Know When It’s Time To Clean Your Restaurant Ventilation
When operating a restaurant, you should always remain familiar with the NFPA 96 fire safety codes. A commercial kitchen or large restaurant needs robust protection against different kinds of fire hazards. In order to reduce the fire hazards in your restaurant, you should keep all the commercial cooking equipment and the kitchen exhaust system properly clean. Due to a large amount of heat and smoke produced on a regular basis, the vent hood system continues to collect grease. If the commercial vent hoods are not degreased and cleaned on a regular basis, the risk of grease fire will increase. This will put the lives of the kitchen employees and those of visitors in serious jeopardy while also putting your investment at risk.
That is why it is essential to know when it is time to give your restaurant ventilation system a proper cleaning. At the Nationwide Fire Protection (NFP) in Denver, CO, we specialize in the cleaning and maintenance of commercial restaurant ventilation hood systems in a fast and effective manner.
Causes of Commercial Kitchen Fires
All kinds of food and dishes are prepared in a commercial kitchen. As all the heavy duty cooking equipment is used, they generate a large amount of heat, smoke and steam. Over time, the exhaust hood system gathers deposits of grease, which requires regular cleaning by professionals. If you plan to reduce the risk of fires in your restaurant or food establishment, you should never ignore or skip the cleaning and maintenance of the commercial ventilation system.
Open flames, grease buildup and poor housekeeping practices are some common reasons that lead to kitchen fires.
It is crucial to understand that a commercial restaurant has all the equipment and machines for fire to break out and spread. If you run a restaurant, you should keep a close watch on the condition of your kitchen. While it is essential to install a fire protection system such as Ansul Fire Suppression or Pyrochem Fire Suppression, it is also extremely important to maintain proper ventilation in the kitchen. That is exactly what an HVAC system is made for. Always go for hood installation by highly trained professionals. Most of all, ensure the vent hoods are cleaned and maintained in a proper manner and on a regular basis.
When it comes to cleaning, your focus should remain on the kitchen exhaust hood system. General housekeeping practices will not eliminate fire safety hazards in a large commercial kitchen. You need to keep the range hoods clean, as these systems actually remove heat, smoke and grease.
Do You Have Grease Buildup in Vent Hoods?
To find out whether it is time to clean the hoods, you need to look for grease deposits in the range hoods, vents and exhaust system. Grease buildup is a potential fire safety hazard for restaurants.
Whether it is the vent hood system, the ductwork or the upblast fan, every component needs proper checking. If you are not a trained professional, it can be difficult to find out exactly how much grease has deposited in the vent hoods. The grease deposits often remain distributed throughout the system, making the job even more difficult for an untrained person. Grease buildup does not only increase the risk of dangerous kitchen fires, but it also takes a toll on the lifespan of the heavy-duty cooking equipment. Since these are very expensive, it is your responsibility to take the timely measures to protect your valuable investment.
Due to the large amount of grease, the vent hood system will work harder than usual to deliver results. If this continues for long, the system will fail and ultimately break down requiring expensive repairs. The longevity of the ventilation system will decrease in a significant manner. Knowing when it is time to clean the system will help you avoid all of this and the potential risk of fire.
How Often to Schedule Vent Hood Cleaning
Many restaurant owners do not have clarity on exactly how often they should get the vent hood system cleaned. Lack of awareness in this regard will lead to different kinds of issues, hood system failures and failed inspections. You should seek the advice of an expert such as those from Nationwide Fire Protection, which provides restaurant maintenance and commercial installation services to commercial kitchens, cafeterias and cooking facilities in Denver, CO.
How often you should schedule the cleaning of your restaurant ventilation depends on two important factors including:
- Type of Fuel You Use
- Frequency of Cooking
All commercial kitchens do not have exactly the same kind of cooking equipment and routine. Though the type of fuel and volume of cooking are basic but important factors to determine the cleaning schedule, it is always best to get a visual inspection done by a professional to create a proper schedule.
For more information on scheduling of hood system cleaning, feel free to talk to one of our specialists at Nationwide Fire Protection.
Based on the specific requirements of your restaurant kitchen, our specialists will come up with the most ideal cleaning frequency. According to the NFPA 96 Exhaust System Code, a restaurant owner may have to schedule cleaning on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. It is important to understand that every restaurant vent hood system is unique and it has its own unique needs. So, the cleaning schedule will be determined after an inspection.
How to Measure the Level of Grease Buildup
It is difficult to assess the level of greasing just by looking at greasy vent hoods. When you want to find out whether the commercial ventilation system installed in your kitchen has ample deposits of grease, you need to measure it with accuracy. That is exactly what grease depth gauge comb are for.
