A kitchen hood, also known as a range hood, is a device that hangs above commercial fryers and other cooking appliances. It has many mechanical fans that remove heat, smoke, and odors from the air. It attracts dirt like a magnet. Read the Simple steps below about Cleaning Hoods in Restaurants.
If you manage a restaurant, it’s critical that you take steps to keep your kitchen in good working order at all times to avoid unwelcome difficulties. Issues that arise unexpectedly can pose a safety risk and harm your reputation. One of the most important issues to fix in order to keep your restaurant on track is the kitchen exhaust system. Grease accumulates in the hoods and other components of your ventilation system.
Restaurant hoods must be cleaned:
The following is a typical sequence of events that leads to a kitchen exhaust fire that hasn’t been cleaned:
- On the stove top, a hot flame shoots up or is formed.
- The flame ignites the filters in the kitchen hood as it comes into touch with them.
- The flames are driven upward into the ductwork by the exhaust fan pulling in air.
- If there is enough grease residue in the ducts, it can act as a source of fuel, allowing the fire to spread farther into the exhaust system, causing substantial damage and putting the structure and its people in danger.
Reasons for the cleanness of restaurant hoods:
There are various reasons to clean the kitchen hood at your restaurant:
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Health:
The cleanliness of your kitchen exhaust system has an impact on the air quality in your restaurant’s kitchen and throughout the facility. Contaminated particle is allowed to circulate in occupied portions of the building once filters become clogged and ducting is degraded, allowing workers and patrons to breathe it in.
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Prevention:
Due to high levels of moisture and heat, your kitchen exhaust system is not only a fire threat, but also a breeding ground for germs, mold, and mildew. With regular, expert kitchen hood cleaning, you can avoid disease as well as potential mechanical failure and damage.
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Compliance:
If your restaurant’s kitchen is found to be in violation of these or other standards or regulations, it may fail inspection, costing you more time and money while it is brought up to code, or perhaps putting you out of business. Your insurance company may use this information to determine liability and refuse your claim if a fire occurs due to a lack of cleaning.
Method of Cleaning restaurant hoods:
Here is the step by step processes of cleaning restaurant hoods:
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Prep:
Plastic sheeting is used to cover all equipment to prevent it from run-off and degreasing chemicals once all pilot lights and gas valves for the cooking equipment have been switched off.
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Baffle Filters Cleaning:
The vent hood’s baffle filters are removed and either power washed or soaked in a soaking solution to remove any grease accumulation. The vent hood system can now be accessed completely.
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Wrap around the hoods:
The hoods are coated in plastic sheeting and shaped into a funnel, allowing the cleaning process’s discharge to be collected in a container.
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Fans Cleaning:
The Hood fans are degreased and then rinsed with hot water. This procedure is repeated until the fans have been thoroughly cleaned down to the bare metal. The fan’s belt is also replaced if necessary.
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Scraping the Ducts:
The ducts are scraped to remove any hardened grease deposits before being cleansed and rinsed in the same manner as the fans. This is done in the same way as the fans down to the bare metal.
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Getting the Roof Clean:
After the ducts and fans have been thoroughly cleaned and inspected, the roof is lightly power washed to eliminate any debris or grease that may have accumulated during the cleaning process.
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Keeping the Hood Clean:
After manually scraping away any hardened oil accumulation, the vent hood is sprayed with a degreasing solution and rinsed with hot water. This procedure is done until all of the vent hoods are clean.
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Putting the Baffle Filters Back in Place:
After soaking and/or power washing the baffle filters, they are rinsed with hot water and reinstalled in the vent hood. After that, the vent hood is cleaned off and polished.
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Cleanup:
After the system is clean, all of the plastic sheeting is removed, and the kitchen floors are mopped. All of the equipment is wiped down.
Tips to keep your restaurant hoods clean:
Use the appropriate filter:
Your vent hood will trap and contain the oils and grease generated from your cooking if you use the proper kind of hood filter and the right number of filters. Check out our hood filter handbook if you’re not sure which filter is best for you. It covers everything from fire codes to filter materials to customized hood filters like spark arrestor filters. You must not only use the correct type of filter, but also the correct size to cover the whole aperture of your vent hood. Use our filter sizing calculator if you need assistance measuring to calculate the size and number of hood filters you’ll need.
Commercial vent hood cleaning:
Cleaning business vent hoods on a regular basis will ensure that they operate as efficiently and effectively as feasible. The majority of vent hood cleaning in restaurants occurs on a daily basis. Some people, however, can go between cleanings every one to two weeks. The decision should be made based on the amount and sort of cooking you will be doing.
A fast-food restaurant that grills burgers on char broil equipment may need to schedule restaurant vent hood cleaning more frequently than a modest sandwich shop. Most hood filters can be cleaned by hand with hot soapy water or placed in a high-temp commercial dishwasher when it comes to commercial vent hood cleaning. They can also be soaked in a soak tank overnight.
Duct access doors should be installed:
Ducts are notoriously difficult to reach and, as a result, to keep clean. That’s why duct access doors, also known as clean-out access doors or panels, must be positioned uniformly along with your ductwork. Duct access doors are simple to install and enable easy cleaning, maintenance, and inspection of your ducts.
Installing access doors makes it easy to remove fats, oils, and grease from your ductwork, reducing the risk of a duct fire and improving the performance of your vent hood. Keeping your ducts clean also improves airflow and reduces the formation of dust, bacteria, and mold.
Panel for accessing the exhaust fan:
Access panels for exhaust fans are similar to duct access panels. They’re another quick and easy solution to keep your industrial kitchen ventilation system clean and in good working order.
These clean-out access points, also known as exhaust fan access ports, make it easier to reach the interior of the fan so it may be cleaned and maintained. They are incredibly cost-effective and easy to install. Once fitted, your exhaust fan access port will help keep the blades of your up blast exhaust fan clean and grease-free. This will assist you in avoiding difficulties caused by grease accumulation.
Install a hinge kit for the exhaust fan:
Making it easy to clean your exhaust fan also makes it safer, as it protects your roof, fan, and fan base from harm during routine maintenance, business vent hood cleaning, or inspection. Hinge kits connect the fan bowl to the fan base using a hinge. The hinge keeps the exhaust fan held in an open position, preventing it from opening too far or slamming shut on employees attempting to reach the fan’s innards.
Conclusion:
For obstinate grease accumulation, contractors can use scrapers and brushes on the hood interior. Otherwise, they’ll use the pressure washer system they used to clean the ducting to clean it. The interior and exterior stainless steel of the hood can be manually cleaned with a degreaser or light detergent, wiped down, and dried with clean cloths if necessary. During the cleaning operation, contractors take extra precautions using demand-control hoods to safeguard their heat and effluent sensors.
