A restaurant kitchen maintenance checklist covers repair and upkeep tasks to help keep restaurant tools and equipment working properly.
What is a Commercial Kitchen Maintenance Checklist?
A commercial kitchen maintenance checklist is a list of daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance tasks for the different equipment you use in your commercial kitchen. It can help you extend the life of your kitchen tools and reduce the chances of unexpected breakdowns and failures. It can also help you keep food safe, prevent the chance of fires, and lower energy costs.
If you’re not sure where to start, we’ll help you learn what to include in your checklist. You can also use our downloadable restaurant equipment maintenance checklist and tweak the list to fit your specific kitchen needs.
What to Include In Your Checklist
A checklist for commercial kitchen maintenance includes all the tools you use, the specific maintenance tasks for each tool, how often you need to complete those tasks, and, of course, date checkboxes so everyone using the list will know when a task was last completed.
Equipment You Use
Below are examples of equipment you’ll want to include in your maintenance checklist.
- Ranges and ovens
- Griddles and fryers
- Refrigerators and freezers
- Dishwashers
- Ice machine
- Stand mixer
- Soda dispenser
- General maintenance
Frequency of Tasks
Not all maintenance tasks need to be done on the same cadence. Below are some examples of daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance tasks for your kitchen equipment.
Daily Cleaning and Maintenance Tasks:
- Ranges and ovens: Ensure gas valves turn easily.
- Griddles and fryers: Extract and clean oil from dirty grease cups.
- Refrigerators and freezers: Ensure hinges are lubricated.
Weekly Cleaning and Maintenance Tasks
- Ranges and ovens: Inspect ducts for grease and clean them.
- Refrigerators and freezers: Clean condenser and evaporator coils.
- Dishwasher: Check for water and chemical leaks.
- General Maintenance: Check combustion fan motors are working properly.
Monthly Cleaning and Maintenance Tasks
- Ranges and ovens: Check grease drawer for leaks and clean it.
- Refrigerators and freezers: Inspect evaporator coils for ice build-up.
- Griddles and fryers: Check refrigerant level.
- Dishwasher: Check gaskets for debris build-up and clean them.
For a fuller list of tasks per equipment type, download our Kitchen Maintenance Checklist. Also, keep in mind that it isn’t just the tasks on a checklist that will keep your tools in tip-top shape – below we have some tips to help you with general equipment maintenance.
Tips for Maintaining Commercial Kitchen Equipment
On top of having a checklist for commercial kitchen maintenance, here are some other ways to help you and your team extend the life of your equipment.
- Train your team on the correct way to handle and maintain your different equipment to reduce the chances of damage from mishandling. Also, ensure they know about the maintenance checklist and where proper kitchen cleaning supplies are.
- Follow any specific instructions that your equipment manufacturer has provided and check with a professional when issues arise.
- Keep records of all maintenance checks so you can identify recurring maintenance issues more quickly and (hopefully) before they become more expensive problems.
- Use high-quality equipment where you’re able to, especially for things that you use regularly to avoid having to replace them more often.
- Keep up to date on local and national regulations and standards so your commercial kitchen will always be in compliance.
- Stay up to date with your equipment warranties so that if issues do crop up, you can save money on getting things fixed if the warranty hasn’t expired yet.
- Replace broken parts quickly to avoid tools incurring further damage or slowing down your kitchen, which will also negatively affect service.
Use these tips and a checklist for kitchen equipment maintenance to help prevent any injuries, reduce the chances of costly last-minute repairs, and even avoid unexpected restaurant closures. You’ll also gain peace of mind when you use an equipment maintenance checklist because you’ll know that your kitchen is running efficiently and safely.
Best of all, the commercial kitchen maintenance checklist comes in a PDF format so you can easily print your daily, weekly, and monthly task lists to use at any time. Remember that each kitchen is different, so only use this restaurant equipment maintenance checklist as a general guideline.
