Once this was realized, cold rooms included some ventilation of fresh air. This worked well for a while however, this can cause environmental problems due to excessive moisture introduced. This can lead to mould in your cold room.

Therefore it is important to ensure your cold room is correctly ventilated and you have an excellent cold room cleaning procedure.

Cold Room Cleaning Procedure

Cold Room cleaning procures don’t have to be complicated. The procure basically stipulates physical removal of the mould.

What does Physical Removal of Mould Mean?

This does not mean spraying a magic product over the top of the mould and hoping it disappears. It does mean what the name implies, which is physical mould removal. This could include the following steps:

• Cleaning with 70% ethanol
• Cleaning with 80% Vinegar and 20% water
• High Pressure washing with water and wet vaccum extraction of waste

You Must Address the Source of the Mould

After you have cleaned the mould, you must locate the source of the problem. This is imperative, otherwise the mould will keep forming again and again. To do this it is recommended you make use of a specialist to do so. Otherwise consider the following factors for you cold room when locating the source

• Are the Moisture levels within the correct standard. Is there excessing condensation produced?
• Is there cross contaminated materials which are causing the reoccurrence of mould.
• Is the insulation in the walls affected with mould. If so, it is possible you can conduct a mould air test in the walls to see the levels on contamination.

What if this does not work?

You could try abrasive blasting of the surface of replacement of the affected material. Remember there is no magic solution, sometimes physical replacement is required. Especially if you have mould effected insulation inside your cold room walls.

What Should I do?

If you have a relatively minor issue in your cold room and you are confident you are compliant, using the processes above to remove the mould contamination may be enough. If you are in the Queensland area and require mould removal in your cool rooms please call New Life Cold Room Cleaning. We also have a fully trained microbiologist on the staff who has worked for large food distribution companies in the past with 12 years experience. Our microbiologist can do an inspection and write up a scope for removing and maintaining a healthy cold room.d

Disclaimer

Please remember the opinions expressed in the blog are opinions only.

To combat against this, there are established procedure that you should adhere to:

The Storage Procedure 

• Have specific allocated storage areas for each lab / department
• Do not store cardboard or other paper products in cold rooms
• Label everything
• Dispose of rubbish outside the cold room, not inside
• Water leaks must be reported as soon as possible
• Door must be kept closed at all times
• Do not use wooden shelves

The Cleaning procedure

•  All surfaces should be kept clean
• Document all cleaning
• Wiping of metal surfaces
• Clean sink with appropriate solution
• Always be checking stored items for mould.

What cleaning Chemicals should be used?

• We find 70% ethanol works well. However, it is important to check with your state laws and procedures.

Inspections

If you suspect a mould problem which may be causing health issues, it is important to have an environmental specialist do a mould inspection to make sure you are compliant.

Cold Room Cleaning Service

New Life Restorations, offer this service in the SEQ area. Regular cleaning of cold rooms is a requirement, and we can provide this service on regular intervals.

More Information

• Cold Room Guidelines – University of Rochester
• Fungal Growth in Walk-in Coolers (Cold Rooms) – University of Minnesota