Restaurant Hood Cleaning Services Northern IL

The risk of fire is a great concern to every restaurant owner or manager, and no system or process can eliminate such risk completely. However, restaurant hood cleaning services Northern IL will help to get rid of a buildup of grease, dirt, dust, and fuel load, reducing the risk of fire.

Moreover, it keeps your kitchen exhaust systems well maintained to ensure that any fire can be contained and extinguished properly and efficiently to avoid risking life and property damage. Regular restaurant hood cleaning ensures that your commercial kitchen’s ventilation system always remains in good working condition for optimal performance.

Kitchen exhaust cleaning (commonly known as hood cleaning) is very important for your commercial kitchen maintenance since it removes grease buildup inside the hoods, fans, ducts, and vents of exhaust systems.

Left uncleaned, grease can accumulate gradually on your kitchen exhaust systems until it eventually becomes an extreme fire hazard. Therefore, it’s important to have a professional inspect your exhaust systems regularly depending on the usage to check the amount of grease that has accumulated so that you can schedule cleaning if necessary.

Ensure to clean your kitchen hood regularly

You should ensure that your kitchen hood is cleaned regularly to maintain a hygienic and safe environment. You will reduce the risk of fire in your restaurant and avoid breaking health and safety compliance regulations if you keep your kitchen hood and exhaust system free from dirt and grease.

The NEPA’ (National Fire Protection Association) reports for the past couple of years have shown that cooking oils, grease, and food cause 43% of restaurant fires.

While keeping a commercial kitchen clean and tidy is an essential part of running a restaurant, it is not an easy job. You and your employees can handle some tasks but it is best to hire a professional for your hood cleaning.

Our professional restaurant hood cleaning services Northern IL guarantee complete and effective removal of grease buildup in the fans and exhaust systems to avoid a fire hazard to your restaurant.

Hood Cleaning Processes

The first step in hood cleaning is to scrap the exhaust system clean (but this step might not be necessary for an exhaust system properly maintained with safe chemicals and hot water). Then food-safe caustic chemicals and hot water pressure-washing – if possible – are used to wash clean the system and the dissolved grease and water are safely collected.

Our commercial kitchen exhaust system cleaning follows NFPA guidelines. The type of food being cooked and the amount of grease-laden vapors drawn through the hood plenum determine the frequency of cleaning.

For example, a restaurant kitchen with fewer cooking activities may require less exhaust hood cleaning while a busy restaurant kitchen that does heavy cooking involving fries would require more frequent cleaning. Typically, the cleaning can be done monthly, every two months, quarterly, semiannually, and annually.

Use of Caustic Chemicals

Caustic chemicals are used for kitchen exhaust cleaning to break down the grease. Next, the residue will be rinsed away with hot water. Generally, a garden-type sprayer, downstream injection through a pressure washer or a chemical foamer can be used to apply chemicals.

A professional applies the chemicals on the surface of grease and leaves it to dwell for some time, before spraying hot water on the surface to wash it off. In some extreme situations, the cleaners may have to scrape the contaminated surfaces first to remove excess grease buildup before applying chemicals and rinsing with hot water.

Hot Water Pressure Washing

There are machines for restaurant hood cleaning that can both boil and apply hot water under pressures up to 14,000 kPa. The common method of preparation involves clipping heavy-duty tarps to the hoods first and then angling them to direct the run-off into plastic garbage cans.

The cans are successively emptied as they collect the run-off and the contents are disposed of properly. Emptying the grease into the local drains can cause clogging, and therefore, it should be removed instead.

Improper horizontal duct cleaning can cause some problems, including excessive grease buildup in inaccessible ductwork. Steam cleaners tend to move the grease further into the ductwork, causing massive accumulations in areas between the hood and fan on the roof.

When using hot water methods, a caustic chemical degreaser should be used to break down grease, so that both hot water and caustic degreaser agents can be flushed into the system to remove grease buildup in inaccessible areas.

Finishing

After finishing cleaning, kitchen hoods are often polished to improve the appearance and for easier cleaning. Cleaners will put a certification sticker on the hood of every cleaned kitchen exhaust system to show compliance with the local, state, and federal fire codes.

Some white residue may be left after the commercial kitchen grease cleaning. Vinegar and warm water can be used to remove it.

How Does Grease Affect Your Kitchen Systems?

Your kitchen hood exhaust system pulls heat, smoke, and grease-laden vapors out of your restaurant while you’re cooking. This system directs the grease-laden vapors and smoke into your hood, through vent hood filters, and into the ductwork traveling through your kitchen to the exhaust fan on your roof where it can exit the building safely.

These vapors can easily cause fire as they contain flammable residues, such as grease and oils. Without fire suppression systems in the building, these fires can quickly spread and cause catastrophic damage in your restaurant.

Taking Fire Prevention Measures to Improve Your Bottom Line

You can’t see the danger of the flammable grease build collected in your hood system when you look from the kitchen. When you choose our restaurant hood cleaning services Northern IL, our professionals use our picture-perfect photo documentation system to show you how dangerous those grease-laden, invisible areas are.

You should not just assume that those hard-to-reach, invisible areas have been properly cleaned when you see a shiny hood in your kitchen after cleaning. We always do our best to ensure that we reach every area of your kitchen exhaust system and clean it properly to do an excellent job as we promise.

Restaurant Hood Cleaning Services Northern IL

Unlike other kitchen hood cleaning companies, RPW ProWash prides itself in cleaning the entire system to the customer’s satisfaction. Most companies may claim to provide high-quality services, but they may disappoint you when you hire them.

We take always take extra steps to let our clients know what to expect at every stage of cleaning from the initial inspection of your system until we finish cleaning. We deliver exactly what we promise in providing a comprehensive restaurant hood cleaning service, including the hood, all connecting ductwork, exhaust fan, and pollution control unit that removes those unwanted vapors out of your kitchen.

If you are looking for high-quality, effective, and affordable restaurant hood cleaning services Northern IL, contact RPW ProWash today to get a free quote. Call us at (779) 348-3135 or fill out our online contact form now.