Commercial Dishwasher Lease

With so many dishwashing equipment on the market it is sometimes difficult for restaurants and other businesses in the catering industry to choose appropriate units, especially if just starting out. Moreover, should you make a huge initial investment and go for the buy, or should you consider leasing your dishwashers? The purpose of this article is to help businesses in this line of work decide more quickly between different options and to show you why commercial dishwasher lease is an option you should seriously consider.

Brief Guide Through Commercial Dishwashers

If in business that deals with warewashing, cleanliness is not just important for customer satisfaction. It is also important for creating an environment that will enable your business to grow by complying with local, state and federal laws. Getting an appropriate dishwasher is crucial for creating and maintaining good reputation for your business, so you better do some research before choosing your trusted dishwashing ally.

As you might assume, the two main differences between commercial and residential dishwashers lie in their power and size. While both can basically perform same operations, commercial dishwashers are much larger, have much larger capacity, and are, therefore, more powerful.

Low Vs High Temperature Commercial Dishwashers

There is a wide variety of commercial dishwashers on the market and they differ in size, power and shape, while some are meant for cleaning only specific types of dishware, such as glassware.

First thing that you’ll need to decide is whether you’ll need a low-temperature or a high-temperature unit. Both types of dishwashers use detergent and rinsing chemicals at the end of the cleaning process, but the way they work is quite different.

The main advantage of the low-temperature dishwasher is that it’s cheaper and much easier to place in your business, since low-temp units don’t require condensate hoods. However, there are a few disadvantages that you’ll need to consider, one of them would include the need to buy a sanitizer. The typical wash and rinse temperature of a low-temp dishwasher ranges between 120 and 140 degrees, which means that it won’t have enough power to clean certain stains such as lipstick, egg yolk or meat grease stains. You’ll need to double wash the dishes or manually wash them to take these stains off and you’ll need to use chemical sanitizing agents.

This means that purchasing chemicals is something that will become a part of your monthly expenses if getting this type of unit. Plus, some sanitizers can damage certain dishware materials, so it’s important to keep this in mind as well.

Secondly, the average production of low-temp dishwashers is about 40 racks per hour, which is about 15 racks less than of a high-temp dishwasher. Thirdly, when you pull the dishes out of a low-temp machine, the dishes are wet, which means that you’ll have to either hand dry them or let them air dry.

On the other hand, the main advantage of high-temp dishwashers is not needing a sanitizer, because the temperature goes above 180 degrees (typically wash at 150-160 degrees and rinse at 180, so the sanitation is done by the water heat). You’d be able to take the sanitizer off your monthly expense list, and what’s more important, especially if you run a high-end business, is that you won’t have that chemical aftertaste that sanitizer leaves on dishwasher. Although the flavor is slight, a discerning customer will certainly pickup on that, so it is in your best interest to avoid it altogether. High-temp dishwashers flash dry, so there is no need to manually dry them or leave them to air dry, and as mentioned before, the average production is about 55 racks per hour, so much more than low-temp dishwasher’s capacity. Another important advantage is that most high-temp dishwashers are Energy Star certified, which means that they are more energy efficient.

The main disadvantage is the intense heat that requires a condensate hood for operation, which although an excellent addition, adds to the cost and footprint, which can make them difficult to install.

Styles of Commercial Dishwashers

There are many different variations on the market when it comes to commercial dishwashers. With so many different brands offering various options, getting a dishwasher for your business can get quite confusing. We’ll guide you through the basic styles of dishwashers which will help you narrow down the choices based on your business requirements. After you choose the style of the dishwasher that your business needs, choosing a particular brand will be a slightly easier job and a matter of preference.

#1 Conveyor Dishwashers

Conveyor dishwashers are the largest commercial dishwashers on the market with most power and ability to clean between 350 and 1000 racks per day depending on the model. This makes them perfect for cafeterias or any other kitchens that deal with a lot of dishes and glassware that need to be repeatedly washed and used.

