Commercial Dishwashers – Why buy one?

The domestic dishwasher has become a staple of almost every family home, and new models are constantly being rolled out, but how do these supposedly revolutionary developments compare to the commercial dishwasher?

Despite new and improved dishwashers constantly hitting the shops, they just can't compete with their commercial equivalent. This becomes apparent when comparing the specifications of each machine; while a domestic dishwasher is designed to perform 1 wash a day for five years, its commercial counterpart is built to go through 30 washes a day for the same length of time. That one wash in the domestic machine of 45-90 minutes, takes a maximum of 4 minutes in the commercial dishwasher. Even so, for all those extra washes, it will only be running for half an hour longer.

Going by energy usage, the commercial dishwasher is much more efficient; each wash will use around 2.5 litres of water, compared to 15-35 for the domestic, and each of those 2.5 litres of water will only require up to 8 pence worth of detergent. The costs add up, but at the same time, it will only use up to 8 pence of electricity as well, compared to 49 pence for the domestic. Furthermore, when you can clean a maximum of 540 plates an hour compared to 36, then your commercial dishwasher is the superior machine. Even better, while it requires around 30 amps to run, it can be adapted to run on only 13 amps of power, making it energy efficient.

There are, however, some extra considerations when using a commercial dishwasher. It will require soft water to run, so there is the cost of the water filter should only hard water be available. These can be bought as part of your dishwasher on more expensive machines, or bought as a manual or automatic attachment, and while this is a problem with a simple solution, it does cost a  little extra. It is also worth noting that though your machine may use less detergent per wash, it will need much more due to the high volume of washes. However this extra cost of this will balance itself with the machine's efficiency.

The commercial dishwasher still manages to trump its domestic counterpart with regards to sanitation. Your domestic dishwasher will not rinse plates at temperatures exceeding 70 degrees, while the commercial machines wash the plates at 55 degrees, and rinse at an average temperature of 82 degrees, ensuring that the plates are cleansed of any germs or bacteria.

Therefore, while domestic dishwashers are beginning to improve and become more environmentally friendly, they still have a long, long way to go before they can be compared to the commercial dishwasher, which is faster, more durable, more efficient and even more environmentally friendly - and the front loading commercial machines even come at the same price. So if you are considering using a domestic machine in your catering business, or are even doing so right now, avoid breaking the law and save money by investing in a machine built to save your time and money.

Summary of the differences

Differences in use:

Front loading commercial dishwasher wash 60 full restaurant covers per hour.

Once filled and up to temperature are ready for use

Perform wash after wash without pausing or the need to be cleaned out

Baskets lift out of the dishwasher for quick loading and unloading.

Wash at around 55⁰C and rinse at above 82⁰C for perfectly sterile wash results. Domestic dishwasher rarely rinse above 70⁰C.

Are about the same size as a full sized domestic dishwasher (600x600x850 high)

Need to be hard wired into a 30 amp electrical supply to deliver their best performance

Need to be legally installed and fitted with a class “A” air gap and provide category 4 or 5 water protection (category 5 for Healthcare use), not all machines have class “A” air gaps fitted.

Need to wash in softened water. If not available, need to be fitted with a water softener.

Using a domestic dishwasher in a commercial environment will invalidate its warranty and invalidate fire insurance.

Using a domestic dishwasher in a health care environment is illegal.