How to Maintain Your Slush Machine

Are you trying to figure out if a slushie machine is right for your commercial property, but concerned about the added maintenance of the machine? This website has good news for you. Although some routine maintenance should be expected, it is overall, nothing complex or time-consuming. Here is a simple guide on how to maintain your slush machine.

Slushie Machine Maintenance

First and foremost, you should understand that your machine will need to be maintained monthly. This can extend its lifespan and ensure that it is clean enough to provide the flavor-filled slushies that your customers want. You only need a few items. They include:

Once you have your supplies, you will want to drain your machine. You should get as much of the slushie out as possible, and then run warm water through it to further ensure that it is free of left-over slush.

Please note: your machine should not be set to freeze during this process. You should turn it off before draining all mixture from it to protect the machine and make it easier for you.

Step 1: Disassemble Your Machine. Your machine will have instructions that tell you specifically how to disassemble your machine for ease of cleaning. It may involve removing handles, hopper, augers, and drip trays, etc. from the main refrigeration unit or base.

Step 2: Once you have it separated from the base, you will want to take it to the sink. You will want to wash, rinse, and sanitize the machine’s hopper. However, it is important that you never “scrub” the hopper with abrasive brushes or cleaners. Dish soap, warm water, terry cloth towels, or similar will be sufficient. You can even use disinfecting wipes on the hopper.

You will then want to take care of the auger, drip tray, handles, faucets, springs, and other small parts. Put these parts into your sink. You can let them soak a little if you want to while you tackle wiping down the base of the machine or start cleaning them. You get to choose. For some people and machines, this is the most time-consuming part because you have to really make sure that nothing is stuck to those parts. You should also check the seals for stuck-on beverages.

If your machine has a light, you should keep in mind that it should not be submerged in water. Most lights are water-resistant but can be damaged if you allow them to sit in water.

Step 3: Now for the base of your machine. We recommend you start with the auger motor, which can be cleaned with sanitizing liquid or wipes. Clean the auger motor seals and all. Some people find it useful to work in sections to ensure that they remove all stuck-on particles that may be there. You should wipe grease from the front of the auger last so that it does not smear over the auger itself.

Step 4: The base of your machine may also need a little TLC. Most commercial units will have an air filter in the base. This filter can often be washed under hot water. You should rinse it until the water runs clear.

In a perfect world, especially if you run your machine daily, you should clean the filter every 15-days or so, with a complete teardown of the machine every month.

Finalizing Your Slushie Machine Maintenance

The final step to cleaning your machine is to put everything back together. You can start with replacing the hopper seals, auger, dispensers, hoppers, and drip trays. Your machine handles will also need to be reattached.

Once everything is back the way it should be, you can add your syrups and drink mixtures to the machine. Avoid overfilling but put enough of the mix into the machine that you can check for possible leaks. If you notice a leak, you will need to drain the mix and try reassembling again. In general, your seals should be changed every six months to ensure that they will never leak.

Turn on your slushie machine when you are confident that all seals are secure. Often this means simply turning the control to “Ice” or “freeze”.

Maintaining Slushie Machines at Home

If you do not have a commercial slushie machine, but still want to understand what it takes to maintain a slushie machine, we can help you as well. The good news is, most slushie machines are super easy to care for if they are designed for home use. Most should be washed by hand. You should clean these machines every time you use the machine. Depending on the type you have, whether it uses salt or not, you would not want to leave salt in the tank. You also wouldn’t want to leave slush mix in the dispenser where mold could form between uses.

Conclusion: Is It Hard to Maintain Slushie Machines?

In learning how to maintain your slush machine, you are extending the lifespan of your machine. Admittedly, it is a lot more fun to drink slushie than to clean up the machine, but most manufacturers of slushie machines make it simple to clean them.

Our list of steps is merely a basic rundown of the process. You should follow your machine’s suggested maintenance list as provided by the manufacturer of your machine. In general, though, the machines that we have messed around with are all simple to clean and maintain. They are also able to last extended periods of time if you take a little of your time to maintain them. Your customers, family, friends, and more will all appreciate that you put in the little effort required for them to have awesomely cool slushie flavors!