Kitchen extract cleaned to bare metal
Canopies, filters, plenums, ductwork and extract fans cleaned as one system, with the sections we could not reach written down.
- Scope
- Canopy, filters, plenum, ductwork, extract fan
- Inspection interval
- Set by cooking type, your insurer and the authority
- Evidence
- Before and after photographs at every access point
- Suppression
- Coordinated with your approved specialist
- Delivery
- Self-delivered
Kitchen hood cleaning removes grease from the whole extract system, not only the canopy: filters, plenum, ductwork, access points and the exhaust fan. Grease in the duct is where kitchen fires spread. ITF cleans to bare metal, photographs every access point and reports any section that could not be reached.
- 01 Enquiry
- 02 Site survey
- 03 Scope and quote
- 04 Mobilisation
- 05 Planned schedule
- 06 Execution
- 07 Monthly report
- 08 Management review
- 09 Next cycle
Kitchen extract cleaned to bare metal sits at step 6 of the fm operating cycle. You receive closed work orders with photo evidence.
The canopy is clean. The duct is not.
Much of what is sold as hood cleaning is a canopy wipe and a filter wash.
The duct behind the canopy, the horizontal run across the ceiling and the fan on the roof are left alone, because they are hard to reach and nobody checks. That is exactly where grease builds up, and exactly where a flare-up on the cooking line turns into a duct fire that travels through the building.
A clean canopy over a coated duct is not a clean system. The insurer asking for your record is asking about the whole run.
How often NFPA 96 says to inspect
NFPA 96, the widely used US standard for commercial kitchen ventilation, ties the inspection interval to the kind of cooking, and the system is cleaned when inspection finds grease build-up. Your insurer and the authority set the interval that actually binds you. We work to whichever is stricter, and your first cleans show how fast your system loads.
| Cooking type | Inspection interval in NFPA 96 |
|---|---|
| Solid fuel: charcoal, wood | Monthly |
| High volume: 24-hour cooking, charbroiling, wok | Quarterly |
| Moderate volume | Six-monthly |
| Low volume: seasonal businesses, day camps | Annually |
What the kitchen keeps on file
The pre-clean inspection report
Grease condition section by section, every access point located, and the runs with no access marked before the clean is quoted.
The post-clean report
Before and after photographs at every numbered access point, so each section of the run can be checked against its own picture.
The hood label
Fixed at the canopy with the date of the clean and any section not reached, until it is reached.
The recommended frequency note
The inspection interval for your cooking type, written so it can go straight to the insurer.
The filter cleaning card
Left at the hood for your kitchen team: how the baffle filters are cleaned, and how often under your cooking load.
The clean, step by step
Cleans run after service closes, usually overnight, with the kitchen closed and cool.
- 01
Protect the line
Cooking equipment is covered and the suppression nozzles are protected, so the system is neither damaged nor discharged.
- 02
Filters out
Filters come out and are degreased.
- 03
Canopy and plenum
Scraped and degreased to bare metal.
- 04
The duct, run by run
Cleaned through its access panels, with the grease scraped off and collected.
- 05
The roof fan
Opened up, blades and housing degreased, and its drain checked.
- 06
Waste off site
Grease and waste water are collected and removed, not washed into the kitchen drains.
- 07
Prove and hand back
Everything is reassembled and the fan is proved running. Your suppression specialist checks the system where your arrangement requires it.
A hotel kitchen with only an invoice
A hotel kitchen in Al Khobar runs a charbroiler and a wok station into one extract system: a canopy, a long horizontal duct across the service corridor ceiling and an upblast fan on the roof. The insurer asks for the last cleaning record. The only record is an invoice that says hood cleaning.
Our inspection finds the canopy and filters in fair condition and the horizontal duct heavily coated, with no access panels along one long section. The first clean covers the canopy, plenum, reachable duct, riser and fan, and records the unreached section with photographs. Two access panels are fitted as a works item, and that section is cleaned on the second visit.
Charbroiling and wok cooking count as high-volume cooking in NFPA 96, which puts the system on a quarterly inspection cycle. The hotel holds a pre-clean inspection report, a post-clean report with before and after photographs at every access point, a hood label that showed the unreached section until it was reached, a record of the fitted panels and a frequency note it can hand to the insurer.
Two parts of the job most quotes skip
What we could not reach, we write down
Many duct runs have long sections with no access panel. We clean what can be reached, photograph the limit, and state the unreached sections on the post-clean report and on the label fixed to the hood. A report that says all clean on a system with no access to half its duct is a report you should not trust.
- Panel positions recommended where a section cannot be reached
- Panels fitted as a small works item, so the next clean reaches the whole run
- The hood label shows the gap until it is closed
The kitchen team's part
Baffle filters are the kitchen team's job, usually weekly or more often under heavy cooking, and the card at the hood says how. Grease that escapes the filters ends up in the duct. Grease washed down the sink ends up in the grease interceptor, so the interceptor cycle on the plumbing scope is part of the same picture.
- Filter cleaning card left at the hood
- Interceptor serviced on a cycle set by the kitchen's output
- Condition found at each inspection sets the next clean
What kitchen managers ask
Can you clean during service hours?
The kitchen has to be closed, cool and covered, so cleans are scheduled after service, usually overnight. It reopens on a system that has been reassembled and proved running.
Will cleaning set off our suppression system?
Not when it is done properly. Nozzles are protected, the system is neither damaged nor discharged, and your suppression specialist checks it where needed.
Is washing the filters enough?
No. Filters catch most of the grease, not all of it. The rest builds up in the plenum, the duct and the fan.
Do you issue a certificate?
We issue a post-clean report with photographs and a dated hood label. Some insurers call that a certificate of cleaning. It is our record of the work, not a third-party certification.
Our fan on the roof is covered in grease. Is that included?
Yes. The fan is part of the extract system and part of the clean, and its photographs go on the report with the rest of the run.
Around the extract system
Fire suppression and extinguishers
The wet chemical system over the cooking line, serviced by an approved specialist we manage.
Read moreFMPlumbing
Grease interceptors serviced on the kitchen's output, with the waste transfer record kept.
Read moreFMDuct cleaning
Supply and return ductwork, inspected by camera and cleaned at the source.
Read moreSectorFood facilities
How kitchen, drainage and cleaning records are read on a food site.
Read moreTrainingFood safety for handlers
The daily kitchen hygiene that keeps filters and surfaces under control.
Read morePart of one system
Every division keeps records to the same standard, so the second one you need works the way the first one did.
Start with a hood inspection
The inspection walks the run from the canopy to the roof fan, numbers the access points and marks the sections with no access. You know what a clean will cover before it is booked.