Commercial Kitchen Hood & Exhaust Cleaning:
By law, kitchen exhaust cleaning is required for virtually every commercial cooking establishment in the United States Virgin Islands. Restaurants, hospitals, hotels, cafeterias and other food-service locations have a “hood” and ductwork over the stove to exhaust smoke, steam, and fumes out of the building. These exhaust gases leave a residue on the inside of the ductwork. This is usually a grease residue of some sort, depending on the type of cooking. Char broilers commonly leave heavy black grease. Chinese cooking normally deposits a sticky or rubbery residue. When a charcoal or wood-burning stove is in use, soot and ash residue builds up in the ductwork. Dishwashers leave heavy lint deposits.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD A KITCHEN EXHAUST BE CLEANED?
The most common cleaning frequency is every 3 months. This can vary, however. The kitchen exhaust systems that need cleaning most often are those over wood-burning or charcoal-burning stoves. These should be cleaned every month at least, and in some cases as often as every 2 weeks.
Below are various types of cooking establishments and their most commonly recommended cleaning frequencies.
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Wood-burning or charcoal-burning stoves, char broilers, 24-hour restaurants, some hamburger places: 30 DAYS.
Many hamburger restaurants and fast-food locations: 60 DAYS.
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Average restaurant, cafeteria, hotel or hospital kitchen: 90 DAYS.
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Pizza places, convalescent hospital, small snack bar, oven hood: 180 DAYS.
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Hoods over non-grease-creating appliances, such as steam kettles, dishwashers, soup vats, etc.: ONE YEAR.
Kitchen exhaust cleaning is a standard part of the routine maintenance of any cooking establishment. All kitchen managers or restaurant owners should be aware of its role in fire prevention and ensure it is done on a regular basis.
THE ADCON GUARANTEE: All of our work is guaranteed to pass fire, health, and insurance inspection.
When the buildup of grease becomes heavy, a fire hazard exists. Statistics show that approximately one in three restaurant fires is caused by grease. More reason to leave your kitchen exhaust cleaning to the professionals at ADCON Environmental Services.
