Sterilizer Cabinets: Do They Really Kill Germs?
In a commercial kitchen environment, knives & tools are constantly being used. Eventually, your utensils will have to be cleaned. But, germs stay on your tools after regular washing. You’ll have to take it a step further. Your knives/tools must be sterilized.
Most food service operations soak their knives in cleaning chemicals. However, this can be expensive & potentially damage your cutlery. Instead, IMC thought of a different solution.
IMC Model #UVC-2226 (or UVC, for short) Knife Sterilizer Cabinet is the ultimate cutlery disinfecting solution. The cabinet uses germicidal ultraviolet light to disinfect & purify knives and other kitchen tools. This design simply kills bacteria that standard washing won’t remove or dirt that collects in spaces that are harder to wash. No cleaning chemicals are needed, so there is no potential rusting or pitting of your tools.
In this article, we’ll break down the defining features of the sterilizer cabinet & give a brief summary of how exactly it disinfects your cutlery. Let’s get started.
Fully Loaded Cabinet
This is not your typical cabinet. Each part of the UVC comes together to make a complete package. Here are some of the most important features:
- Durable 18-gauge type 300 stainless steel construction, completely welded & polished to a brushed finish. Unit dimensions are 22″W x 26″H.
- State-of-the-art double pan door design prevents UV light leakage. A UV leakage protector edge is also integrated into the body of the cabinet. Lock & key are provided for extra security.
A removable knife rack (pictured below) safely & securely keeps your knives upright during the sterilization process. No need to worry about sharp knives falling out of the cabinet when the door is opened. Custom rack hole sizes are available for no extra charge.
- Each unit includes an 8 watt germicidal UV fixture & lamp, timer switch, indicator lights & hooks for your tools. The cabinet is powered by a standard 120V plug (4 ft length). The UVC is pre-wired in the factory, so simply plug it in & begin usage. It’s as simple as that.
So, How Does It Work Exactly?
It must be noted that the unit must be used with clean & dry knives/tools only.
Without getting too technical or scientific, here’s the quick rundown of how the system works. To start off, the UVC is designed to generate UV dosages in excess of 30,000 microwatts per square centimeter in the timed cycle & destroys 99.9% of microorganisms.
What does that mean in English? It’s a quick & efficient germ killer.
The germicidal UV sterilizing light is automatically energized when the door is closed. When sterilization is complete, the red pilot light shuts off & a green ready light indicates cycle completion. The entire sterilization process takes 20 minutes. Here’s a visual look at the procedure:
The UVC is a unique addition to our cabinet lineup. IMC knows the importance of using a sanitizer to help you adhere to health codes/guidelines & keep your cutlery as disinfected as possible. To learn more about the UVC sterilizer cabinet, click here.
Terrific soluton not only for sanitising knives and tools but also providing somewhere to store items properly rather than having them rattling around in a drawer (and knives getting blunt). The other essential item that should be stored in a suitably sized UVC sterilising cabinet is cutting boards again with frames to hold them: suggest the cabinet can also have a timed heater which would ensure the cutting boards are properly dry.
Also why have a solid door to the cabinetwhen UVC is safe behind clear acrylic then you can see when is in the cabinet without having to open the door.
Hi Tim,
Thank you for your comment & helpful input. We do have a mirrored door option, but it does not allow you to see into the cabinet. I’ll suggest your ideas to our engineering team and get their assessment. Thank you again for your support.