4 Tips for Maintaining Ice Machines

Foodservice establishments rely on their ice machines to serve customers ice-cold beverages. But neglect this equipment, and operators could end up with faulty machines and unsanitary ice.

According to 86 Repairs’ 2022 “The State of Repairs” report, the most common ice maker failure was the inability to harvest ice, with 44.3% of 86 Repairs’ customers with ice machine problems experiencing that issue. That was followed by leaks (13.4%) and error codes (9.7%).

Caspers Service Co. says in a Sept. 28 blog post that planned maintenance can help keep the machines running and prevent them from developing visible bacterial and mold growth, which can make customers ill and land operators a health code violation.

The service company offered four tips for keeping ice machines clean and safe:

1. Inspect the ice machine daily, checking for buildup and slime.
2. Double-check your cleaning by having a superior look it over as well.
3. Increase the frequency of cleaning by moving to a once-a-week schedule if cleaning it once a month wasn’t working.
4. Don’t ignore broken parts, which can lead to more issues and higher repair costs.

86 Repairs says the average invoice cost to repair an ice maker last year was $708.44.