Getting the Most Out of Your Kitchen Hood Cleaning

If you own a restaurant, then you probably have a stove area with a kitchen exhaust system. These kitchen exhaust systems usually include ventilation hoods. Such hoods are great for ventilating your kitchen, but if they get too dirty, due to accumulating grease, they can be a fire hazard. The National Fire Association (NFPA) and the Underwriter Laboratory (UL) created a new fire classification in 1998 that addressed restaurant kitchen fires, simply calling them kitchen grease fires. In order to eliminate the risk associated with these dangerous kitchen grease fires, it is important for restaurants to hire a professional company that offers kitchen hood cleaning. Cleaning your own exhaust system can be an exhausting job to say the least, and these companies will remove the grease accumulation under the hoods so you don’t have to. Having a clean exhaust system not only helps prevent kitchen grease fires, but it also helps your kitchen equipment work properly and last longer.

The Process
You might wonder how the process of kitchen hood cleaning works. What follows is an explanation of the general process a kitchen cleaning service might take. First, in order to protect your kitchen equipment and to keep it clean, the cleaners place wood and plastic over areas under the hood that might get stepped or sprayed on during the cleaning process. Next, the hood is “tarped” in the shape of a funnel to direct the grease and other buildup that will run off toward a large and deep bucket. Third, the hood filters get cleaned. During this part of the process it is important for the cleaning team to use environmentally safe procedures as they discharge waste and toxic materials. Fans and fan housing gets cleaned next, and afterwards the ducts are scraped. A professional service will give a final touch by drying and polishing your hood.

Certification and Services
You will want to choose a kitchen hood cleaning service that meets certain certifications and offers specific additional services. The specialists should be certified according to the NFPA 96 standards and the Phil Ackland Certification program requirements. The inspectors, who conduct inspections before the actual cleaning, should also be certified. Some services you should except from a qualified cleaning service include the following: free inspections before you have hired the cleaning company, follow-up reports after the inspection, free check-ups after cleaning, hassle-free contact and scheduling when your system is due for another cleaning, and personal communication and service from the owner of the company.