and help you make the correct buying decision. Give us a call now or send us an e-mail and let our team assist you!