Exhaust Hood Cleaning Quick Guide for Commercial Kitchens

Commercial kitchen hood systems play a vital role evacuating smoke, heat and odors from cooking areas.  Overtime, kitchen managers find themselves determining the levels of grease buildup within the kitchen hood ventilation system.  If grease builds up, a safety hazard to both employees and dining patrons pose a great risk.
The leading cause of kitchen fire is grease buildup.  Proper maintenance and thorough cleaning of the exhaust hood filters, exhaust hood and ductwork can reduce this safety hazard.   

The National Fire Protection Agency requires all commercial kitchens to professionally clean the kitchen hood ventilation systems.  The inability to meet these requirements not only increases the chance of kitchen fires but large fines along with forced closure of the kitchen facility.

Best practices are laid out in NFPA 96 guide for the exhaust hood cleaning.  The guide includes the frequency of cleaning for different types of kitchens:

• Monthly – Kitchen hood systems serving strong fuel cooking activities
  
  
• Quarterly – Kitchen hood systems serving high-volume activities (example: 24-hour cooking, charbroiling, wok cooking, etc.)
  
  
• Semi-Annually – Kitchen hood systems serving moderate volume cooking activities
  
  
• Yearly – Kitchen hood systems serving low volume cooking tasks (example: churches, day camps, etc.)

Kitchen employees are relied on to clean the outside surfaces of the exhaust hood system as part of their role.  The deeper cleaning, laid out in NFPA 96 guide, is to be carried out by trained hood cleaning professionals.

The scope of exhaust hood cleaning work is as follows:

• Disassemble, degrease and clean kitchen exhaust hoods (includes kitchen hood filter tracts, grease troughs and removable grease cups)
  
  
• Detach roof and/or wall mounted fans from ductwork to degrease the base, shroud and blades
  
  
• Clean and degrease all hood filters, hood parts and accessories (replace broken kitchen hood items when necessary)
  

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• Inspect exhaust fans for worn out or loose fan belts
  
  
• Clean all nearby parts of ductwork from each individual hood to exhaust fans
  
  
• Add food-safe polish to stainless steel ductwork
  
  
• Thoroughly clean all affected areas (remove any debris, mop, etc.)
  
  
• Provide a comprehensive, detailed written report of all work performed and deficiencies in the exhaust system
  
  
• Recommendations for addressing any problems
  
  
• Affix a certificate showing company name, person performing the work and date of each hood cleaned
  
  

To guarantee the safety of employees and dining guests against dangerous building fires, ensure that all hoods are properly cleaned on a frequent basis.

Certified experts in commercial kitchen hood cleaning is a necessity for any commercial cooking operation, both to reduce the risk of fire and avoid noncompliance.  Hood Master Service is a reputable hood cleaning service and happy to walk you through their procedures, provide “before and after” photos, and work with kitchen management to ensure safety and compliance.  Hood Master Service is commercially insured and in compliance for hospitals, schools, universities, airports, nursing homes, restaurants & malls.

Contact Hood Master Service for a free kitchen hood system inspection and evaluation.

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