Is Your Ice Contaminated with Bacteria & Mold?

The answer may surprise and disturb you. Your home is your sparkling clean sanctuary, but the unpleasant truth is that mold, bacteria (Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, Shigella), deadly viruses, feces and mineral build-up could be growing in your beautiful Scotsman ice machine. Disgusting, right?

When not cleaned thoroughly (read: professional cleaning) dirty ice (even from a high-end maker like Scotsman, U-line or Sub-Zero*) can make you sick. Even those of us who do occasionally wipe down or clean our ice maker, aren’t taking one thing into consideration: Biofilm.

What is Biofilm?

Biofilm or “slime” buildup from ongoing microbial growth can and does occur in commercial and in-home ice-makers. Biofilm is a collection of microorganisms, mainly bacteria, that grow together to form a shielding effect on the bacteria held within them, preventing the normal cleaning process from doing its job to eradicate these bacteria and viruses. For instance, Listeria, a disease-causing bacteria, can be 1Kx times harder to eliminate under a biofilm.

Biofilm

Stop drinking harmful bacteria, virus and mold.

Schedule an ice maker cleaning today.

 

Ice Machine Mold

 

In one recent fast food chain restaurant study, ice was found to contain feces. And in another jaw dropping study, ice machines from several national fast food chains were found to contain more bacteria than what’s typically found in a toilet. Like your scotch on the rocks? The truth is, even drowning your ice in hard alcohol isn’t enough to kill some deadly bacteria or viruses, according to a study done at the University of Texas where Salmonella, E. coli, and Shigella all survived being submerged in scotch and 85 proof tequila.

Plus, viruses such as the Norwalk virus actually thrive in frozen crystalline structures!

But forget about the dirty little secrets your ice maker holds. What about just having enough ice in the summer? Over time, mineral build-up in your machine can slow or stop the functionality of your automatic ice maker. Warm sun tea on a 100-degree day anyone?

What’s the answer? Professional ice maker cleaning. Period.

I prefer ice in my beverage when it’s 100 degrees outside.

Schedule an appointment.

 

Ice Maker Build Up

 

Desertech has a regulatory industry standard of ice maker sanitization that includes disassembly of your machine and special handling that removes biofilm and trapped bacteria, virus, mold and mineral build-up. Desertech uses only nickel-safe, high quality cleaners to ensure your machine is sterile and sparkling. We service the following high-end appliance makes and models:

Scotsman

  • Ice Makers
  • Gourmet Cuber Ice Machine
  • Nugget Ice Machine

U-line

  • Ice Makers
  • Crescent Ice Machine
  • Clear Ice Machines
  • Wine Captain / Ice Machine
  • Refrigerator / Ice Machine

Sub-Zero*

  • Pro 48’s Automatic Ice Maker
  • Refrigerator Ice Maker
  • Freezer Ice Maker
  • Built-in Refrigeration Ice Maker
  • Intergrated Refrigerator IceMaker
  • Under-counter Ice Maker

I don’t have time to worry about my ice maker.

Please come clean it.

 

We provide service for most repair requests in the following areas: Indian Wells, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, and La Quinta.

*DeserTech is not warranty authorized for Sub-Zero or Wolf products. We provide out of warranty service on all Sub-Zero and Wolf products. We were factory trained from 1989 to 2008 on Sub-Zero 300, 500, 600, 700 series.