It's been a while since kitchens in hotels and restaurants have been relying on manual pot washing/ washing by hand, power scrubbers, recirculating soakers and heated soaking tanks to wash pots. Manual handwashing is the old-fashioned way of washing, wherein the kitchen staff wash the pots and pans by hand in a three-sink system: the first sink is used for washing and scrubbing, the second for rinsing and the third one is used for sanitizing the wash ware.

The power scrubber is simply a pot brush with an electric motor. It comes with a variety of brushes to scrub different types of pots and is interchangeable for every situation. A more recent addition to the market is a recirculating soaker, which installs a water pump into a pot wash sink and creates a recirculating water flow, which gets rid of food bits and dirt - although persistent food and dirt may require manual scrubbing.

The heated soak tank is a newcomer in the potwashing world. These are huge tanks where the temperature is raised to approximately 85 degrees Celsius. The heat acts as a catalyst for the chemicals, which break down fat and dirt from the pots and pans - more persistent food and dirt need to be soaked for longer.

Sustainability and eco-friendly solution

The Granuldisk® brand is confident in its Granule Technology™ and its proven ability to not just save money but also drastically reduce the water, chemical and energy usage. To keep it simple, granule pot washing allows for higher loads of washing, while consuming fewer essentials, making more with less. The primary enabler in the system is the PowerGranules, which are made from a safe, nontoxic plastic compound and approved for contact with food. In addition to this, the optional add-on EcoExchanger® can recycle the heat energy from the vapor of the previous cycle and use it to heat incoming wash water, thus saving even more energy while providing a more pleasant work environment.

The GRANULDISK pot wash solution comes in different sizes and accessory packages to suit any kitchen requirement and flow, without compromising on the power. Pots and pans can be loaded into the pot washer without first resorting to pre-washing or pre-soaking. Water and granules are mixed in with the strong and powerful wash pump and then forced up the spray arms, which builds up immense pressure. From inside the spray arms, the mixture is pressed out through the specially designed spray nozzles, which create a fan-shaped blade of water and granules that efficiently remove food residue and carbon with a sand-blasting effect. Utilising the power of granules and high pressure water helps reduce the amount of water and energy required to do the same job – and without manual labour.

The difference lies in the adding of the PowerGranules, which are specifically designed, tested, and tried to efficiently remove pieces of food from the pots and pans, without harming them.

USP in the market

Granuldisk holds a market-leading position and is based on a pot wash technology that is fashioned very differently from conventional washing methods. GRANULDISK and the No Pre-Washing™ solution completely eliminates the need for pre-washing and soaking, which reduces the total wash time to as little as 2.5 minutes and has been proven to reduce water consumption with up to 91 per cent compared to a manual pot wash setting.

The technology has also been shown to have a far higher rate of power than other products that offer extra scrubbing features. While other methods may need separate machines for different parts of the washing process, Granuldisk equipment has it all in one - making it far more efficient with regard to time, energy and water usage, while also saving on manpower and freeing up a lot of space.

The product is installable practically anywhere and everywhere. It is capable of being bolted into the ground for the sake of safe use on cruise and military ships, and adaptable to your individual needs. The products are very flexible in placing options and not very space consuming – most models fit in the space of 1 sqm.

By Kian Najmechi, Natronic International Inc. 
Tel:  +971 4 341 6267
Office & showroom: Whse 7 Al Quoz Ind. Area 4, Dubai, UAE
Email: natronic@emirates.net.ae

Case Study

Location: London Heathrow Marriott

Before:

The hotel restaurant was doing their pot and pan washing in a decarboniser and 3 sink system, letting utensils soak for hours before they could be scrubbed clean. The equipment was outdated and both a waste of effort and energy, according to Jim Shields, Director of Engineering at Marriott.

After:

With approximately 2,500 meals/day, the kitchen porters quickly took to using the Granule Smart® pot washer, with the capacity to wash 180 GN 1/1 trays per hour without any need for soaking or scrubbing. Now, they run about 57 wash programmes a day, using only 512 litres of water daily for the potwashing. This is roughly 8 per cent of the water consumption before. In addition, the new space saving setup allows for all potwashing to be done in the same area, which makes it more manageable for the kitchen. Last but not least, the wash result is impeccable.

Now:

After the 30-day trial period, London Heathrow Marriott was happy to see water savings that surpassed their expectations. Jim Shields also states that they have seen improvements in the washing-up process that has brought about a safer working environment for the operators. Given that sustainability is becoming more and more important, GRANULDISK will continue to implement it’s solution at other hotels in the Marriott chain. “From my perspective it was an easy draw. Once I learnt some of the benefits of the equipment, with the potential energy and water savings as well as the process improve¬ments, it made a lot of sense having a truly efficient utensil washer. Also bringing about a safer working environment for the operators with efficiencies in the labour used to carry out the work,“ concludes Shields.