How Often Are Burger King Soft Serve Machines Actually Cleaned?

Burger King might not be best known for its sundaes and soft-serve cones, but they've been slinging these fast food ice cream treats for over a decade now. How often do they scrub up their machines? Per comments left by Reddit users who claim to be Burger King employees, the machines are cleaned out every three days at bare minimum.

"So the standard per Taylor (brand of machines) is 3 days between cleaning," explained one self-proclaimed worker running an AMA on r/BurgerKing. "At my Bk and most I ran or directed it was daily cleaning. That means taking it apart and cleaning then sanitizing before running new ice cream in before next business day. Every day." Another employee said that at their Burger King they also sanitize the machines twice a day: before opening and after closing. A third said in another thread that they usually shut the machine down two hours before they close the restaurant to sanitize it entirely. Maintaining a strict cleaning schedule like this helps ensure that the soft-serve won't make customers sick. The regular cleanings and maintenance also result in a machine that's consistently in service, unlike some competitors, such as McDonald's, whose ice cream machines always seem to be broken.

When it comes to Burger King's ice cream machines and their availability, fast food fans definitely have mixed opinions. Plenty of redditors who spoke up on the r/BurgerKing sub complained about the difficulties of trying to order an ice cream cone or sundae after 11 p.m. "Almost every time I go to Burger King past ~7pm to order a milkshake the workers usually say the shake machines down," one commenter wrote. That makes sense, however, if some branches of the franchise are indeed sanitizing the machines before closing down the restaurant for the day. 

Others had problems with requesting ice cream at an even earlier time of the night. "I ordered a ice cream sundae and a rodeo burger," another customer recounted. "I got there at 9 o'clock at the window and she tells me the machine is already closed." They added that they were offered a small cup of Coca-Cola in trade, a barter they were displeased with. 

And yet multiple Burger King employees have weighed in to claim that their ice cream machines never go down. Other posters in different subreddits have spoken to the reliability of the chain's machines, claiming they're more dependable than their own cars. In the end, the chain's soft-serve cones, shakes, and sundaes may be one of the best things Burger King has ever done — that is, if you get there a couple of hours before they close.