A lot of models have microprocessors that have easy controls to determine washing conditions, and Energy Star models really help with cutting down electricity consumption. They come both as low and high-temp models and they require the expertise of an electrician to hard-wire them.

#2 Door Type/ Rack Dishwashers

Door Type dishwashers are the most common types of commercial dishwashers and are ideal for businesses such as larger, busier restaurants. They are like smaller versions of conveyor washers with ability of processing between 30 and 350 racks per day and are designed to connect to clean or dirty dishtables. They come in different sizes which will determine the number of dishes that are able to fit inside, but they are certainly larger than undercounter models and can, therefore, clean more dishes in less time on average.

The machine is loaded up with dishes, the racks are pushed inside, and the cleaning cycle begins after the door is closed. A lot of models have a convenient safety switch feature, which automatically turns off the cleaning cycle in case the slide-up door opens, but the downside is a lot higher detergent and water consumption. They also come as high and low-temp designs and require an electrician for installation.

#3 Undercounter Commercial Dishwashers

Undercounter dishwashers come in low and high temperature varieties and are types that are most similar to residential models, which makes them easier to use. Some have start options and wash cycles that can help you lower water consumption and save energy which is convenient for small businesses that are careful about their budget.

For this reason and thanks to the powerful cleaning abilities, undercounter dishwashers are perfect fit for coffee shops, bars or restaurants with smaller kitchens where you can clean as you go. They can clean between 20-30 racks at a time, which is definitely a feature that will help your kitchen run smoothly throughout your business hours.

#4 Glasswashers

These washers that are specialized in washing glassware can clean over 1000 glasses per hour depending on their size, which makes them popular for businesses such as restaurants and bars with busy nights and happy hours. Unlike typical commercial dishwashers, glasswashers have lower water pressure and power, which is sufficient, since glass is more fragile especially at higher temperatures.

Lease vs Buying a Commercial Dishwasher

There are many factors to consider when deciding upon new dishwashing equipment for your business. One of the first decisions that you’ll need to make is whether you should buy the equipment or lease it. Important is to take a look at both short and long-term costs of both options.

You’ll need to ask yourself this question: does your business require new or used equipment? If used equipment is quite enough, then you’ll be able to save a few bucks when making purchase, but you won’t have the option to lease it. If your business requires new equipment, then you’ll have the option to either buy it or lease it.

When you compare all costs associated with purchasing (shipping, tax, installation) with lease terms and pricing, it may seem that buying would be a more cost-effective way to go in the long run. However, if you plan to keep the equipment for the short term, then you’ll probably find that leasing is a better alternative. On the other hand, if you add maintenance and repairs to the buying option, you’ll begin to realize that leasing has advantages both in terms of cost-reduction and otherwise.

The key to making the right decision is understanding your company’s exact requirements and understanding the purpose of the equipment that you’d be getting. In case purchase is something your business would struggle with, we’ll help you decide by presenting advantages that leasing has over buying the equipment.

#1 Latest Technology

The main advantage of leasing commercial dishwashers is that it gives you repeated access to the latest technology. This is especially important in case technology is critical to your business, as you would be able to get shorter leases to ensure you always have the most recent technology around.

On the other hand, if technology is not that crucial for your business, you’d be able to replace it when necessary, for example every three years, because one of the options that you’d have at the end of the leasing period is to upgrade to new equipment. Even though, new technology is not critical in your case, it is definitely important for getting your customers to trust your business and to stay competitive.

Buying means that you’ll be stuck with the equipment because you would own it, and that is something that is not beneficial if you think about how fast the technology is evolving and getting outdated. You would need to decide each time whether your business allows you to keep using it (in which case, the questions is for how much longer?), repair it, store it or sell it. If your business requires technology updates, you would need to set aside and invest new capital each time you wish to renew your equipment. This is something most small businesses can’t afford.

And if you decide to go with the used technology option, watch out for the broken equipment that you won’t be able to return or sell later.

#2 Monthly Maintenance

Leasing has another advantage over buying the equipment as buying gets you the equipment only, while leasing includes maintenance as well. Buying means that you would be responsible for all maintenance and costs, which can get rather pricy depending on the difficulty of the equipment issue.

