Commercial Kitchen Preventive Maintenance Checklist

Published 07.28.2026. Written for restaurant operators, kitchen managers, and facility owners. Print it, laminate it, assign names to it.

Almost every emergency service call in a commercial kitchen has a cheaper ancestor: the maintenance task that would have prevented it. This checklist splits the work into what your staff should do on a schedule and what belongs in a professional maintenance contract.

Daily (staff)

• Log walk-in and reach-in temperatures at open and close (your health inspector will ask for these anyway).
• Clean dish machine wash arms, strainer pans, and check sanitizer with test strips or verify final rinse temperature.
• Filter fryer oil and check oil condition.
• Wipe door gaskets on refrigeration so grime does not destroy the seal.
• Clean hood filters if you run high-volume frying or charbroiling (otherwise weekly).

Weekly (staff)

• Run hood filters through the dish machine or soak tank.
• Check refrigeration door hinges and closers; a door that does not self-close costs compressor hours every day.
• Inspect fryer for oil leaks around the drain valve.
• Clean griddle surfaces to bare metal and re-season.
• Check faucets, pre-rinse units, and drains for leaks and slow drainage before they become plumbing calls.

Monthly (staff or handyman level)

• Vacuum or brush condenser coils on reach-ins, prep tables, and ice machines (unplug first). The single highest-value task on this page.
• Boil out fryers.
• Verify thermostat accuracy on ovens and fryers with a separate thermometer; drift means calibration or replacement.
• Check walk-in door sweeps, heater wires, and evaporator drain lines for ice buildup.
• Inspect ice machine bin and interior; schedule a cleaning cycle if scale or slime is visible.

Quarterly (professional)

• Full refrigeration PM: condenser and evaporator cleaning, refrigerant and electrical checks, defrost verification, gasket replacement as needed.
• Ice machine professional cleaning and sanitizing (semiannual minimum per most manufacturers; quarterly in hard water).
• Cooking equipment PM: burners, igniters, pilots, gas connections, calibration.
• Dish machine delime, chemical pump tube replacement, and booster heater check.
• Hood and exhaust inspection or cleaning per your NFPA 96 schedule (see our hood cleaning guide) and grease trap pumping per your local rule (see the grease trap guide).

Annual (professional)

• Fire suppression system inspection (semiannual in most jurisdictions; your fire code controls).
• HVAC and makeup air service, including belts, filters, and airflow balance.
• Full electrical inspection of high-draw equipment connections.
• Walk-in structural check: floor, panels, door frames, and insulation condition.

What to put in a PM contract

Deciding whether to sign one at all is a separate question, and we cover it in is a maintenance agreement worth signing.

When you price a planned maintenance agreement, ask exactly which of the quarterly and annual items above are included, whether parts like gaskets and chemical tubes are covered or billed, what the response time promise is for contract customers, and whether emergency labor rates are discounted. Get the visit report in writing each time: those reports become your equipment's medical history and make every future repair faster.

Find a maintenance provider

Companies offering preventive maintenance contracts are flagged throughout the directory, in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

Want this as a sheet for the wall? Our printable PM log records who did what and when.