Air compressors are now being used by restaurants in some parts of the world in order to save water by replacing one valuable resource with another – compressed air.

When it comes to washing the dishes, most restaurants will pre-rinse leftover food from the plates before they go into the dishwasher.

But in locations like California, where water is currently relatively scarce, compressed air is being used to blast food particles off of the crockery instead.

Steve Byork, co-owner of Sissy’s Uptown Cafe in Lompoc, told NPG of California: “We’re saving about 20%, which is about 7,500 gallons a month, which is significant.”

And as the system simply replaces one spray hose with another – which ‘squirts’ compressed air rather than water – the process of cleaning the dishes overall remains largely the same.

Once the air compressor has played its part, the crockery still goes into an industrial dishwasher, coming out equally as clean as it would have done before.

The air compressor system is a resource-efficient alternative in places where water levels may be scarce, but may also be worth considering in the UK, to save on water bills or simply to have less stray water on the walls and floor of the kitchen.