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The importance of washing your hands cannot be overstated, especially during a global pandemic.
In the food service industry, hand washing is of utmost importance. Bacteria and viruses can be transmitted to food through hands. That is why stainless steel hand sinks are necessary equipment every commercial kitchen should have.
Fun Fact!
The health code requires a sink for washing hands to be placed within 20 feet of every food handling or food prep area in the kitchen. This ensures that there are enough washing stations for all the staff working in the kitchen. This also encourages your staff to always wash up since there is always one close by. Employees do not have to walk far.
There are specific requirements for hand restaurant sinks. One of the most important is that it is only for hands only. Food and dishes cannot be washed here. In turn, employees cannot wash their hands in the prep sinks or the warewashing sinks.
Stainless steel hand sinks are sinks that are specifically designed and exclusively used for hand cleaning before, during, and after kitchen activities. They are usually located near the designated areas food preparation, serving, and warewashing.
There are many options to choose from when it comes to stainless steel hand sinks. Wall mounted, pedestal base, and cart-type are the most popular installation types.
There are hand sinks with splash guard, foot or knee pedals, waste chutes, and even multi station stainless steel hand washing basins with faucet. You would not run out of choices!
Before You Buy
There are several factors to take into account when choosing a sink for washing hands. These considerations include:
The biggest lesson people re-learned this year is probably the importance of proper hygiene. In any customer service industry, but most especially in the food and beverage industry, the washing of the hands is of paramount importance. This is why commercial stainless steel hand sinks are an integral part of any kitchen. A hygienic kitchen is a must for cafés, restaurants, bars, food carts, healthcare facilities, community kitchens, or anywhere food is made or distributed.
Good hygiene practices are important in countless industries, but especially those involving any food production. Hand sinks provide employees with a dedicated station for washing hands, thus eliminating the possibility of any food-dishwater contact.
With separate sinks for washing hands, kitchens stay up to code and run far more efficiently.
True to their name, hand sinks are dedicated wash stations used exclusively for sanitizing one’s hands before, during, and after countless kitchen tasks. As health codes dictate these sinks must be placed within 20 feet of food preparation areas, this is precisely where they are found.
Although they come in various styles, such as drop-in, wall-mount, or free-standing, they all share the sole function of hand washing. Hand sinks should never be used to wash food or dishware.
Although kitchens must install hand sinks in order to comply with health codes, there are a few other advantages to having this equipment. Stainless steel hand sinks are crucial for reducing the spread of illness, but they’re also the go-to place for cleaning cuts and cooling burns.
Aside from food safety and employee health, making it as convenient as possible for kitchen staff to wash their hands also helps employees work faster. When hand sinks are nearby, employees don’t need to travel far when washing hands between activities.
You can buy stainless steel hand sinks from trusted manufacturers like AmgoodSupply, which design and build both wall-mounted and free-standing units. Leading suppliers of commercial kitchen equipment offer heavy-gauge stainless steel hand sinks, specifically built to meet the higher demands of professional kitchens.
Hand sinks are relatively inexpensive when compared to utility and compartment sinks, though costs still vary depending on size, style, and materials.
Taking into account the kind of faucets, backsplashes, and other accessories available, you can expect to pay somewhere between $100 and $200 for a commercial hand sink.