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Restaurant Hood Cleaning Guide for Owners

All commercial restaurant kitchens should have spotlessly clean cooking utensils and be equipped with an exhaust hood to eliminate grease-laden vapours from the fuel sources and cooking surfaces of each cooking appliance. Operating a restaurant without an exhaust hood is dangerous for employees, customers and the kitchen. However, grease build-up will happen over time depending on the type and frequency of cooking even with the most advanced equipment.

It’s not difficult to spot the grease build-up on the underside of the hood’s canopy, in the duct and all the way up to the exhaust fan on the roof. The leading cause of restaurant fires around the world is this grease build-up. In order to nullify the fire hazard, commercial kitchen exhaust cleaners are required to use their chemicals and equipment to thoroughly clean all of the exhaust equipment.

NFPA Guidelines

As per the NFPA (National Fire Prevention Association) 96, section 8-3.1: Hoods, grease removal devices, fans, ducts, and other appurtenances shall be cleaned to bare metal at frequent intervals prior to surfaces becoming heavily contaminated with grease or oily sludge. After the exhaust system is cleaned to bare metal, it shall not be coated with powder or any other substance. The entire exhaust system shall be inspected by a properly trained, qualified and certified company or person(s) acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction in accordance with Table 8-3.1.

According to the NFPA the exhaust system inspection schedule:

·Monthly – Systems serving solid fuel cooking operations

· Quarterly – Systems serving high-volume operations, such as 24-hour cooking, charbroiling, wok cooking, etc.

· Semi-Annually – Systems serving moderate volume cooking operations.

· Annually – Systems serving low volume cooking operations, such as day camps, churches, seasonal businesses, etc.

As the owner of a restaurant, your employees should be held responsible for cleaning the exterior surfaces of kitchen exhaust hoods on a daily basis. For the cleaning process described in NFPA 96 is supposed to be performed by trained and certified    commercial kitchen exhaust cleaners.

The scope of this work should include the following:

· Disassembly, cleaning and degreasing hoods, including hood filter tracts, grease troughs and removable grease cups.

·Roof and/ or wall mounted fans should be removed from ductwork to degrease the base, shroud and blades.

·Inspecting exhaust fans for loose or worn out fan belts.

·Cleaning and degreasing all hood filters, hood parts and accessories. Replacing them, if necessary.

·Cleaning all accessible parts of ductwork from exhaust fans to each individual hood.

·Applying food-safe polish to stainless steel ductwork.

 Providing a detailed written report of all work performed and deficiencies in the exhaust system plus recommendations for addressing any problems.

·The commercial kitchen exhaust cleaners should attach a certificate showing company name, person performing work and date of cleaning to each hood that was cleaned.

Ensuring peak performance

Knowing their restaurant is compliant with NFPA Standards will end sleepless nights for any owner. Their staff should be able to focus on their core tasks without worrying about safety and health hazards thereby providing a better experience to diners.