A commercial dishwasher decides how fast your kitchen can turn a table, how many staff you need on the pass and whether your plates pass a health inspection. Buy one that is too small and dirty racks stack up by eight o’clock on a Friday.

Buy one without the right power, water and drain and it sits in a crate while the plumber and electrician sort out the site. This guide is for Melbourne cafe, restaurant, bar and catering operators. It covers the main machine types, how to size one in racks per hour, the services it needs, sanitising temperatures, bench layout, running costs and when refurbished stock makes sense.

How to Choose a Commercial Dishwasher: Six Questions Before You Buy

Getting a commercial dishwasher right comes down to six questions, asked in this order. Each answer narrows the field, and by the sixth most kitchens are choosing between two or three models rather than twenty.

1. What are you washing?

List the ware before you look at machines. A wine bar washes mostly glasses, which suits a glasswasher with a shorter chamber and gentler cycle. A cafe washes cups, saucers, side plates and cutlery, which a standard undercounter machine handles well. A restaurant adds dinner plates, bowls and the occasional sheet pan. Bakeries and caterers wash trays, mixing bowls and Gastronorm pans that will not fit through a standard 500 mm rack opening.

If oversized items make up a big share of your washing, a pot and utensil washer can save hours of hand scrubbing each week. If they are occasional, a passthrough with a taller door opening may be enough.

2. How many racks in your peak hour?

Covers are a starting point, but racks are the number that matters. Count what each guest uses, divide by what a rack holds, and you get the load your machine has to clear in your busiest hour. The worked example below is for a restaurant serving 100 covers in its peak hour.

Then check the cycle time. A two-minute cycle gives a theoretical 30 racks an hour, but loading, unloading and the odd rewash cut that in real service. Plan on getting roughly two-thirds of the brochure figure, and size up if you are close to the line.

3. Undercounter or passthrough?

An undercounter machine loads from the front and slides under a standard bench. It is the natural fit for cafes, bars, childcare centres and small restaurants, and it needs the least floor space. The trade-off is bending to load and unload, and a ceiling on how many racks an hour one person can push through it.

A passthrough, also called a hood type, sits between an inlet bench and an outlet bench. Staff slide a rack in, pull the hood down and slide the clean rack out the far side at waist height. Output climbs and backs are spared, but you need bench runs on both sides, more power and usually more hot water.

Very large operations, such as hotels, hospitals and aged care, move to conveyor systems that pull racks through continuously.

4. What power, water and drainage do you have?

Every machine has three service needs, and all three should be confirmed before you order. Many undercounter models run on single-phase power, while larger passthrough and conveyor machines often need three-phase. Check the specification sheet for the exact current draw and talk to your electrician early.

Water feed matters too. A hot water connection shortens boiler recovery and keeps cycle times honest, while a cold feed asks the machine to do more heating. Then look at drainage.

A gravity drain needs a floor waste lower than the outlet, and a model with a built-in drain pump can push water up to a waste that sits higher. Melbourne’s water is generally soft, which helps, but boilers and spray arms still build scale over time, so ask whether a softener or regular descaling suits your machine and suburb. Our commercial kitchen setup checklist puts these services in the right order for a fitout.

5. Will it sanitise properly?

Clean-looking is not the same as sanitised. The Food Safety Standards require eating and drinking utensils to be clean and sanitary, and Food Standards Australia New Zealand publishes the guidance your council officer works from. A commercial machine sanitises in one of two ways: a very hot final rinse, or a chemical sanitiser dosed into a cooler rinse.

High-temperature machines are the common choice in Melbourne restaurants, and the feature to look for is a rinse guarantee or thermostop. It holds the final rinse until the boiler is up to temperature, so a rushed operator cannot release unsanitised plates. Chemical sanitising machines cost less to heat but rely on the sanitiser drum never running dry, so build a check into every shift.

6. Where will it sit in the kitchen?

The best machine in the catalogue still struggles in a poor layout. Dirty ware should flow one way: scrape into the bin, pre-rinse at the inlet sink, rack up, wash, then land on a clean outlet bench to air dry before it goes back to the line. Keep the clean side away from the scraping area so splashes do not recontaminate finished racks.

Allow room for racks to queue on both sides, a pre-rinse spray that reaches every corner of the sink, and shelving for clean stock close by. Hot, wet floors and heavy racks are a real injury risk, and WorkSafe Victoria sets out an employer’s duties for burns, slips and manual handling in hospitality. Non-slip matting, a sensible rack height and a clear path all help.

Forty Years of Hospitality Expertise, Since 1984

Since 1984 we have supplied the hospitality industry with professional advice, reliable equipment and excellent customer service. We have a wealth of experience in all types of projects ranging from international hotels to large and small pubs through to suburban restaurants and takeaway outlets. All our staff are equipped with the knowledge, expertise and creativity to add value to your project.

