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Tips and essentials for the restaurant, foodservice and HVAC spaces in one place.

Picture - Dinex Food Cart Cleaning

Dinex food carts allow healthcare facilities to distribute patient meals quickly and efficiently. Since these units are so important, making sure they’re in good working order is a must. If you’re looking for information on preventative maintenance, this Dinex food cart cleaning guide will help you keep your unit working properly.

This guide contains cleaning procedures for the MOC20 Hot/Cold Cart. For more information on how to maintain your cart, see our Dinex food cart troubleshooting article. We also have an article on how to set up and operate a Dinex food cart that you may find helpful, too.

Supplies

Warm Water

Mild Detergent

Soft Cleaning Cloths

Safety Gloves

Your Dinex food cart should be cleaned on a daily basis. Never spray or pressure wash the cart, or use cleaners with chlorides or phosphates to clean the stainless steel surfaces. Doing so will permanently damage the unit and void the warranty.

Pre-Cleaning Procedure

In order to avoid burns, wear safety gloves when cleaning the hot side of the cart.

  • Step 1. Empty the cart - Remove food product from the cart and either store the food in another cart or discard it.
  • Step 2. Unplug the cart - To avoid electrical hazards, unplug the power cord from the electrical outlet before continuing with the cleaning procedure.
  • Step 3. Allow the hot side to cool down - To avoid burns, wait 20 minutes for the hot side of the cart to cool down before continuing. If 20 minutes have passed and the hot side is still uncomfortably warm, give the unit more time to cool down.

Cleaning the Cart Interior and Exterior 

Never allow water to enter the hot/cold air discharge openings or the return air holes in the inner compartments. If water enters these openings, it will not only damage the internal electrical components but also void the manufacturer warranty.

  • Step 1. Wash the interior and exterior - Wash the inside and outside surfaces of the cart with warm water, mild detergent and a soft cloth. When cleaning the stainless steel, be sure to wipe in the direction of the grain.
  • Step 2. Clean the center wall silicone rubber air dams/wipers - Use warm water, mild detergent and a soft cloth to clean the center wall silicone rubber air dams and wipers.
  • Step 3. Rinse the inside and outside surfaces - Use clean water and a non-abrasive cloth to wash away any remaining food residues, dust particles or soap suds.
  • Step 4. Dry the interior and exterior surfaces - Wipe the cart dry with a clean cloth.
  • Step 5. Clean the compressor filter (monthly) - Since cleaning the filter isn’t covered by the warranty and must be done by a qualified technician, call an authorized technician to clean out dust and dirt from the compressor filter once a month.

Resuming Normal Operation

Make sure the unit is dry before resuming normal operation.

  • Step 1. Plug in the cart - Plug the power cord into the electrical outlet.
  • Step 2. Allow the cart to reach the proper temperature - Wait 20 minutes for both the hot and cold sides to reach the proper temperature.
  • Step 3. Load the cart with food - Once both sides have reached the proper temperature, load the cart with food and use the unit normally.

If you’re looking for more information on how to care for your commercial kitchen equipment, our Resource Center has an extensive collection of helpful articles and videos.

Please contact a local authorized service agent who can help with these specific units and all your commercial kitchen equipment needs.