In the professional catering industry, cleanliness and hygiene are of course given top priority. As well as clean work-surfaces, the safe storage of food, and regularly cleaned floors, the surrounding walls also need to be kept clean and germ-free.
The traditional method for keeping walls hygienic has been to cover them with washable ceramic tiles. The drawbacks with wall tiling however are that the tiling itself is time-consuming, gaps can occur where the grouting is inexpertly laid down, where tiles become cracked, or where the grouting begins to crumble over time and mould and bacteria can flourish where the grouting is old or worn.
Many modern catering establishments however have now switched to the convenience of using plastic wall cladding for the hygienic covering of walls.
Plastic wall cladding is relatively quick and easy to erect and extremely easy to keep clean. It is also highly impervious to moisture as well as being totally unaffected by hot and cold temperatures.
Two of the most common forms of hygienic plastic cladding are polypropylene wall cladding and PVC wall cladding.
Polypropylene cladding is lighter than PVC cladding but, unlike the latter, will require rivets to attach to the walls underneath as opposed to the use of adhesives. Polypropylene sheets are also less fire retardant than PVC but, conversely, is more resistant to the very low temperatures associated with freezer compartments.
At Bliby Plastics we can advise on the most appropriate wall cladding for a range of different commercial operations where hygiene is a priority.
