Cleanliness and hygiene maintenance is and will always be the top priority in all food courts and dining areas. One bad review about poor hygiene and sanitation of the place can be catastrophic for any dining establishment, especially food courts.

Apart from maintaining goodwill among the customers, various standards are laid down by the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand that all dining establishments must adhere to. In other words, maintaining sanitisation and hygiene is a non-negotiable for all dining areas in malls, including food courts. 

Therefore, you need to invest in high-quality cleaning solutions, floor sweepers and cleaning services to ensure that the job is done correctly.

Tips To Keep Dining Areas and Food Court Surfaces Sanitised

The best and worst part of any food court or dining area within a mall is the same – an open floor plan. While this makes it easy to clean the surface due to few nooks and corners, the size of the floor also makes it a time-consuming and expensive affair. 

Here are some tips to make cleaning easy and quick for food courts and diners. 

Invest in High-Quality Floor Scrubber Machines and Sweepers to Sanitise Floors

Commercial cleaning requires industrial tools and equipment to do the job faster and more effectively. While you can use manual labour to clean the food court floors, it will be time-consuming and might not do a thorough job. Additionally, the mop and bucket method increases the chance of accidents and falls, leading to unnecessary legal stress and tension.

Commercial cleaning equipment like small rider scrubbers or walk-behind sweepers is designed to manoeuvre between small spaces and properly clean all the nooks and corners. 

You can use a small walk-behind sweeper for the following functions: 

• Sweeping food crumbs, dust, and soil in and around the dining tables and near the kitchen.
• Keep a dust-free environment while sweeping the floor. The same of which cannot be said for a standard broom.
• Safely sweep and clean the space without disturbing the diner or the servers.
• Cleans with water without leaving the floor slippery

While a broom, dustpan, bucket, and mop can do the same, some drawbacks are associated with these standard methods.

• Manual cleaning can leave behind traces of germs and bacteria as the mop uses the same dirty water to clean the whole surface.
• A broom and dustpan can spread dust in and around while cleaning the floors.
• An area swept with a broom will take time, preventing the customers from being seated in that area.

Putting Up Cleaning Schedules

The management must maintain a tight cleaning schedule for high-traffic areas like restaurants, malls, and dining areas of food courts. The working dynamic in such busy areas is often gruelling. Without a proper schedule, it is natural for workers to get busy with other work and neglect cleaning the floors and other surfaces. 

Therefore, set up cleaning shifts at regular intervals to keep the dining area tidy.

Proper Cleaning Of Food Production Facilities

Sanitisation and thorough cleaning must not be restricted to the dining areas. The management must ensure that it is extended to the food production facilities. The kitchen must also undergo thorough cleaning to meet hygiene standards laid down by the government. 

Here are some measures to ensure that hygiene standards are maintained in the kitchen and surrounding areas:

• Clean the stove, oven, grill, and baking plate with commercial cleaning solutions at least three times a week.
• Keep emptying the garbage bins in the food court and the kitchens repeatedly before they get filled to the brim.
• Carry out deep cleaning of the kitchen equipment, dining tables, and cooking area at the end of the day after closing operations.

Maintain Personal Hygiene

Nothing can beat the importance of maintaining personal hygiene, especially while working in a food court or dining area. Wearing clean clothes, hairnets, gloves, and other protective equipment is essential, especially after the COVID outbreak.

Here are some ways the staff can maintain personal hygiene effectively. 

• Wash hands with liquid soap before starting work, between the tasks, and after completing the shift.
• Clean and tidy uniform at all times during the work hours
• Change the gloves and sanitise the hands frequently 
• If working in the kitchen, wear hats, hairnets, or scarves.

The Bottomline

A well-sanitised dining area and food court are essential to maintain goodwill among customers and the market. Investing in commercial-grade cleaning equipment and following the tips mentioned above will help you keep a clean and tidy work floor.