Following strict standards in care homes is vital in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of residents and service users. We believe having the correct equipment plays a huge role in this process. To assist in finding the correct equipment for your care home, we have put together the following guide highlighting all you need to know about commercial kitchen and laundry equipment in care homes.

Kitchen Equipment

Care home residents are more susceptible to food poisoning and associated illnesses due to weakened immune systems, therefore it is essential that food hygiene and safety standards are maintained at a constant high level. In order to achieve these high standards, it is imperative that you have the correct commercial equipment in place, whether this be for food preparation, storage or cooking.

Refrigerated food must be stored at a temperature of 8ºC or below, to reduce the growth of most bacteria. For frozen food it is recommended that this be stored at -18ºC or below, again to control the multiplication of bacteria. Commercial refrigeration equipment is best equipped to obtain, control and measure these temperatures, as most equipment will have an external thermometer.

When cooking and transporting food, again it is essential that this is done at the correct temperature to ensure elimination of bacteria. We supply and recommend equipment with advanced technology to achieve these temperatures, equipment such as combination ovens also allow for the monitoring and recording of data for auditing purposes.

Commercial warewashing equipment plays a very important role in the sterilising of cutlery, crockery and food preparation equipment. Using chemical and thermal disinfection to wash and sterilise these items proves essential in any commercial kitchen.

Laundry Equipment

Care home laundries have the potential to be the epicentre of cross contamination, therefore it is absolutely vital that you follow and adhere to the strict guidelines and legal obligations set out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

With commercial washing machines, you can achieve disinfection in every wash, regardless of how heavily soiled garments are. Equipment, where required, comes programmed and equipped with sluice cycles and pre-wash cycles, where temperatures allow for thermal disinfection.

All equipment can be made compatible with auto-dosing systems, which not only reduces risks involved with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), it reduces overuse and spillages of chemicals related to manual dosing. Our commercial chemicals and detergents are available in 10 litre and 20 litre containers.

With the current constant increase in energy prices, we recommend equipment with the latest technology with the aim at keeping running costs to a minimum. Whether this be heat pump technology in tumble dryers, or energy and water consumption saving washing machines.

If you would like any further information or guidance on the correct and recommended types of equipment for your premises, please get in touch with us today on 01200 376676 or by email on sales@ckls.co.uk.