Whether they’re behind the counter or in the dining room, soda dispensers are a staple of the modern restaurant. With the amount of use a machine gets every day, keeping these units clean and operational is absolutely essential.

• Perform basic daily cleaning of your machines. This includes removing and cleaning nozzles and the grate/drain pan.
• Consider pouring hot water down a unit’s drain a few times a day to keep it clear. If a drain runs slowly, operators can try this as a first attempt at a fix, followed by a mild bleach solution if needed.
• Many units have a built-in ice machine or an insulated bin for holding ice. These need to undergo regular cleaning according to the manufacturers’ instructions.
• In units with ice storage bins, don’t leave ice sitting unused for more than a day. Doing so risks the ice freezing together into large, hard-to-remove chunks.
• If you’ve got a bag-in-box system, clean the bag connectors regularly. Some manufacturer recommendations are as simple as placing the connectors in hot water and then wiping them down.