Some manufacturers offer limited warranty for their commercial dishwashers, and for a certain monthly investment, you can get a local authorized repair service company to take care of quick monthly checkups.

However, these companies usually have free labor on repairs during working hours, and normal rates during off-work hours, and the monthly fee usually doesn’t include parts. Such a deal doesn’t provide much confidence, as crashes and disasters are common on the busiest nights of the week.

With leasing contract, the leasing company technically owns the machine, so they would take care of all repairs and regular maintenance, keeping your equipment in tip-top shape. Moreover, there would be no additional repair and maintenance costs above the lease. Important, however, would be to point out that leasing companies do differ, so it is important to find a trusted company that provides immediate attention and doesn’t disagree with you on what the leasing contract includes when it comes to repairs and maintenance.

#3 Less Pressure on Cash

Purchasing means higher initial expense, that usually involves financing the purchase though a lender. If you don’t have the cash reserve that is large enough, it may be difficult to pay for all the costly equipment at once. This may also force you to settle with lower-cost and quality equipment that you don’t really want, which is not good in the long run.

Unlike buying, leasing enables a business to use its operating and not capital budget, which helps it overcome cash-flow issues and have more working capital in its pocket. This will enable you to invest money in other important aspects of your business, such as marketing or design. The interest rate oscillations are also avoided, as the leasing contract is set for a fixed monthly fee, which means easy, predictable payments and easier budgeting for the equipment in the long run.

#4 Yearly Tax Savings

It is important to consider all tax-related issues and benefits for both buying and leasing, as they could differ depending on the business situation. The advantage of leasing dishwashing equipment is that it can be offset against tax, meaning that usually 100% lease payment would get deducted immediately. However, we must point out that you should always consult your tax consultant, as different types of leases have different accounting for tax purposes when it comes to how much you can deduct as an expense on your profit or loss statement.

When it comes to buying with financing option, you’ll only be able to deduct the interest portion as an expense, as the principal amount you’re paying on the loan isn’t considered a taxable deduction.

Benefits of Dishwasher Leasing

As mentioned in the previous chapter, different options like buying, renting or leasing commercial dishwashers are all individually suitable for different kinds of businesses. Not every business would benefit from buying the equipment, and not all businesses would benefit from leasing it.

Before making a definite decision, think hard about what your business requirements are, what would each option bring in the short term and long term, and finally, which option would benefit your business the most.

To help you with your decision, we’ll mention top benefits of leasing the dishwashing equipment that would help your business get and stay on top of the competition.

#1 High Quality of Service

In case your kitchen or bar equipment starts to break or becomes outdated, your customers will quickly find out. It doesn’t matter if they have access to the equipment or not, bad word spreads fast, and the last thing you need is people talking about the mess of the appliances that handle the ware you serve them food or drinks in.

As dishwasher can be one of the first things that can damage your reputation when it starts to wear down, maintaining and updating the equipment is an important part of the whole positive experience about your business. Leasing is what would secure latest equipment, regular maintenance and service, and therefore – high quality of the way you do business.

#2 Flexibility and Various Options

Leasing dishwashing equipment can be set to different number of years which gives different business different options to choose from. Many companies also offer different tailored packages designed to meet requirements of businesses of all sizes.

Important is just to pay attention to the available lease terms of different commercial dishwasher companies, as you don’t want to get stuck with the terms that are longer than you need them to be.

#3 Multiple Options at the End of the Lease

What is great about leasing is that you’ll have different options to proceed with after the lease period is over. It all depends on what your business needs next, so one of the greatest benefits is that you’ll have open options to choose from.

As mentioned in the previous chapter, a great benefit in case you run a catering business that relies heavily on latest equipment, is that you would be able to get an upgrade to new equipment after the lease ends. In case you don’t need to change equipment so frequently, you can continue using the equipment that you already lease for a lower monthly fee.

You can also choose to return it without penalty, or more beneficial – you would be able to keep the ownership of the equipment for a certain additional payment which is something rental agreements don’t offer.

