7 Germ-friendly Places in Your Restaurant That You Almost Never Notice

• Have you ever wondered how harmful germs manage to spread so quickly? The answer lies, quite literally, in your hands. Wash them frequently and you'll be fine. Touch a dozen of soiled surfaces without taking any precautions and you're likely to catch a cold or worse yet, the flu! The same principle applies for every business that serves food or drinks.

As a restaurant owner, it is your sacred duty to keep your property sanitised and look after the well-being of both your employees and your customers.This way you will always be prepared for an unexpected visit from the health inspectors, and insure top-level hygiene. But no matter how much effort you put into this task, it's sometimes all too easy to miss what's right in front of you. Let's review the 7 bacteria-infested places in your restaurant that you probably overlooked below.

1. Kitchen Wall

While there's nothing wrong with showing off your artistic side, you shouldn't treat your kitchen walls as canvas either. Cooking oil, tomato sauce, and other spills are the perfect breeding ground for germs. And if you leave them to linger for a day or two, these stains can also attract a small battalion of cockroaches. To prevent such culinary catastrophe, you can instruct your employees to dash for a clean rag as soon as the splash occurs. Or if it's already too late, hire a few professionals to swiftly deal with the aftermath.

2. Fruit & Vegetable Peels

If you avoid washing fruit and veggie skins because "it's what's on the inside that counts", then you won't like what comes next. Every time you cut, say, an unwashed lemon, any dormant bacteria on its surface will instantly board your knife and travel to the fruit's core. In turn, the now peeled lemon will contaminate any drink or food it touches with E. Coli or other dangerous pathogens. The good news is that you don't need a team of expert cleaners to make fruits and veggies safe for use. Simply soak them in a weak cleaning solution for a couple of minutes and then carefully rinse under running water. And make sure to always wash off the soil first before you start cooking!

3. Condiment Bottles & Spice Shakers

You've probably placed ketchup bottles or salt and paper shakers on every customer's table for the sake of convenience. But when was the last time you've given them a thorough scrubbing? Sure, they may seem harmless in appearance, but there's no telling how many customers have decided to spice up their meals. And if even one of those gentlemen or ladies forgot to wash their hands after using your restroom, the odds of food poisoning can quickly skyrocket. Thus, we strongly advise you to include condiment bottles and spice shakers in your daily restaurant cleaning routine.

4. Top of Drinking Glasses

If your wine glass looks shiny, there's no way it can be riddled with germs, right? Not necessarily. Waiters often tend to hold the customer's glass near its rim. And once that person takes a sip, he or she could be potentially exposed to all sorts of infections. That is why your staff should always grab drinking glasses by their stems/handles, or better yet, with a clean towel. And don't forget to double-check them for any leftover lipstick stains.

5. Areas Underneath and Behind Kitchen Appliances

Start your anti-germ crusade by checking the areas surrounding your range cooker, pizza oven, microwave, fridge, and any other kitchen equipment. You'll be surprised to learn just how many food scraps can hide from view over the course of a single shift. Deal with those as soon as you discover their hideout – if left unchecked, dish leftovers will act as magnets for various bacteria. And you definitely don't want the health inspectors to find them for you! In case you don't have the time to move furniture around, be on the safe side and opt for a thorough appliance and kitchen cleaning service that will send all germs screaming.

6. Restaurant Menus

Your customers may not always spice their food, order a drink, or visit the lavatory, but they will always browse your menus. And once those get passed around a few dozen times, it won't be long before someone gets infected and blames your cook for serving a spoiled meal. Don't push your luck and have your waitress wipe the menus each time they get returned to the hostess stand.

7. Bathroom Door Handle

The next item on our list is pretty straightforward, but it should be mentioned nonetheless. A large percentage of your customers (if not all) are bound to use your restroom at one time or another. And even if they properly wash their hands, your clients could still give harmful bacteria a free ride to their table as soon as they touch the door handle. To avoid this, polish all handles with a strong disinfectant and keep the paper towel dispensers full at all times.

Catherine Burns is a pro oven and kitchen cleaner in a London based cleaning company. She works with both domestic and commercial clients and also offers advice and tips on how to keep their home or business clean.