Commercial cleaning supplies for restaurants are essential for maintaining a clean, organized, and professional foodservice environment. Restaurants deal with grease, food spills, heavy foot traffic, waste, and frequent surface cleaning every day, making the right cleaning products an important part of daily operations.
Unlike a typical home or office, restaurants have several different areas that require regular cleaning, including kitchens, dining rooms, washrooms, storage areas, and food preparation surfaces. Each area may require different products and cleaning procedures.
Having the right supplies available helps employees maintain consistent cleaning routines and reduces the risk of running out of essential products during busy periods.
Here are eight of the most useful commercial cleaning supplies restaurants should keep in stock.
Commercial Cleaning Supplies for Restaurants: What Do You Need?
The exact commercial cleaning supplies for restaurants will depend on the kitchen, equipment, dining area, and cleaning procedures of each business.
However, most restaurants regularly use a combination of cleaning chemicals, paper products, waste-management supplies, and janitorial equipment.
A basic restaurant cleaning inventory may include:
- Degreasers
- Food-contact surface cleaners and sanitizers
- All-purpose cleaners
- Floor cleaners
- Glass cleaners
- Garbage bags
- Hand soap
- Paper towels
- Washroom cleaners
- Mops and cleaning tools
Choosing the right commercial cleaning supplies for restaurants starts with understanding which products are needed for each area of the facility.
1. Commercial Degreasers
Grease is one of the biggest cleaning challenges in a commercial kitchen.
Cooking equipment and surrounding surfaces can quickly develop grease buildup, particularly around:
- Grills
- Fryers
- Ovens
- Cooking surfaces
- Backsplashes
- Exhaust areas
Commercial degreasers are designed to help remove grease and food residue from appropriate surfaces.
Restaurants should choose products suitable for their intended surfaces and always follow the manufacturer’s directions for application, concentration, contact time, and rinsing.
2. Food-Contact Surface Sanitizers
Food preparation surfaces require special attention because improper cleaning and sanitizing can contribute to contamination.
Restaurants may require appropriate products for areas such as:
- Preparation tables
- Counters
- Cutting surfaces
- Food-processing equipment
- Other food-contact surfaces
Cleaning and sanitizing are not necessarily the same step. Cleaning removes dirt and debris, while sanitizing reduces microorganisms to safer levels and is generally performed after cleaning. Restaurants should follow the product label and applicable food-safety requirements when using these products.
3. All-Purpose Cleaners
All-purpose cleaners are useful for many routine cleaning tasks throughout a restaurant.
Depending on the product and manufacturer’s directions, they may be suitable for areas such as:
- Counters
- Tables
- Doors
- Walls
- Shelving
- Other washable surfaces
Keeping an all-purpose cleaner available can simplify everyday cleaning and give employees a convenient product for appropriate general cleaning tasks.
4. Commercial Floor Cleaners
Restaurant floors experience spills, food debris, grease, dirt, and constant foot traffic.
A regular floor-cleaning routine can help keep kitchens, dining areas, hallways, and other spaces clean.
Restaurants may need:
- Commercial floor cleaner
- Mop heads
- Mop buckets
- Floor brushes
- Squeegees
- Wet floor signs
Choose a floor-cleaning product appropriate for your flooring material and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
5. Glass Cleaners
Clean windows, entrance doors, mirrors, and display surfaces contribute to the overall appearance of a restaurant.
Fingerprints, water marks, grease, and other residue can quickly become visible on glass surfaces.
Commercial glass cleaner can be useful for:
- Windows
- Mirrors
- Glass doors
- Display cases
- Other appropriate glass surfaces
Regular glass cleaning helps customer-facing areas maintain a cleaner and more professional appearance.
6. Garbage Bags
Garbage bags may not be a cleaning chemical, but they’re one of the most important janitorial supplies in a restaurant.
Restaurants generate waste throughout the day from food preparation, packaging, customer areas, and washrooms.
Businesses may require different sizes and types of bags for:
- Kitchen garbage bins
- Dining-room waste
- Washrooms
- Recycling
- Other waste streams
Choosing bags suitable for the size and weight of the waste can help reduce leaks and tears.