It should never be guesswork. When it comes to measuring the amount of grease that has accumulated in the vent hoods and ductwork of your restaurant, you have to be accurate. It is the job of a technician to accurately measure grease deposits in your kitchen vent hoods. At Nationwide Fire Protection, our specialists use Omni Grease Comb to measure grease buildup in a fast and accurate manner. Based on the depth of the grease deposits, we will recommend whether the level is moderate or whether cleaning is essentially required.
Our grease level markings and notations are based as per the regulatory standards put forth in the NFPA 96 fire safety code.
Benefits of Cleaning Restaurant Exhaust System
Cleaning the exhaust system of your restaurant in a timely manner helps you avoid a number of problems, both minor and major. If you plan to run your restaurant business in a smooth manner, you should definitely hire trained professionals to perform the cleaning of your kitchen hoods.
Here are some of the most important benefits that timely cleaning of vent hoods will bring to your commercial restaurant.
Reduce Fire Risk
The biggest safety hazard in a commercial kitchen is the risk of fire. Among all types of fires that can spread in a kitchen, greasy fire is the most dangerous. It is very difficult to contain this type of kitchen fire. Knowing when to clean and then getting the exhaust hoods of your restaurant cleaned without any delay will help you reduce the risk of fire in a significant manner.
Bring Down Electricity Consumption
A commercial kitchen has a wide range of equipment that runs on electricity. Whether it is the ovens, grills or freezers, all of these consume energy. Every restaurant owner aims to control electricity consumption. If you have to pay high energy bills month after month, it may be due to greasy vent hoods in your kitchen. When the hoods and ductwork gather a lot of grease, the ventilation system has to work much harder in order to do its job. The harder the system works, the higher the consumption of energy will be. Timely cleaning of the restaurant ventilation is a surefire way to reduce the electric consumption of your restaurant.
Avoid Costly Damage
Commercial or food service kitchen fires are one of the most dangerous. When they spread and get out of control, such fires cause a lot of damage to life and property. These fires cause civilian deaths, civilian injuries and property damage worth millions of dollars. Whether you run a food service kitchen, restaurant, cafeteria, or cooking facility, you should strictly follow fire safety codes. In addition to the installation of a high quality and top brand fire protection system, you should ensure regular and proper cleaning of the exhaust hoods in your restaurant.
Steer Clear of Restaurant Closures
Running a large restaurant is no easy feat. You have to constantly deal with a number of issues and challenges. What happens inside the kitchen could become the reason for the closure of your restaurant. For example, safety threats may lead to the closing down of your restaurant.
You should take all the necessary steps to remain compliant to the safety codes. Make sure you perform ongoing cleaning of the vent hood system. Invest in a high quality fire suppression system such as Ansul Fire Suppression, Buckeye Fire Suppression, Kidde Fire Suppression System etc. Also have a fire sprinkler system and fire extinguishers in place. Most of all, make sure the kitchen staff gets trained in the use of all these fire protection systems and equipment. Follow all the kitchen ventilation and restaurant construction codes to avoid closure.
Considering all the useful benefits listed above, you should definitely understand how important ventilation cleaning is. Therefore, you should never ignore the timely cleaning of your kitchen exhaust hoods.
Is Your Restaurant NFPA Fire Standards Compliant?
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has fixed a set of ventilation and fire safety standards for commercial restaurants to follow. The organization has outlined specific standards, each hood grease filter, solid fuel cooking system, spark arrestor filters, fan hinges, rooftop grease containment, hood cleaning frequency, duct access and access panels and fan access panels.
As a restaurant owner, you should be well-informed about the different codes that the NFPA has set for the commercial kitchen ventilation system and its different parts and components. At any given point of time, your food establishment should be up to date with the current fire safety code.
Abiding by the NFPA 96 standards includes proper cleaning and maintenance of all the vent hoods and the cooking equipment.
Talk to a Certified Kitchen Ventilation Cleaner
The responsibility for the inspection, maintenance and cleaning of the commercial vent hood system lies with the owner of the restaurant. In order to protect people, property and your investment, you must know when it is time for vent hood cleaning in your commercial kitchen. There are multiple signs to determine if your ventilation system is in need of cleaning and degreasing. If you still have a question or want to schedule the exhaust hood cleaning of your food service kitchen, head over to Nationwide Fire Protection in Denver, CO. One of our experts will educate you on topics and issues related to ventilation system maintenance.
Along with restaurant vent hood cleaning, we specialize in fire restaurant safety, fire suppression system installation, restaurant fire restoration, fire alarm and restaurant construction service. For your free consultation, you can ring up our office or send us an email using the contact form.
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