How to Keep Your Walk-In Cooler Smelling Fresh

If you own a supermarket or convenience store, you might struggle with keeping your walk-in coolers clean and tidy. Between keeping an eye out for mold and mildew and dealing with messy customers, there’s a lot to maintain. Let’s go over how to keep your walk-in cooler smelling fresh.

Clean it regularly. The first step in preventing a smelly walk-in cooler is to keep it clean. At the end of every day, check for spills and spoiled foods. The sooner you clean them up, the better. Foodservice Equipment & Supplies magazine recommends cleaning a walk-in cooler’s walls and floors with one part bleach and 32 parts water. Look for crumbs and dirt on the floor as well, which should be swept up as soon as possible.

Invest in baking soda. Can you identify where spills and spoils within your walk-in cooler most often occur? If so, then we recommend strategically placing boxes of baking soda in those areas. As with any residential refrigerator, baking soda is great for absorbing less-than-pleasant odors.

Check for mold and mildew. According to “Lab Notes,” a quarterly publication of Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis Environmental Health and Safety, “Walk-in coolers are ideal environments for mold growth due to the high moisture levels and abundant food sources...” Furthermore, walk-in coolers are prone to growing mold due to frequent entries and exits. Check for mold daily, and use the bleach and water solution mentioned above to remove it.

Looking for more tips on how to keep your walk-in cooler smelling fresh? Call East Coast Refrigeration today at (631) 249-4556. We provide installation, replacement or repair on a variety of walk-in coolers and walk-in freezers. Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook, Twitter and Google+!