For many industries that count on the reliable storage of perishable goods, cold room fridges, and freezers are worth their weight in gold at busy periods of the year – one of which is the Christmas season.
An increase in customers and demand means that cold room freezers and fridges really come into their own. But all of this extra use can result in cold room damage, which can go on to affect the use and function of your cold rooms.
For this reason, what key cold room components are more likely to be damaged and what should you do if they are?
Checking and Repairing Any Sustained Damage
The easiest way to stop small maintenance issues from becoming a big problem is to schedule an in-depth maintenance check as your busy season ends.
Maintenance checks should already be completed on a rolling daily, weekly, and monthly schedule, but this would be an additional check – so could be called a seasonal or annual maintenance check, or similar, for clarity.
These extra checks must be made because any damages that have occurred can only be noticed when excess stock is reduced after the rush, or if you specifically prepare for an in-depth look after Christmas.
Once completed, any issues or areas of damage should then be booked in for prompt refurbishment to stop minor issues from becoming expensive problems. If not, tiny damages may be made worse by repeated use – leading to costly, impactful repairs that can interfere with normal business operations!
What cold room components are most likely to be damaged?
The most common areas of cold room fridges and freezers to experience damage include:
Cold Room Doors
Faulty cold room doors can lead to big problems, from expensive, energy-draining, inefficient cooling at best and at worst, temperature fluctuations that can spoil the goods within.
To avoid this, key areas to pay attention to include:
- Door handles
- Inside door mechanisms for closing and locking
- Door gaskets
- Door panels
- Door heater systems
- Insulated/non-insulated curtains
As these are the areas most likely to sustain damage in busy periods!
Cold Room Refrigeration Systems
What is a cold room without a working and efficient refrigeration system?
To ensure your cold room refrigeration system stays in tip-top condition before, during, and after the busiest seasons of the year, you should check the following components:
- The main cooling mechanisms: compressor, condenser, evaporator, and the expansion valve
- Any electrical systems that control the refrigeration unit
- Any associated pipework
It is also worth noting that a poorly organised cold room can also affect the effectiveness of refrigeration systems. To reduce this, you should also ensure stock is organised properly, so the air can circulate properly and improve the efficiency of refrigeration – while also lowering your energy consumption and costs.
Cold Room Panels
Though you may not think it, damaged cold room panels can lead to the loss of temperature control and the intrusion of warm outer air within the controlled environment.
This can result in product loss and lead to inefficient refrigeration, increasing already high energy bills further.
When looking for damage, you should check:
- All washers, bolts, and nuts
- The cold room panels themselves
- Cold room panel seals
Cold Room Flooring
Cold room flooring can sustain damage incredibly easily because of the use of restocking equipment, like cages or trolleys, and the increased traffic of staff during very busy periods.
As such, maintenance staff should check:
- The floor panels
- Floor edging and seals
- Any ramps or overlays
- Cold room heating systems under the floor
It is important to maintain regular and specialist maintenance after busy periods – and it doesn’t need to be a time-consuming process.
These checks are the best way to ensure your cold room fridge or freezer is being kept in the best condition and stop small damages from becoming larger and more expensive eventualities that have increased impact.
For help with cold room maintenance, MTCSS can arrange bespoke maintenance checks (as many times as you need them throughout the year), to keep your cold room running smoothly and keep your business rolling.
If you’d like to chat to one of our experts about replacing or investing in any of the above cold room products, why not call us on 01886 833 381 or fill in our enquiry form – we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