In the dish area, four decades of fitouts show up as small, practical calls: which machines keep their rinse temperature on a flat-out Saturday, which benches drain properly, and which models a kitchen hand can strip and clean without a manual. Read the MRCE background for the longer version of how we got here.

Commercial Dishwasher Types Compared at a Glance

This summary lines up the five main machine styles side by side. Most Melbourne venues land on one of the first three, and larger kitchens often pair a passthrough with a glasswasher at the bar.

Matching a Dishwasher to Your Venue

Cafes and bakeries

A busy cafe in Brunswick or Glen Waverley mostly washes cups, saucers, side plates and cutlery, often in waves after the morning rush. An undercounter dishwasher with a short cycle handles that well and keeps the footprint small. Bakeries add trays and mixing bowls, so check the door opening, or add a pot washer if hand scrubbing is eating into prep time.

Restaurants and function venues

A restaurant in Richmond or a function centre in Dandenong works to tight table turns, and the dish area sets the pace. A passthrough machine with a rinse guarantee, set between an inlet sink bench and an outlet bench, is the usual answer. Function venues that wash hundreds of plates after a single sitting should weigh up two passthrough machines or a conveyor.

Bars, pubs and clubs

Glassware needs a gentler wash and a spotless finish. An undercounter glasswasher behind the bar keeps glasses moving without staff walking to the kitchen, and pubs that also serve meals usually run a separate machine for plates. Ask about rinse aid dosing and drying performance, because streaky glasses are the first thing customers notice.

Childcare, aged care and workplaces

These kitchens serve set meal times, so the load arrives all at once and has to be cleared quickly. Sanitising matters even more with vulnerable residents and children. A machine with a clear temperature display and a rinse guarantee makes compliance easier to show at inspection. For larger sites, our commercial kitchen supplies cover the racks, trolleys and shelving around the machine.

Racks, benches and the extras that matter

The machine is only part of the purchase. Most kitchens need a mix of rack types: plate racks with angled pegs, flat racks for bowls and trays, compartment racks sized to their glassware, and cutlery baskets. Owning enough racks to keep one loading, one washing and one drying stops staff standing around waiting on the machine.

On the inlet side, a deep sink bench with a commercial pre-rinse spray lets heavy soil come off before the wash, which keeps the wash water cleaner and the filters clearer. On the outlet side, a bench with a raised edge that falls back towards the machine stops runoff spreading across the floor. Budget for these items alongside the dishwasher itself, because they shape how quickly the whole dish area runs.

New or refurbished?

Buying refurbished can save 40 to 60%, but warranty periods are shorter than on new equipment. A refurbished commercial dishwasher with a clean service history is often good value for a cafe, a second site or a back-up machine. When a passthrough carries lunch and dinner seven days a week, the longer warranty on a new machine tends to pay for itself.

Compare options in our refurbished stock, the second-hand commercial kitchen equipment page and our new equipment range, and ask about warranty and service history before you choose.

Running costs, cleaning and service

Water, power and chemicals are the ongoing costs of any commercial dishwasher, and they add up over thousands of cycles a year. Machines that use fewer litres per rack heat less water, and heat recovery or condensing options reclaim some of the energy that would otherwise leave as steam. Check whether your water retailer needs a trade waste agreement for the kitchen, and plan for a grease arrestor if your site requires one. The care routine below prevents most breakdowns.

Most service calls trace back to blocked filters, scaled jets or empty chemical drums, all of which a daily and weekly routine catches. For the rest, we arrange qualified service technicians, because a dish area that stops mid-service backs up the whole kitchen.

From Inception to Completion, End-to-End Project Management

From inception to design, throughout installation to completion, let our expert staff oversee your project. No matter how large or small, we work closely with architects and consultants on your commercial kitchen and bar requirements. We arrange qualified service technicians for equipment problems whenever they crop up, a kitchen that’s down is a kitchen losing money. At MRCE we aim to keep our customers coming back as their business grows.

For a dish area, that means the machine, benches, sink and pre-rinse spray are planned together, the services are confirmed before delivery, and the first service is booked before the warranty runs out. When a second venue opens, the team that fitted your first already knows what works. Our complete equipment catalogue is the place to begin planning.

Your Melbourne Source for the Right Commercial Dishwasher

Our Dandenong showroom at 15 Station Street sits within easy reach of Springvale, Cranbourne, Box Hill and Footscray, and we ship Australia-wide. Visit to compare undercounter and passthrough machines side by side, check door heights and rack sizes in person, and talk through your power, water and drainage with people who have specified dish areas since 1984. We will help you choose a commercial dishwasher that fits your volume and your budget, including saying so when a smaller machine will do the job.

If you trade nearby, our Dandenong catering equipment and supplies page lists what is close at hand. For a quote or a site visit, speak with the MRCE team. There is no charge and no obligation.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)