Are You In The Hood?
The word “hood” may sound familiar to some of us in the commercial kitchen industry, though not all. What about “hood-type dishwashers”? If you aren’t familiar with one, here’s the easiest way to understand how hood-type dishwashers work – hood goes up, rack comes out, new rack goes in, and hood comes down. If you are intrigued by a hood-type dishwasher, here are some questions you first need to consider:
Do you need a dishwashing machine with the capacity to deal with peak demands or to deal with the steady through-put of product?
The answer depends on your scale of operation and the demands of your operation. The hood-type dishwasher is ideal for medium to large scale F&B operations, such as restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and canteens. It can be a definite “workhorse” for a busy F&B operation, in settings where performance and speed is a requirement.
What are the items that need cleaning and what is the expected timeframe?
When considering any dishwasher itself, the number of items being washed and the time allocated for each washing cycle should match the size of the machine. Sometimes, for more difficult products, a machine with multiple cycle options or specialist cycles are required. All of these also weigh on the mix and the menu offering of the F&B establishment.
If you’re looking at primarily washing glassware, crockery, and cutlery, a standard hood dishwasher will suffice. However, if you want to wash tall washware such as large serving dishes, pots and pans, and gastronorm type trays, you might want to consider a machine with a greater hood opening or with the ability to alter the pressure of the wash arms in order to wash pots and pans.
If you are considering a hood-type dishwasher, do you have the right space and elements to accommodate the equipment?
Any purchased equipment should be able to function in its full potential – and space plays a role in making that happen. A hood-type dishwasher typically requires sufficient space allocation for pre-washing and unloading tabling. Then, there’s also the workflows, baskets, water treatment, chemicals, quality of the dishwasher, life expectancy, and associated running costs.
There have been cases whereby a dishwashing machine’s power requirements were downgraded due to insufficient power availability in the F&B establishment. To prevent such scenario, all of these elements should be combined with “wisdom” in making choices. Matching the equipment with your F&B establishment will promise you much efficiency in operation for the big investment you make in purchasing a hood-type dishwasher.
Water does not always behave the same way when we clean with it. Some of the minerals it contains can inhibit performance by leaving those familiar ugly and unappetising smears on cutlery and glasses. In dishwashers they may deposit a fur commonly known as limescale.
MEIKO’s M-iClean H is a potential “positive” for your answers, and that includes the typical space issues for a hood-type dishwasher! MEIKO reinvented the hood-type dishwashing machine from its “old ways”, founding one of our best equipment to this day. In fact, during the SCI Equipment Award presented in FHA Singapore in 2018, the FCSI society and UBM SES, two large organisers of B2B events in the world, honoured the award to M-iClean H for its excellence in ergonomics.
Our friends in the trade hardly fall short of testimonies too:
“Sustainability is in our business plan and is one of our cornerstones,” said Gary Chng, Deputy Regional Manager, IKEA Food, Ikano Retail Asia, regarding Meiko’s new M-iQ machines at IKEA Tampines & IKEA Alexandra – Singapore. “We compared Meiko’s M-iQ with machines from two other (German) manufacturers and found that Meiko is more suitable for a high volume business like ours.”
Whatever your needs are, we can help you find the most effective layout for your wash-up area based on our hood-type dishwashers – talk to us! For more information on MEIKO’s M-iClean H, go to here.
There is no need to even tap the hood with our automatic rack detection. Just insert the rack from the side and let the dishwashing machine do the rest.
Source: Foodservice Equipment Journal, MEIKO Asia’s website, MEIKO’s SPLASH!, CNN
