Hurricane Irma
Our thoughts are with everyone as Hurricane Irma intensifies with the possibility of hitting several areas of the southeastern coast of the United States.
First of all, STAY SAFE!
The Water Quality Association – recommends businesses affected by Hurricane Irma use bottled water for drinking and cooking until they know for sure that their tap water is safe. Be alert for local boil water orders. Flooding can cause disruptions with a municipal water source, prompting officials to issue boil water orders in many communities.
Existing water treatment equipment should be inspected for possible contamination.
Water Filtration Systems:
1. Replace all water filters:
Optipure is here to help with providing appropriate replacement cartridges. Please contact us if we may help.
Below you will find industry standard suggested/recommended precautions:
Water Heater:
1. Empty/flush water heater by following “Faucet Flushing” procedures outlined below.
2. In the rare event of a very serious and confirmed waterborne illness, the health authority may require that the water heater is replaced.
Flush Water Lines:
1. Faucets: Run any outdoor faucets first for a minimum of five minutes. Run cold water through all faucets for a minimum of 5 minutes. Run hot water through all faucets for a minimum of 5 minutes. Run water through spray arm faucet at three comp sink for a minimum of 3 minutes.
2. Run filtered water tap for 3 minutes. Run Insta-Hot tap for 1 minute.
3. Run dipper well for 3 minutes. Drain well, sanitize using saturated wiping cloth with an approved sanitizer. Let sanitizer sit on surfaces for 1 minute. Turn back on dipper well.
Dishwashing Area:
1. Mechanical dishwashers: Empty and fill dishwasher twice, run an empty cycle. Ensure high-temperature machines reach minimum 180ºF (82ºC) during the rinse cycle. Ensure low-temperature machines dispense 50-100ppm chlorine during the final rinse cycle. Check this with a chlorine test strip.
2. Two or Three Compartment Sinks: Flush faucets as described above. Wash, rinse and sanitize all sink compartments and drain boards prior to use.
Espresso Machines:
Cycle fifteen runs of coffee rinse cycles (rinse button) through espresso maker and fifteen hot water cycles (hot water button) through the hot water tap. Run a cleaning cycle with espresso machine cleaner following manufacturer’s instructions. Run one minute of steam through the steam wand. Espresso maker should be ready for use.
Brewing Machines:
1. Run five fresh water only cycles through the brewers.
2. Wash, rinse and sanitize brew baskets
3. Clean servers/urns and spray heads following manufacturer’s procedures.
Ice Machines:
1. Remove all ice from the bin.
2. Run ice machine cleaner through machine according to manufacturer’s instructions.
3. Make three cycles of ice. Empty ice, clean and sanitize ice bin.
4. Allow bin to air dry before turning ice machine back on.
Ice Service Stations or Bar Ice Bins:
1. Remove all ice from the bin.
2. Clean and sanitize ice bins.
3. Allow bins to air dry before refilling them.
Sink Basins
Clean and sanitize all sink basins and drain trays.
