Guidelines for choice
Of course, the choice depends on the nature of the business, employees and the mode of use.
At Garlic Fast Foods, where 90% of the products are frozen and all the offerings are deep fried, cleaning is a daily activity that is done manually. The platters and spoons are used and thrown. The counters are wiped after each use and the fryers are scrubbed to degrease. A single cleaner is not used for cleaning; customized solutions that clean and leave a fragrance in the air are their choice.
[box type=”shadow” ]“With lax attitude and lack of compliance, hygiene and disinfection cannot be brought about only with the use of quality chemicals.”
– Rachna Dave [/box]
Says Kalpesh Parikh, Owner, Garlic Fast Foods, “I am 100% satisfied with the cleaning achieved with the solutions I am using right now.” But if he were to look for an all-purpose cleaner, he adds, “I would prefer something that is easily available in the market, easy to use since it is not an organized sector and the employees cannot follow complicated directions.”
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“The APCs, though are cost effective, have inherent limitations as they could be a hazard in the food industry,”
– Prakash N
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Where to use
There is a general speculation on where to use APCs and where not to P. Prabhakar, Director, Surfactants and Allied Chemicals Pvt. Ltd explains, “Any surface which is easy to clean, clean or non-dusty by nature or regularly cleaned without accumulation of dirt or stain, can be cleaned with an APC. Any surface made of special stone and has maximum footfall, is delicate, gets regularly stained or has stubborn stains, has to be cleaned only with a special cleaner. For example, marble floor will require a delicate pH neutral special cleaner whereas APC might be harsh on marble. Similarly, epoxy surfaces will need an alkaline cleaning medium rather than an APC.” Hence, it is essential to know the character of the surface, in terms of whether to use an acidic or alkaline solution.
Jigar Shah adds, “It boils down to application. For example, a kitchen APC is used for utensils and floor washing, floor cleaning APC doubles up for use on the floor and the glass. We cannot mix and match them. The kitchen all purpose cannot be used for housekeeping and vice versa. These are driven by different set of standards. Similarly, specialty cleaners are meant for specialty applications. They are not going to serve the purpose in generic situations.”
Advantages and limitations
Multipurpose cleaners have their own advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are in them being multi-purpose, available in concentrated form with maximum strength and can be diluted and used upon discretion. The disadvantages and limitations are also many. Rachna opines. “Efficacy towards a particular grey area (read: a target species) may decrease. But, for a blind area the multipurpose cleaners are the best alternative.