#4 Equipment Experts Available 24/7

Monthly maintenance takes one more worry of your mind, which is hiring a repairman or a repair company to take care of your equipment. Moreover, the leasing company would help you choose the appropriate dishwashing units to fit your business requirements and size and will advise you on the appropriate chemicals. You would get new equipment plus regular consulting.

Important to check is the response time and availability of the tech support, as some companies offer limited support, while other offer emergency 24/7 service, which is one of the most important things for having your business operate on minimum downtime.

Chem Mark, Inc. Commercial Dishwashers & Dishwasher Chemicals

Chem Mark, Inc. is the only true full-service company in the industry servicing Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego! We offer only the best commercial dishwashers and water softeners at affordable rates and lease terms that will keep your business booming!

Chem Mark, Inc. offers full in-house operation that includes installation, service and maintenance of state-of-the-art dishwashers and warewashing chemicals, as well as team of reliable, trained and tested service technicians that will keep your equipment in top-notch condition. As a Chem Mark customer, you’ll get regular scheduled service and a 24/7 emergency service which will probably make us your new best friends.

Chem Mark, Inc. Commercial Dishwashers

Chem Mark, Inc. offers a wide variety of CMA and ADS low temp and high temp commercial dishwashers for leasing, and below we present just a sample of what’s available.

• Single Rack Inline Dishwasher – It is Chem Mark’s most popular dishwasher that combines low energy with chemical sanitizing and low use cost. With the production of more than 40 racks per hour and an automatic start and stop, it just might be what your small to medium-sized business needs;
• Undercounter Dishwasher – This compact undercounter dishwasher has all the features a larger commercial dish-machine has, with the production of over 30 racks per hour. It also features a unique self-cleaning system that will keep your machine debris-free;
• Double Rack or Corner Double Rack Dishwasher – This is a high-volume double rack dishwasher with the production of over 80 racks or 320 covers per hour. It is highly economical and energy efficient machine with uniquely designed corner model configuration;
• Conveyor 44″ or 66″ Configuration – With over 60 racks or 240 covers per hour, this is a high-capacity and high-volume dishwasher specifically designed for the busiest business environments. It also has the lowest water use in the industry and automatic start and stop to cut costs and save run time;
• High-temp Dishwasher – This is a 180-degree sanitizing dishwasher specifically designed for operations requiring high temperature. It’s production – over 60 racks or 240 covers per hour;
• Corner Dishwasher – This convenient dishwasher is designed to fit either left or right configuration and is specifically designed to pull pins for easy cleaning of wash arms. Production: over 40 racks or 160 covers per hour.

Chem Mark, Inc. Commercial Dishwasher Detergent & Bar Equipment 

Besides offering high-quality CMA and ADS dishwashers, Chem Mark, Inc. also offers leasing of different bar cleaning and sanitation equipment and products in Los Angeles, San Diego and Riverside areas such as SwingMark cleaning and sanitation system which is the perfect fit for three compartment bar sinks.

Chem Mark also offers lease and repairs of customer owned glass washers from BarMaid, US leading manufacturer of commercial grade products used by bars, restaurants, hotels, event caterers and many others.

Water softeners are also part of the offer, so we’ll make sure your glasses, dishes and silverware are all spot-free.

We also offer a wide variety of state-of-the-art concentrated cleaning products that include warewash, silverware pre-soaks, products for drain maintenance, sanitation, and general and heavy-duty cleaning, bar detergents and sanitizers. Just some of Chem Mark, Inc. dishwasher products include Mark 360 Sanitizer, Mark310 Rinseaid and Mark 300 Sanitizer.

Chem Mark, Inc. – Commercial Dishwasher Lease & Service

In case you have decided on leasing a commercial dishwasher, simply contact us or give us a call at (714)-784-5522 (CHEM) because we would love to get to know you and have a chat about your business!

We are confident that we’ll help you choose appropriate commercial dishwashing equipment and warewashing chemicals, and guide you through different commercial dishwasher lease options to best fit your business requirements.