PREMIER COMMERCIAL KITCHEN EXHAUST CLEANING

During the cooking process, a tremendous amount of heated air, exhaust and grease vapor are expelled into the kitchen environment. These materials are captured by the kitchen exhaust system, which are designed to filter and collect unhealthy waste materials. The three major components of the kitchen exhaust system are:

The Kitchen Hood  The hood is what you may be familiar with. The hood is located in the kitchen itself and is always located directly above the cooking equipment. The filters are located within the hood and are purposed with collecting the grease vapor.

The Ductwork The ductwork connects the kitchen hood to the exhaust fan on the exterior of the building. The configuration of the ductwork will change depending on the needs of the facility.

The Exhaust Fan  The exhaust fan is the device that pulls the air out of the kitchen, through the kitchen exhaust system, and into the open air outside the building.

The kitchen hood, ductwork, and exhaust fan are used in every kitchen exhaust system. During the operation of the complete system, these pieces of equipment remove heat and grease vapor. It is a natural process for grease vapor to accumulate within the filters as well as inside all other interior portions of the system.

The accumulation of grease creates the need for regular maintenance intervals in order to remove this buildup for proper operation of the system and fire risk mitigation. Proper service cleaning requirements and guidelines can be found in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Standard 96.

The kitchen exhaust cleaning industry has existed for as long as there has been commercial cooking facilities.

Every commercial facility that has cooking operations is a potential customer. These locations are typically thought of as restaurants, but can also include hospitals, nursing homes, colleges and universities, grocery stores, employee cafeterias, sporting venues, casinos, military facilities and any other locations that prepares food on a regular basis.

The growth of this market has rapidly increased within the past few decades. As you can see in the graph below, all emerging segments of the market have steadily increased with restaurants becoming a standout, surpassing all present-day categories in 1984.

This trend has not slowed down and continues to grow. According to the National Restaurant Association, within the restaurant industry alone there are currently over 1 million locations within the United States.

The increasing complexity of facilities is another factor accelerating the growth of the Kitchen Exhaust Service industry. With the creation of unique eatery designs and complex multiple story locations, the industry must now provide services on kitchen exhaust systems bending to meet these architectural designs. This means service duration on a free standing, single unit burger joint will be much faster than an eight-story building with a steakhouse in the basement. As architectural design continues to advance, kitchen exhaust systems will continue to grow more complex.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) was established by a group of insurance companies in 1896. The group researches fire safety and establishes codes for the regulation of fire safety standards across the United States. They are the agency responsible for ensuring the proper rules are in place for businesses to operate in such a way that ensures the safety of their customers, employees, property, and community.

NFPA 96 is the Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operation.

This standard provides preventative and operative fire and safety requirements for commercial kitchen exhaust systems. It is meant to decrease the potential fire hazard of commercial cooking operations. One way this standard does so is by requiring the routine maintenance cleaning needed in kitchen exhaust systems in order to mitigate fire risk.

11.6.1  Upon inspection, if the exhaust system is found to be contaminated with deposits from grease-laden vapors, the contaminated portions of the exhaust system shall be cleaned by a properly trained, qualified, and certified company or person (s) acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction.

The authority having jurisdiction code 11.6.1 references is the local fire department. This requires all commercial cooking operations to have their kitchen exhaust system to be cleaned properly. The question then becomes how often, which is also addressed by NFPA 96. This regular cleaning maintenance schedule required by the National Fire Protection Association is the reason why this service is able to generate recurring revenue.

For more information on NFPA 96, please click here.

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 96 is the standard for ventilation control and fire protection of commercial cooking operation. It is the standard that mandates the service cleaning of kitchen exhaust systems as well as establishes service cleaning interval schedules.

This means that kitchen exhaust system cleaning for commercial kitchens is not only required, but that each account provides recurring revenue through mandated maintenance schedules.

11.6.2 - Hoods, grease removal devices, fans, ducts, and other appurtenances shall be cleaned to remove combustible contaminants prior to surfaces becoming heavily contaminated with grease or oily sludge.

This code specifies that a system should be cleaned 'prior' to the buildup of heavy grease deposits. The goal of this code is to limit the amount of grease (fuel) that exists within a kitchen exhaust system. This can be seen in the before and after pictures below.

To assist the customer, fire department, and vendor on protecting the establishment, NFPA 96 also provides Table 11.4, which gives each customer a guideline on how often a system should be serviced depending on the volume of their cooking operation.

NFPA 96 defines cleaning cycles from monthly to annually. Typically, the majority of commercial kitchens are cleaned quarterly, meaning quarterly recurring service and revenue. In addition, insurance companies require proof of service.

Not only is this service a requirement, but it is a service that protects lives and livelihoods.
When providing commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning services, you will be protecting the establishments itself as well as every person that walks into the establishment.