Floral Walk-In Coolers and refrigerators are the sorts of coolers that provide storage and display functionality both at the same time. We do have a lot of delicate flowers that need a proper environment in order to remain fresh for the customers. Floral Walk-In Coolers have transparent windows so customers can easily view flower arrangements without upsetting the temperature settings and humidity levels that occur while opening doors and allowing outside air to enter the cooler.
Flower Coolers are set at low speed so that airflow does not dry out or damage fragile flower petals in any case. Now you must be wondering about the temperature of floral walk-in refrigerators well, a floral cooler or refrigerator’s standard temperature is between 34- and 36-degrees Fahrenheit for cut flowers in a hydrating solution, although many units remain at around 38 F. you must keep in mind that temperatures that fluctuate 5 degrees plus or minus of 38 F can ruin or reduce the lives of flowers.
Why are walk-in floral coolers best for your business?
When we talk about flowers what do we look while buying a bouquet for our loved ones? Obviously, we look for the best quality and freshness in our bouquets and only a walk in floral cooler can help you achieve this because you don’t want to get a dull and dried bouquet for someone close to you.
Floral Cooler Vs Refrigerator
Now you must be wondering that why can’t you simply use a traditional commercial refrigerator for your cold floral storage. Well, this is actually not the ideal case. Actually, flowers need high humidity and soft airflow to remain fresh and charming. Your average commercial refrigerator actually creates low humidity because this is specially designed for the food items and most of the food items remain the freshest in this type of environment. Apart from this, fast air movement helps in maintaining low humidity in most of the commercial coolers and this rapid airflow can easily accelerate the dehydration of your flowers and cause inventory loss as well.
As compared to a standard commercial refrigerator, a floral cooler aslo called as florist refrigerator is specifically designed with custom delicate features keeping the flowers and plants in mind. For this purpose, floral coolers make use of high humidity and low airflow to protect the delicate petals, leaves, and stems of these flowers. These specially designed coolers are supplied with low-velocity evaporator coils to make sure that that air movement is slow and gentle and does not harm the flowers in any way. This guarantees that petals and leaves do not become dehydrated and dry out at all. Floral coolers are also designed in such a way that the humidity remains high even at the low temperatures settings in which the flowers need to be stored. High humidity tends to work in order to protect and preserve the different parts of flowers and plants, so they look their best when your customer makes a purchase.
As stated earlier, flowers remain at their best state if they are stored at 33-35 degrees Fahrenheit right after being harvested. This means your cooler or refrigerators needs to be able to maintain such temperature in order to properly store your flower’s stock. You must have a humidity and temperature monitor which will help you to make sure your floral cooler is working appropriately, and your flowers are stored safely in such a way that keeps them fresh. No doubt that your floral refrigerators may cost more as compared to your average commercial cooler, but your inventory will last longer, and your customers will be more satisfied and happier with your product when it is stored and cared for properly and in the right equipment. There are still chances that you lose some of your flowers to dehydration, bacterial infections, and stem shrivel but with a longer shelf life, your inventory loss goes down significantly, and your customers will come back to have more.
How to build a walk-in cooler for flowers?
There are some components that need to be properly functioning and these components are somehow very essential to keep your floral walk-in cooler and refrigerators work properly, there are some of the accessories that can aid with day-to-day business operations and make life a little easier.
Here is the list of accessories that can be used in your walk-in coolers to make them look better and to make them function even better.
- Shelves
- Thermometers
- Emergency inside safety release
- Door curtains
- Exterior ramps
How to keep your walk-in coolers and refrigerators clean?
Refrigerators and coolers do not only help us in cooling our food-related stuff but there are a lot more uses of them and a lot more things that we can keep in them to let them stay fresh. All the items need to be chilled or kept cool at certain temperatures to preserve their quality and freshness. One of those items is flowers that look, smell and feel like they were just plucked from a blooming garden. As we know that fresh flowers are the lifeline of every successful floral shop. We are also aware of the fact that behind every beautiful floral composition are reliable coolers that can regulate optimal temperatures to preserve the fresh, garden quality of various kinds of flowers. With a reliable flower shop cooler, florists can maintain a large supply of fresh flowers and complete orders at a moment’s notice without risking wilting and waste.
