Maintaining a clean, safe kitchen area is crucial for any restaurant. Unfortunately, the hood is an often overlooked component in cooking areas. Regular hood cleanings from experienced professionals should be a diligently monitored element of your business’s fire protection plan. Here’s how often you should be scheduling the visits.

How Hood Cleaning Helps Make a Kitchen Safe

From hotels to cafeterias, every commercial cooking establishment is required to have a kitchen exhaust system. As fumes, smoke, and steam pass through these vents, residue builds up inside the hood—the large piece of ductwork hanging over a stove. Although the consistency and material of the residue may differ depending on what’s being cooked, it poses a fire hazard regardless of makeup. Hood cleaning from a professional service will remove potentially dangerous buildup and create a safer kitchen space for all. 

What’s more, excessive residue can put a lot of stress on kitchen equipment. Regular hood cleaning is the best way to keep it running as efficiently as possible. This preventative maintenance tactic will help kitchen managers avoid costly, unnecessary repairs.

How Often Should You Schedule Hood Cleaning?

The necessary frequency of hood cleaning depends on what is being cooked and how often the kitchen equipment is used. Fast-food establishments or those using equipment with solid fuel (such as wood-burning stoves) should schedule hood cleaning every 30 days.

Other establishments require different schedules for hood cleaning. Cafeterias and average restaurants, for instance, should have their kitchen hoods cleaned every 90 days, while pizza shop and oven hoods only need to be cleaned every 180 days. If a hood covers an appliance that doesn’t use grease, cleaning is only required annually.

Fire Protection Specialists offer the best in fire safety training and upkeep in the Bangor, WI, area. From hood cleaning to specialized fire-suppression systems for rooms with sensitive technology, their team takes pride in keeping a wide range of businesses safe from fire disasters. For more information, call (800) 658-9463 or visit the website today.