Your cool room/cold store, fan coil units, penthouse units and evaporators may look squeaky clean when walking around, but have you ever looked inside units, got up high in an EWP, or went into ducts enclosures behind the scenes? A build-up of dirt and bacteria in a cool room and the cooling units that are not being cleaned by industry experts can reduce the self-life of your produce being stored by up to 50%!
There is so much that people are never told or can’t find out by simply searching for it online, so we took the time and sat down with Darren Driscoll and Jason Christenson owners of Coolclean to better understand the cool room cleaning space and the importance of having knowledge in this industry.
Coolclean provides a service and reporting system that addresses modern world concerns for your cooling systems and cool rooms. Their knowledge covers 32 years of the various designs, makes and models of cooling systems, and cool rooms, so when you call Coolclean you know that they can deal with modern equipment as well as older outdated equipment.
The guys mentioned that one of the most crucial things when cleaning cool rooms is the products that they use. It’s important to use the right products but even more important to know how to use them.
What is Aeris
Innovative technology developed by Aeris Environmental Ltd. keeps your cool rooms, fan coil units, evaporators and working spaces free of germs, bacteria, viruses, mould, and other fungi while preventing surface degradation.
Aeris cool room products are a patented combination of multi-enzymes (for the removal of biofilm) and biocides impregnated into slow-release polymers (providing 12-month residual protection from continuous microbial growth) which protect your cool room assets from microbial degradation.
So in summary, Aeris products focus on two important components
- To kill germs, bacteria, viruses, mould, and other fungi.
- To keep surfaces protected afterwards for up to 12 months.
It also makes complete sense to refrain from using non-food grade cleaning agents in places that deal with food. The food-safe biocide that Coolclean use as part of their regular clean is completely biodegradable, pH-neutral, non-corrosive, and environmentally beneficial.
Why hire an Expert like Coolclean:
Yes, Aeris products seem simple to use and understand but there is so much more involved than spraying and wiping down your cool room. A professional will be able to effectively clean the coils, trays, drains, and interior surfaces, as well as completely clean the cool room.
Coolclean technicians carry specialised equipment to perform work efficiently, to minimise the impact on your operation. The cleaning process includes the application of an anti-microbial biocide, which is endorsed by HACCP and CSIRO to effectively remove contaminants. Our technicians are fully trained, and HACCP qualified to safely restore unit efficiency in food-related areas.
Controlled measures are super important as there are many risks that our trained experts can encounter such as confined spaces and working at heights, having that right training for these risks can quite literally be life or death which is even more reason why hiring professionals is the only way to get this done properly and more importantly safely.
Cool Room Maintenance:
Cool Rooms require specific maintenance to remain cold, and clean air within food storage and food handling areas.
A series of hungry enzymes eat bacterial films in cool rooms, which kills the bacteria responsible like Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria. And so it goes, with surface cleaners and active biocides coating the cooling coils. Every surface, every hidden recess is subjected to this treatment, a cleanliness regime that earns the Aeris badge of honour.
https://www.aeris.com.au/our-technologies/
Features of Aeris products:
- Products Proven to kill COVID on application
- pH neutral, non-caustic
- Improves HVAC&R output air quality
- Readily biodegradable
- Can be touched up to 20 times and will not spread bacteria
- 100% removal of contaminants
- Provides up to 12 months of contaminant protection
- Improves heat exchange performance
- Less than 1% thermal resistance and pressure drop for most fin patterns
- Compliant to AS/NZS 1668.2 and AS/NZS 3666.2
- Made in Australia
Coolclean uses Aeris Products for:
Cool Room Surfaces: AerisGuardTM Surface Cleaner & Surface Protection Cool Room
Fan/Coil units: AerisGuardTM Surface Cleaner, Coil Treatment and Pan Protection
Air-cooled condensers, hybrid coolers, AHUs, split systems: AerisGuardTM Surface Cleaner, Coil Treatment and Pan Protection
Darren mentioned an important fact that they only use Aeris products in cool rooms not to be confused with cooling towers and this is simply because different chemicals treat different things providing different results.
Coolclean have been using and recommending Aeris products through their work for 8 years as they believe it is the highest quality product that ACTUALLY delivers results!
Benefits of Aeris Hygiene Products:
DID YOU KNOW Cool room cooling units that have not been cleaned for five years may use up to 50% more electricity? They need to run twice as hard and longer to achieve the required room temperature, crazy.
The unique Tri-Enzyme Clean breaks down the proteins in the “bad bacteria” more effectively so you no longer have to compromise your cleanliness.
Aeris hygiene products can guard against unhygienic growths in chilly environments. The specially created chemical deterrents employ substances that are packed with specialised enzymes and antibacterial cleansers to stop hygiene-endangering growths.
Aeris products do all of this without causing long-term damage like other brandings which over time can end up causing corrosion shorting the life of your cool room cooling units and surfaces. Aeris is all about quality not about how fast it visibly works or if you can see a change instantly.
Coolclean pre-clean:
There are many steps Darren and Jason explained that need to be taken before starting the cleaning process that is just as important as the cleaning procedure itself which can include everything from isolating equipment before that cleaning process starts, gearing up with protective clothing, pre-washing equipment, and ensure everyone who enters is properly disinfected.
You should always provide your workers with suitable cleaning and disinfecting products and personal protective equipment, and ensure they are trained on how to use them.
It is common knowledge that food deterioration is frequently caused by contamination. The main cause of contamination in cool rooms is dirty walls ceilings, evaporators and fan coil units. Coils are usually clogged with bacteria and debris when cooling units need to be cleaned. The fan scatters impurities across the space as a result, staining the ceiling. Cleaning and disinfecting cooling units are necessary to stop the cycle.
Darren said, “cool rooms can be extremely dirty places, think about all of these products sitting in the back of a truck being transported to different locations to sit in a cool room somewhere. All the potential bacteria and dirt those products come in contact with will then get trapped in places like the fans and panels, and these cause cool rooms major long-term issues if it is not looked after properly”.The cooling units circulate the air to cool the entire area so it is no surprise that the dirt, bacteria, and mould is also circulating the room
Steps for Cleaning Cool Rooms:
- Disassembling the units and cleaning the fan coil unit, condenser box’s interior and exterior, as well as the fan grills, fans, and cooling exchange coils. Mould and bacteria samples from before and after cleaning are also collected by our team to stop the need for site operators to get up there to do this
- At the client’s request, clean the cool room’s walls, ceiling, and floors.
- Keep the HVAC/R unit’s interior and exterior clean.
- Take out the fans and motors and clean the safety grill and the fan blades on both sides.
- Clean coils for heat transfer, cool and clean.
- Unplug drain lines and flush them.
- Keep the fan unit’s interior and exterior surfaces clean.
- Take out and wipe the drip tray for condensation. Install a condensate pan tablet to manage pollutants like mould and bacteria
- Scrub the area around the fan unit.
- Pre- and post-cleaning images are provided along with a thorough service report.
- Making that the work adheres to AS/NZS 1668.2 and AS/NZS 3666.2
Contact Coolclean today and speak to experts regarding your cool room cleaning requirements, or if you’re interested in Aeris products, Coolclean can supply you with exactly what you need.
Give them a call!
CONTACT US
Melbourne
Unit 21, 21-22 National Drive, Hallam VIC 3803
+61 03 8765 9500
service@coolclean.com.au
