How to choose the best glass washer machine for your business?
MEIKO’s glass washers are well-known for their high durability and quality
Running a food service business means keeping the hygiene and cleanliness of your wares in tip-top condition while providing quality food and services to your customers. When you make it a priority to provide the best services to your customers, your business will grow.
When it comes to keeping your glass wares clean and sanitised, it requires plenty of effort and time. Instead of going through all the trouble of ensuring that your glass wares are thoroughly cleaned, why not let a glass washing machine take care of all the washing while your employees can focus on other services?
Moving forward, we'll discuss glass washers and how you can choose the best one for your food service business.
"But I just want to wash up" - is what someone with less experience of glass management in the hotel and catering business might think. What they also want to do, or rather must do: take drinking glasses into consideration as part of the value chain.
What is a glass washer?
As the name suggests, a glass washer is a commercial warewashing machine that’s built to quickly and efficiently wash and rinse large quantities of glassware. It is an indispensable tool for restaurants, bars, bistros, cafes, hotels and even residential care homes.
With a glass washer machine that can quickly wash and rinse a rack full of glasses, your fast-paced food service business will always have clean glasses ready for use. That said, there are different types of glass washer machines available on the market.
For the Malaysia and Singapore market, food business operators typically go for the undercounter glass washer such as MEIKO’s UPster U 500 G and M-iClean U Series as it offers quick access and convenience when cleaning the glasses. Their small size make them compact and effective at cleaning dirty glasses quickly and efficiently.
Tips for choosing the best glass washer machine in Malaysia and Singapore
With so many types of glass washer machines available on the market, how do you know which one is right for your business? The following is a list of important points to consider when it comes to choosing the best glass washer machine for your business.
1. Hygiene
While various glass washer machines have quick cycle times, there's no guarantee that they can give you clean, sanitized glassware. Put yourself in the shoes of your customers – would you want to drink your beverage from a dirty glass? Of course not. You’ll ask for a new glass whilst highlighting the issue to the Manager.
Hence, as hygiene awareness grows, you need to choose a glass washer machine that can give you clean, sanitized glass wares within a short cleaning and rinsing duration. With MEIKO’s glass washer machines, which are certified NSF/ANSI 3, you can effectively serve clean, sanitized glassware to your customers.
2. Size and operation efficiency
For a smooth business operation, your commercial warewashing equipment must be adequately-sized to accommodate other kitchen appliances. A small glass washer machine with high cleaning capacity from MEIKO will benefit your business in the long run. Besides, its compact size can help you to save space in your kitchen.
Take the M-iClean UM+ and UPster U 500 G as examples. The two models boast a rack dimension of 500mm by 500mm with a similar rack capacity of 40/30/15 racks per hour. Also, they offer a similar programme cycle with 90/120/240 s. However, the two glass washer machines differ in terms of entry height, rinse water volume, wash pump and protection class of the machine.
3. Effect on restaurant/bar environment
When it comes to cleaning the glass wares, there are many steps to ensure that they are clean and polished. Sometimes, steam can be seen flowing around the dining area, which may affect the overall ambience of your restaurant or bar.
With MEIKO’s AirConcept – heat recovery feature, you can worry less as the hot steam is recycled to capture the thermal energy. This reduces emissions and improves the indoor climate, making the wash-up area far more pleasant.
4. Ease of machine operation
Operating a high tech machine like your MEIKO glass washer can be confusing to the inexperienced. MEIKO’s blue operating concept provides for ease of operation. Both the M-iClean and UPster U glass washer series are equipped with this technology to ensure maximum efficiency and reliability.
With clarity as MEIKO’s top priority, the two glass washer series have a digital display which shows a colour code to prevent operational errors and accidental interruption of the washing process. When a part of the glass washer is coloured blue, it means this part can be touched, operated or cleaned. This ultimately eases the use of the machine.
5. Energy and water consumption
When choosing the best glass washer machine for your business, you also have to consider energy and water consumption. The lower the consumption, the more cost-effective the machine is. So, make sure to look out for machines that are marked low energy consumption as they can help you save electricity, water and money at the same time.
With MEIKO’s Energy and Water Saving System incorporated into their glass washer machines, you can have the perfect energy management during the glassware washing process. The intelligent energy system helps to shift your machine into standby mode when it’s idle. This minimises energy usage while keeping operational costs low at the same time.
6. Special feature
There are times when the water leaves behind white spots or stains on the glass wares, which means your kitchen crew need to polish them manually. This results in more time needed to clean the glassware as well as increasing the chances of glass breakage during the polishing. Also, they risk recontaminating the glass after all the washing.
To avoid all these, the reverse osmosis module can help. When water is passed under pressure through a membrane, it retains most of the extraneous substances, resulting in cleaner water. With MEIKO's GiO Module incorporated into their glass washer machines, it reduces the need to polish your glassware, allowing your employees to focus on other services.
For clients who want their glasses and dishes to sparkle, improving the water quality is essential – and that calls for demineralisation or osmosis.
7. Wash temperature
Different types of glass have different properties and thus, react differently to water pressure, temperature and chemicals. Also, depending on the structure, the glass surface can be finely or coarsely pored, which ultimately influences the glassware’s durability. This is something you need to consider when choosing the best glass washer for your business.
In your search for a glass washer, make sure to enquire about the flexibility of washing temperature. That way, you don’t have to worry about your glass wares shattering due to inapt temperature. Meanwhile, MEIKO’s glass washer machines are equipped with a digital display or LED indicator which allows you to adjust the washing temperature accordingly.
8. Glassware entry height
While some glass washers may boast similar dimensions, the entry height for glass wares may differ. Take the M-iClean UM+ and UPster U 500 G as examples. They share a similar rack dimension but have different entry height. The former boasts an entry height of 435mm while the latter, 315mm.
Besides, some glass wares are designed to be much taller than usual for its visual appeal. Hence, it’s important to check whether your glass wares can fit into the glass washer. Equally important is the glass rack design as it works to prevent breakages and ensures that your glass wares are clean and sanitized.
9. Monetary value
The amount of money you’re paying should be equivalent to the number of features you get on a glass washer machine. While the price of the glass washer machine may not be the ultimate factor, it’s the functionality and value that determines the outcome of your food business.
With a glass washer machine from MEIKO, your kitchen staff will thank you for making their work easier and more efficient with a better focus on customer service. MEIKO’s glass washers are well-known for their high durability and quality.
As one of the top warewashing technology manufacturers in the world, MEIKO offers some of the best glass washer machines in both Malaysia and Singapore market and the world.
With an emphasis on making the world a cleaner place by using innovative technology for warewashing, cleaning, and disinfection, MEIKO can guarantee you clean solutions wherever and whenever you need them.