7. Hand Soap and Paper Towels
Hand hygiene supplies are another essential part of restaurant inventory.
Depending on the facility and applicable requirements, businesses may need products such as
- Hand soap
- Soap dispensers
- Paper towels
- Paper towel dispensers
- Hand sanitizer
Restaurants should regularly check these supplies and restock them before they run out.
8. Washroom Cleaning Supplies
Customers often notice the cleanliness of a restaurant’s washroom, making regular maintenance important.
Common washroom supplies include:
- Toilet bowl cleaner
- Surface cleaners
- Glass cleaner
- Hand soap
- Paper towels
- Toilet tissue
- Garbage bags
- Air-care products
- Cleaning brushes
Creating a regular washroom cleaning and restocking schedule can help ensure these areas remain presentable throughout operating hours.
Don’t Forget Cleaning Tools and Janitorial Equipment
Cleaning chemicals alone aren’t enough.
Restaurants should also keep appropriate tools available, such as:
- Mops
- Mop buckets
- Brooms
- Dustpans
- Scrub brushes
- Cleaning cloths
- Sponges and scrub pads
- Spray bottles
- Squeegees
- Wet floor signs
Separating or identifying cleaning tools by area can also help businesses maintain more organized cleaning procedures.
How to Choose Cleaning Products for a Restaurant
When comparing commercial cleaning supplies for restaurants, don’t choose based only on price.
Consider:
- Intended use
- Surface compatibility
- Manufacturer instructions
- Product concentration
- Storage requirements
- Frequency of use
- Package size
- Cost per unit
- How quickly your restaurant uses the product
For chemicals used around food preparation areas, pay particular attention to the label and whether the product is appropriate for the intended application.
Why Buy Commercial Cleaning Supplies Wholesale?
Restaurants use cleaning and janitorial products continuously, which makes many commercial cleaning supplies for restaurants suitable for bulk purchasing.
Buying frequently used supplies wholesale can help:
- Maintain reliable inventory
- Reduce frequent restocking
- Prepare for busy periods
- Simplify purchasing
- Reduce cost per unit where applicable
- Keep essential products available for employees
However, restaurants should base purchasing quantities on actual usage and available storage rather than simply buying the largest quantity possible.
How Much Cleaning Inventory Should a Restaurant Keep?
There isn’t one inventory level that works for every restaurant.
A high-volume restaurant operating seven days a week may use cleaning products much faster than a small café. Track how much your business uses each week and establish minimum stock levels for essential products. High-use products such as garbage bags, paper towels, hand soap, degreasers, and floor cleaners should be checked regularly.
When inventory reaches your predetermined reorder level, replenish it before the remaining stock runs out.
Why Choose NStar Cash & Carry?
NStar Cash & Carry supplies restaurants, cafés, bakeries, food trucks, caterers, convenience stores, and other foodservice businesses across Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.
Businesses can find commercial cleaning supplies for restaurants alongside other foodservice essentials, including:
- Commercial cleaning products
- Degreasers
- Floor-cleaning products
- Garbage bags
- Paper products
- Hand hygiene supplies
- Janitorial products
- Restaurant supplies
- Food packaging
- Disposable products
- Grocery and beverage products
Shopping across multiple product categories with one supplier can make regular restaurant restocking more convenient.
Keep Your Restaurant Stocked with the Right Cleaning Supplies
The best commercial cleaning supplies for restaurants are the products that match your facility, equipment, cleaning procedures, and daily requirements.
Degreasers, appropriate sanitizers, all-purpose cleaners, floor cleaners, glass cleaners, garbage bags, hand hygiene products, and washroom supplies form a strong foundation for a restaurant cleaning inventory.
By monitoring product usage and purchasing frequently used supplies wholesale, restaurants can maintain reliable inventory and simplify day-to-day purchasing. NStar Cash & Carry makes it easier to source cleaning, janitorial, packaging, grocery, and other foodservice essentials in one place.