Food Truck Cleaning: 4 Helpful Tips

Food trucks have been an emerging trend in mobile dining for many years now, and are still growing in popularity. Restaurateurs are increasingly either opting to take their operations on the road, or expand their operations by adding food trucks to help support and spread their business. There are many reasons that food trucks have grown so much in popularity, and these include, but aren’t limited to, how they combine public interaction, promotion, and access to local cuisine.

It’s not a stretch to say that food trucks are like mini restaurants on wheels. Most contain many of the same kitchen appliances, tools, and accessories, only smaller. Despite the similarities, food truck cleaning is a lot different than traditional restaurant kitchen cleaning. If you own and operate a food truck, or are just curious, here are 4 food truck cleaning tips you need to know:

Seal Your Floors

Maintenance of your food truck’s floors is important for both sanitation and safety. Sealing your floors appropriately addresses both of these concerns. Whether your food truck floors are metal panels, vinyl, or ceramic tile, sealant will make your floors easier to clean, ensure its longevity, and help avoid slip-and-fall accidents.

Clean During Business Hours

One of the most important tips is to clean during business hours. This means washing dishes while you go, brushing the grill between each use, emptying the trash when it nears full, wiping down your cooking line and food prep areas every hour, and everything in between. Performing these tasks regularly and with reasonable effort will not only increase business by enabling you to prepare and serve more good, clean food, but also make your later cleaning tasks easier.

…And After Closing Too

For after-hours cleaning, the goal is to bring your food truck to the condition it needs to be for you to open the following day and begin cooking and serving right away. This includes washing and sanitizing all surfaces, covering and storing all food containers, washing floor mats, and sweeping and mopping your truck’s floors. Of course, you should also repeat all steps in the last tip during your after-hours cleaning process, too.

Empty, Move, Clean & Organize Weekly

There is a portion of food truck cleaning that is almost impossible to do daily but needs to be done at least weekly (give or take a few days). The consensus amongst experienced food truck operators is that once a week, you should empty your truck of all food and beverage, kitchenware, and any other food truck apparatus, and then proceed to clean and disinfect the inside of every cabinet, drawer, and container.

Second, you should clean and disinfect everything else, from your grill, fryer, and more. After this, you should move whatever of these isn’t fixed in place, and clean under and around these fixtures too, making sure to degrease where necessary. Once the inside of your truck is sparkling clean, replace all removed food, beverage, and kitchenware in an organized fashion.

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