Over the past year, COVID-19 hasn’t gone away and neither has the constant struggle for restaurants to provide the safest possible customer experience with what few sales channels they’re permitted to use. Sanitization isn’t just wiping down menus and tables after every use; now the future of safe dining is just as digital as the best food service tech.
Now, as more states push toward reopening restaurants at limited capacity, restaurants are finding innovative new solutions to the old problem of how to keep clean.
UVC, a type of ultraviolet light used commonly in disinfection, is the newest word people are adding to their vocabulary thanks to the coronavirus.
UVC sanitization uses special lights that run nonstop to sanitize a room even while people are eating in it. The light kills microbes in the air so it’s just that little bit safer to dine indoors.
UVC combined with fans draws unclean air into the special light. However this particular trick isn’t safe for people, so it needs to be run between shifts or overnight. Some restaurants circumvent the issue by aiming the lights at the ceiling so they can leave the system running all the time, even with guests and staff inside.
Special filters pull air into a device where it’s blasted with two different wavelengths of ultraviolet lights that kill bacteria. Since it all takes place inside the device, restaurants can use it with people present.
UV shock treatment that combines ultraviolet light with nontoxic coating that stays on surfaces and helps keep them bacteria-free for up to ninety days. Don’t use with people on-premises for their safety.
Dual-mode UVC has the ability to switch from a mode safe to run around people to a faster one that sanitizes the room in just three minutes.
Robots who move autonomously throughout the store and sanitize surfaces as well as the air with UVC lights. This one isn’t safe to operate around people.
Sanitization technology is sure to continue evolving as the COVID-19 pandemic reaches new crests and valleys, so look out for interesting solutions as we move forward into more partial re-openings.
Still, advancing technology doesn’t completely quell the need for old-fashioned cleaning solutions. When you’re stuck wiping down physical menus and tables, use hospital-grade cleaning products and even consider eco-friendly sprays to support the environmentally-conscious modern consumer. Some products are so heavy-duty that your staff might need a special certification to use them.
For now, these cutting-edge cleaning solutions aren’t surefire and certainly won’t be a hard-fast requirement anytime soon. The FDA has recognized margins of error with these UVC lights but they’re absolutely better than nothing. Investments, particularly in this economy, are tough calls to make and not to be undertaken lightly. Use your best judgment as you begin to explore the world of new sanitation technology. You’ll be surprised what solutions are out there.
