Customers and employees must be protected from the risk of fire in busy commercial kitchens such as those found in restaurants, hospitals, churches, hotels, schools, and senior centers. These kitchens are required to have fire safety precautions in place. Suppose something goes wrong in the kitchen, those in the building risk being harmed. This is true regardless of the size of the kitchen or the amount of food it produces each month.
WHAT DO WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY THAT CLEANING THE VENT HOOD IS IMPORTANT?
This is where the cleaning of the vent hood comes into play. This vital maintenance step is necessary to keep your building and the people within it safe. In addition to helping your kitchen be clean and tidy, this process is also essential for maintaining your facility. To remain in compliance with NFPA requirements and run a low-volume commercial kitchen, you need to clean your vent hood no more frequently than once per year. On the other hand, ventilation hoods should be cleaned once every three months in high-volume kitchens, such as those in fast-food restaurants. There are several reasons why it is necessary to clean your kitchen’s vent hood system consistently and comprehensively. A significant undertaking and making an effort to complete it each year—as well as the dedication necessary—is critical for many reasons.
CLEAN COMMERCIAL KITCHEN VENT HOOD
To lessen the likelihood of a fire starting, a kitchen vent hood is designed to collect as much oil, smoke, and filth as possible. Because of this, it is positioned right over the area used for cooking. The hood develops a sticky film of oil over time, and if it is ever heated to a sufficiently high temperature, this layer has the potential to catch fire. Because grease fires are highly hazardous and burn at such a high temperature, it is in your best interest to take all preventative measures.
Reduce hazardous particle emissions: The dirtier a kitchen vent hood becomes, the less effective it is in collecting grease, smoke, and other types of debris. Particles not captured by the vent hood can freely disperse throughout the structure’s interior space. Because of this, the employees working in the kitchen and the other people in the building are in jeopardy of developing health problems.
Always maintain your conformity: If a local fire officer pays an unannounced visit to your commercial kitchen and finds that the kitchen hood is not clean and well-maintained, he has the authority to issue a citation against you or even close down your business.
Maintain a low cost for insurance: To receive insurance coverage, commercial kitchens must demonstrate that they adhere to all applicable fire safety requirements. If you are found to violate any codes, you run the risk of having your coverage canceled or your rates going up.
VENT HOOD CLEANING SERVICES
Even while it takes less time for oil and dirt to accumulate in a commercial kitchen with lower traffic, this does not give you a license to disregard the problem completely. When left unmaintained for enough time, the exhaust hood in a school kitchen can become just as filthy as in a high-traffic restaurant.
Now, if you wanted to, you could clean the hood over your range in your kitchen. However, it is advised that you engage a professional to do the work for you. A specialist in fire safety and prevention can be of assistance in the following ways:
- Spend less time and energy: Cleaning the hood is a task that is not only challenging but also messy and time-consuming. Hiring a professional will allow you to focus on running your business.
- Get the work done correctly: Vent hoods are complex equipment, and you need experience cleaning them to ensure you get all the essential components. When professionals do the task, it is done quickly and thoroughly.
- Take care of any required repairs: It’s conceivable that the ventilation system in your kitchen isn’t operating as it should. When you hire a professional cleaner, you get the added benefit of being able to ensure that the system is working correctly and make any required repairs.
- Address fire code issues: Over the years, changes have been made to the fire codes. A professional hood cleaning service can advise you on what adjustments need to be made if you are operating in an older building that does not comply with current regulations.
Calling Brazas Fire at (505) 889-8999 will get you in touch with the company’s vent hood cleaning services, which will help you avoid compliance and fire safety concerns. We perform this essential preventative maintenance for all types of commercial kitchens, and we will work around your schedule to ensure that cleaning will take place at a time that is convenient for you. Please get in touch with us if you are in New Mexico for immediate scheduling of vent hood cleaning services.