We must keep in mind that besides keeping your flowers in the coolers no doubt we keep them fresh but it is also very essential to keep these coolers and refrigerators clean as well so that their life and functionality increase.
Basic cleaning for Floral Cooler
If you are new to this business all you have to make sure to clean all the surfaces, such as the walls, floors, and shelves, as well as dust off the interiors to avoid any kind of dirt and grime from storing on the glass and the door seals. You have to make sure to use a cleaning solution that is particularly formulated for flowers, because other chemicals may cause toxins and cause them to wilt too soon than they actually should.
Schedule A Cleaning and Maintenance Time
Same as other electrical appliances, flower shop coolers also need to be regularly cleaned and maintained to make sure that they are performing at their best. But the bitter reality is that because it is considered nearly impossible to provide its downtime when we keep special merchandise like flowers fresh, a lot of flower shop owners never even bother to book a maintenance service or call their refrigerator manufacturer or authorized dealer until they are completely left with a useless machine.
If you are a walk-in floral refrigerator owner, do you even remember when was the last time you cleaned and maintained your floral coolers? I guess the answer will be a big no. Their long-term, dependable function hinge on a few key tasks that preserve their ability to keep fresh blooms chilled, fresh, and attractive. It is very important to learn exactly how to keep floral coolers clean and in perfect condition so that they can maintain the ideal temperature, ventilate, and preserve your flower shop’s beautiful but very delicate merchandise intact. For this purpose, you must book a professional cooler cleaner for your walk-in floral cooler.
Book A Professional Cooler Cleaning
You may find it very easy to wipe down the shelves and surfaces of a flower shop cooler on your own, but a lot of the necessary mechanisms require complicated handling and many professional tools that may help you to avoid costly equipment damage in the long run and a negative impact on your customers.
We at Kitchen Services provides comprehensive installation and maintenance services in Los Angeles and surrounding areas.
Keep in mind that these parts of a floral cooler need to be cleaned professionally for ideal results:
1. Condensing unit
Perhaps the most crucial part of a floral cooler is the condensing unit. This is responsible for keeping the air perfectly cold for flowers to hold their shape and should be cleaned every month. This typically requires shutting off power in your flower shop for about 15 minutes. During that time, a professional cooler technician will set the shop vac to blow air outward and release accumulated dust and dirt to the exterior for clean-up.
2. Condensing coil
You need to clean your condensing coil at least twice a year this will let you remove stack up dust and dirt. This process will need an industrial and proper vacuum and wet cloth to remove rubble and deposits, particularly from small, hard-to-reach gaps and areas.
3. Evaporator coil
Same as the condensing coil, the evaporator coil also needs to be cleaned at least two times in a year with the help of specifically formulated cleaning solution to get rid of residue.
A professional floral cooler mechanic will remove the bottom pan of the coil and clean it with the specified solution, supported by the tubing and actual coils.
4. Drain lines
The drain lines are a hotbed of harmful deposits like all sorts of molds and debris, that would cause them to clog and become even more difficult to clean over time because they are then stored there. To get rid of this waste material and dust, make sure to clear the drain lines at least once a year.
5. Door gaskets
The door gaskets are actually the magnets for debris and stains. When they are left without cleaning, there are high chances that they lose their seal, which would cause them to enter warm air to the floral cooler and disturb the quality of your flower’s stock that surely needs to be stored at specific temperatures to prevent shriveling and bruising. Cleaning the door gaskets of your floral cooler can reduce this risk and restores the seal to its original position. A professional walk-in floral cooler and refrigerator technician can also apply a protective vinyl layer to extend the lifespan of the door gaskets.
What is the correct temperature for a flower cooler?
For most cut flowers, the ideal range is from 33°F to 35°F. Tropical flowers, however, require 50 to 55°F. Temperatures above the optimum levels reduce vase life and quality. Keeping flowers cool slows down respiration rate and maximizes vase life.
