Get Secondhand Refrigeration Units Ready for Use in Your Hotel
If you purchased some used mini-refrigerators from a hotel owner who recently went out of business, inspect each appliance and service any equipment that is not working before installing a unit in each guest room at your hotel. Once you have set up the rooms, use additional equipment for parts or keep the extra appliances inside of a storage room, in case you need to swap one of the other units out.
Here are some steps to take to ensure the mini-refrigerators are ready for regular use.
1. Clean, Inspect, and Repair Each Unit
Cleaning and inspecting each refrigerator will take some time and it won't make sense to put the units in the guest rooms until you are certain that each appliance is in operable order. If your maintenance crew has a room that is used to complete minor repair work, have the refrigerators temporarily stored there. Direct your staff to disinfect the inside of each unit and to plug each appliance in.
During the inspection process, each power cord should be visually and manually checked. Some cords that are kinked or torn will block units from receiving power and this could be misunderstood as a cooling issue, if the electrical components are not checked properly. Once all of the units are clean and dry and visual inspections have taken place, all units should be plugged in one at a time.
During this step, the thermostat inside of each unit should be adjusted to a cool setting. After a refrigerator has been running for a while, your maintenance workers can use a temperature gauge to check the coolness of each unit. Any units that do not cool down sufficiently will need to be serviced by a refrigeration repair technician.
2. Place One Refrigerator in Each Guest Room
Once the units are deemed operable, inform your maintenance crew that they're ready for use. You can then direct them to use hand carts to aid them in transporting the refrigerators to the hotel rooms. Refrigerators should be inspected annually.
Basic spot checks and small repairs can be performed by your staff members, but any issue that deals with the cooling components of one of the refrigerators should be addressed by an HVAC technician or contractor. During service appointments or occasions when equipment is being repaired, swap out the units that aren't working with extra ones that were initially placed inside of the hotel's storage room.
