How to... keep cellar to front of house spotless

This feature is the pub trade's own How Clean is Your House?​

We may not have Kim and Aggie, the dirt-busting celebrity presenters of that TV show, but here we do give you advice from Greene King, whose team includes specialists who know a thing or two about how important cleanliness is to your beer sales.

Why so? Keeping your premises clean from cellar to bar-top will not only stop any practical problems with beer such as spoilage, but present a good image to consumers that will reassure them of the quality they are bound to get once through your doors.

Download and print out our checklist to clean up in your pub and at the cash tills​

Greene King says

Richard Maisonpierre, quality manager at Greene King Brewing Company, says: "When a customer walks into a clean and tidy pub with a spotless bar and gleaming pumps, they are likely to think the cask beer and food is also kept in great condition. And more often than not, they are right.

"I do loads of cellar quality checks in my job and I can always tell how clean the cellar and kitchen will be by the condition of the bar and pub.

"A great piece of advice I'd like to share is to develop cleaning routines for each part of your pub. Pay attention to daily routines and keep your bar area and glassware pristine. And keep to weekly routines for cellar management and line cleaning, which will ensure you are serving your cask ale in tip-top condition.

"Have high expectations of your staff. Make sure they know what you expect your customers to see when they walk into your pub. Train them on your pub's cleaning processes and don't let them get away with anything but flawless results.

"So wow your customers and create a quality image for your pub. The sparkling results will be worth it!"

Case study: the Four Horseshoes

Tom Parkhurst is one licensee who believes in the selling power of a spotlessly clean and tidy pub.

"A clean and comfortable pub with a welcoming atmosphere will relax customers who will want to stay longer - and this is what we do," he says.

At Parkhurst's Greene King Pub Partners pub, the Four Horseshoes in the Suffolk village of Thornham Magna, near Diss, he employs a cleaner to make the pub spick and span, and place fresh flowers by the bar and pot pourri in the toilets. "We like these personal touches," he says.

But cleanliness is about more than these finishing touches, for hygiene standards back-of-house impact directly upon the quality of a pub's beer. "It's not just about what the customer sees," says Parkhurst.

"You should also make sure the cellar and kitchen are in great condition and the cleanliness of the cellar should be on a par with the kitchen to make sure you're serving the best beer."