Waffle House employee sparks outrage by revealing unusual way they wash silverware in restaurants
A Waffle House employee caught TikTok users off guard by showing them how she and her co-workers wash the restaurant's silverware.
Hannah, the Waffle House employee, performed each silverware washing step in a video earlier this month after she placed them in a bucket.
Some of the first things she did to prep the silverware for the wash was soak them in disinfecting bleach and fill the bucket with water.
The employee completed all but one of the silverware washing steps in the kitchen.
'Public service announcement - the hot cups of water you all soak them in are not hot enough to sterilize, and it actually creates more bacteria,' Hannah wrote.
A Waffle House employee named Hannah showed TikTok users how its restaurant workers wash silverware in a video she posted earlier this month
Hannah kept the bucket of utensils in the restaurant's kitchen sink while they were soaking in disinfecting bleach.
She zoomed in on a bottle of dish detergent for the August 5 video before squeezing some of it out into the silverware bucket.
Hannah left the silverware in the bucket before emptying it and scrubbing the utensils with a brush.
Once she finished brushing the silverware, she rinsed them off and placed them on to the continuous chain conveyor of Waffle House's dishwasher.
She put on gloves while the utensils were in the machine, and once they were out, she dumped them back into a bucket.
Although the utensils appeared to be dry enough to put on display, Hannah wiped at least one knife with a napkin before she put it back into a silverware holder.
The employee wiped the knife at the front counter, but it's unclear how many utensils she used napkins on or if customers were in that Waffle House at the time.
Hannah left the silverware in the bucket for a certain amount of time before she emptied the bucket and scrubbed the utensils with a brush
Hannah zoomed in on a bottle of dish detergent for the August 5 video before squeezing some of it out into the silverware bucket
Although TikTok users were shocked by the steps of proper utensil washing at Waffle House, Hannah seemingly followed common protocols when washing the silverware.
Hannah washed the soap-covered utensils in a sink, but she may not have rinsed or sanitized them in two other sinks as Delightree suggests.
She also dried the knife off with a napkin rather than a clean towel after they came out of the washer.
Despite wiping the utensils with napkins, Hannah made sure the silverware was more than six inches above the ground, kept it away from her mouth, and held the knife by its handle while drying it.
Hannah wiped one of the newly washed knives at the front of the restaurant with a napkin before putting it back into a silverware holder
TikTok users were disgusted by the silverware washing steps, and several commenters suggested that customers request plastic utensils instead.
'As a former Waffle House waitress, ask for plastic for plastic utensils,' wrote someone claiming to have previously been an employee.
'Those sinks and containers are 8/10 filled with food and cold water. Most servers don’t even scrub the silverware. They just push it through.'
Another TikToker claiming to be an employee wrote: 'I worked at one for a year, and we just tossed them in the dish pit, sprayed them, and then ran them through.'
At least three commenters also suggested that restaurant customers bring their own utensils rather than use what a server gives them.
Some TikTok users were glad to see the cleaning method at Waffle House, and more than one person believed it was 'better' than other restaurants.
TikTok users who were disgusted by the silverware washing steps at Waffle House suggested customers request plastic utensils or bring some from home
'This is literally the best I've ever seen forks get washed because most folks don't care,' wrote a commenter.
Daily Mail has reached out to Waffle House for comment.
