Household kitchen hood is important, however when it comes to commercial purposes the hood become even more important.
As a result, commercial kitchen hood cleaning becomes increasingly important.
I will explain why hood cleaning is important, how often to clean it, and some of the best practices in this post.
Keep reading.
Table of Contents
Kitchen Hood Cleaning: Why Should You Do It?
In addition to directing what is released from the cooking equipment and keeping your staff comfortable, your kitchen hood is also an important tool.
The kitchen hood is designed with life safety in mind. These systems (filters, hood, duct & fan) remove fumes, smoke, and grease-laden vapors to keep the air fresh while protecting you and your team against fire hazards.
It is imperative to do regular hood cleaning to keep the system working properly. Hoods accumulate grease residue over time. Depending on what kind of food the restaurant serves, types and amounts of oils, and volume of business, will determine the rate and thickness of grease buildup.
If the kitchen exhaust system is not cleaned regularly, the buildup can cause the exhaust system to work poorly. Kitchen Exhaust Systems with grease build-up, not only is a fire hazard, it affects the air quality of the workplace, as well as that of the food served.
#1 Make Sure Your Hood Is Cleaned On Time
The very first and most important tips is to clean your commercial hood in a regular interval. Well, couldn’t understand the frequency of cleaning?
The answer depends on many factors like which purpose the hood is serving, which commercial purpose its serving and so on. For example if the hood is for a restaurant kitchen, its purpose would be one kind and if its for other general business purpose that won’t be the same.
Consequently, if the hood is in a commercial restaurant, it should be cleaned regularly. It is recommended that you check once a month in such cases.
Here’s a reference chart might help you depending on the types of your usage.
| Types | When to check |
| Wood-burning or charcoal-burning | Weekly to monthly |
| 24/7 Active restaurant | Monthly to 6 times every year |
| Restaurants that serve hamburgers and fast food | Monthly to 6 times every year |
| Char Broiler /Wok | Monthly to 6 times every year |
#2 Make Sure You Use A Right Filter
When you use the correct type and number of vent hood filters, you will ensure that fats, oils, and grease emitted from your kitchen will be captured and contained.
We have a Hood Filter Handbook you can refer to if you are unsure which filter will work best for your needs. Besides fire codes and filter materials, it discusses specialty hood filters which include spark arrestor filters.
To cover the entire opening of your vent hood, you need not only to use the right type of filter but also the right size. Utilize our handy filter sizing calculator to determine which size and number of hood filters you need.
Do not worry if you notice that your hood filters do not cover the entire opening of your hood because there is a little bit of extra space.
It doesn’t mean that you need to purchase a whole new hood if you can’t fit an additional filter in the space since it is too small. Just get a hood filter spacer and your system will work much more effectively and be up to code very quickly.
#3 Install an exhaust fan access panel
Similar to duct access panels, exhaust fan access panels provide access to exhaust fans. Keeping your commercial kitchen ventilation system clean and maintained is another simple and easy task that you can do yourself.
Clean-out access points, also known as exhaust fan access ports, make it easier to access the interior of a fan for cleaning and maintenance.
The cost of installing them is very low, and they are very quick to install. With your exhaust fan access port in place, you will be able to prevent grease buildup from accumulating on the upblast exhaust fan blades.
By avoiding grease buildup, you will prevent unbalanced fan blades, vibration, and excessive belt wear and tear caused by grease buildup.
