Products > Ozone and Sanitation This section outlines steps for cleaning your Grote slicer. The cleaning procedure described here is recommended as a guideline for cleaning our equipment and will be helpful in developing equipment Standard Operating Procedures. However, this procedure may not meet all requirements for specific plants, and is intended only as a guideline for customers developing their own procedures. CAUTION: Some parts used on Grote machines are made from hard coated anodized aluminum. Highly alkaline cleaning solutions may damage the anodized protective coating on these parts and promote rapid corrosion. Therefore, compounds with a high pH are not recommended for cleaning and sanitizing this machine. Recommended Cleaning Compound Rapid Kleen is a self-foaming, alkaline cleaner designed for food industries and suitable for equipment containing aluminum parts. It is a "solvent" type cleaner with a pH of 10.4 in a 1% solution. Rinse off the cleaner with water according to the supplier recommendations. Avoid prolonged soaking of aluminum parts. Do not use cleaners with a pH of greater than 10.4. Rapid Kleen, or its equivalent, is recommended for use on all Grote equipment. A final sanitizing rinse with a quaternary ammonium chloride cleaner such as D-Trol is also recommended. Both Rapid Kleen and D-Trol are available from Diversey Corp., DuBois Tower, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, Phone (513) 762-6000.

Guidelines for Cleaning If your machine has special guarding, release the safety guards to access the interior of the machine. 1. Turn the machine off. A padlock-securable lockout/tagout switch provides input disconnect. 2. Remove any product exposed above the product holders. 3. Open the drive side and idle side blade guards. Pull the product holder drive pull pin and place the product holder in the extended position locking it in place with lock pin. 4. Remove all remaining product from the product holders. 5. Rotate the blade tension handle counterclockwise and press in until the bearing block bottoms out in the housing. Carefully remove the blade and safely dispose of it. CAUTION: Band blades are very sharp--use care when handling and wear recommended cut-resistant safety gloves. 6. Remove the product holders, pusher assembly, shuttle conveyor and ratchet pawl, front tray and blade guide if removable type. Either rinse and soak these items separately in a tub of cleaning solution or clean them along with the rest of the machine. NOTE: Use the supplied blade scraper tool with cleaner and sanitizer to thoroughly clean the blade guide slot. 7. Place a waterproof cover over the control panel and exposed motors to prevent water intrusion. 8. Pre-soak the machine if this step is part of your cleaning operation. The pre-soak may include chemicals, but is normally a hot potable water rinse to loosen dried product clinging to the machine. 9. Spray entire machine with hot potable water rinse starting at the top and working down. Pay close attention to the removal of all excess product from the product zone. CAUTION: Be careful in using high-pressure spray on certain system areas. Keep high-pressure spray at least 12 inches away from the following areas: AC motors: Shaft seals, flange and electrical connections. Guard Switches and Sensors: Electrical connection and penetration areas. Gearboxes: Shaft seal areas and flange connections. Electrical enclosures: Door seals, and electrical connection and penetration areas. Electrical Control Buttons and Switches: Electrical connection and penetration areas. Electrical Connections: Electrical connection and penetration areas. Operator Interface: Door seals, OI buttons, and electrical connection and penetration areas. Place protective bag over OI during high-pressure wash-down. CAUTION: Before washdown, verify Operator Interface covers and plug covers are in place and all electrical enclosures are latched. Maintain a proper spray nozzle distance from the equipment. FAILURE TO DO SO MAY DAMAGE THE EQUIPMENT. 10. After removing as much excess product as possible, spray machine with cleaner. The type of cleaner used dictates the time it remains on the machine. Use supplier's recommendations for cleaning strength, cleaning time, and protective equipment. Also use cleaner on the product holders, shuttle conveyor, pusher assembly, front tray and blade guide if they are not already soaking in a cleaning solution. 11. Rinse the entire machine with potable water from the top down removing all cleaner. 12. Visually inspect the machine for areas that need re-cleaned. Spot scrub and rinse as necessary. 13. When the machine is visually clean, apply a sanitizer. Sanitizer can run through the blade guide potable water system. use of a high-concentration sanitizer may require another potable water rinse. Consult the supplier recommendations. Hydrogen peroxide may also be used during the sanitation phase. 14. Re-install the items removed from the machine after applying sanitizer to them. Spray sanitizer on areas touched during the installation. 15. Additional cleaners such as a foaming acid may be periodically required. Use all cleaners in accordance with the supplier recommendations. 16. Verify the blade guide slot is clean. Check blade guide wear with the blade guide utility tools provided with the slicer. 17. Install the band blade if production will resume immediately after cleaning. Otherwise, wait until just before the next production run to install the blade. In either case, use sanitizer to clean a new blade before installation. CAUTION: Band blades are very sharp--use care when handling and wear recommended cut-resistant safety gloves. 18. Grease exposed bearings after each washdown. See the lubrication information in the maintenance section for a list of bearings to grease. 19. Perform swab testing in accordance with your company equipment Standard Operating Procedures. Areas of particular importance are in the product slicing zone consisting of the band blade, blade guide, thickness tray, front tray, product holders, shuttle conveyor, and pusher assembly.