Water quality and Reverse Osmosis
Whether you've just opened a new restaurant or manage an established venue, your building's water quality is going to impact your operation in more ways than you'd imagine.
From your coffee machine, steamer and combi oven to your dishwasher or ice machine “ nearly everything is touched by the quality of your water, and after investing in a specific commercial equipment that has an incoming water line, meeting water quality standards is often required to ensure longevity and expectation of consistent, impeccable results.
Even when using top-notch commercial equipment like rational and Unox & Convotherm Combi's or Winterhalter and Hobart warewashing, poor water quality can mean underwhelming results with more frequent breakdowns and can cause lime build-up and corrosion of the equipment.
It is the sole responsibility of the owner/operator/purchaser of equipment to verify that the incoming water supply is comprehensively tested and if required, a means of œwater treatment provided that would meet compliance requirements with the published requirement standards of your location.
Operating equipment with poor water quality can cause scale, calcium and other minerals to build up and potentially damage the equipment and/or components and void the equipment warranty.
Equipment requiring a water line often has water quality specifications. This ensures top operation and significantly fewer service calls. Always check your spec sheet before installing!
When reviewing your spec sheet, you will often find requirements to limit the levels of hardness, chloride and dissolved solids. This is to prevent your warranty from being voided
In combi ovens, water related problems account for at least 60% of all steam oven breakdowns. When water is turned to steam, all dissolved minerals precipitate and form deposits on heating elements, glass parts of oven door and the internal surfaces. If significant Chloride is present in the dissolved material, then corrosion is likely to occur.
In dishwashers, if the water is not free from minerals it can cause spots and build-up on ware.
So how does water get treated to ensure high quality?
Reverse Osmosis
Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a water treatment process that removes contaminants from water by using pressure to force water molecules through a semipermeable membrane. With reverse osmosis, the minerals and soluble salts in hard water are completely removed from using an osmosis unit. Through the membrane filtration system, the unit retains almost all the extraneous substances, and like the full demineralization process, produces almost pure water.
This process produces the best results for all commercial equipment that use RO..
There is also an additional benefit for commercial dishwashers in which it leaves all washed items sparkling straight from the dishwasher with no hand-polishing required, and also greatly reduces the consumption of both detergent and rinse aid.
This process does result in some additional rejection wastewater to carry away the removed particulates. However, it is the best solution for spot-free results for fine glassware, eliminating labor and breakage expenses from hand-polishing.
Cafe and restaurant equipment can cost tens of thousands of dollars and equipment at this price point is designed for a long operating life. Being pro-active and testing water quality prior to equipment installation is essential in ensuring a long operating life is achieved.