PLACENTIA, STOCKTON AND LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – It is a good idea to inspect your commercial kitchen hoods after they have been professionally cleaned, but many restaurant owners/managers don’t know what to look for.
That is why we at American Professional Services (APS-Hoods), a Placentia and Stockton hood sale company, recently compiled some information to educate restaurant owners/managers in this area, which we hope you will find helpful.
It’s easy to look inside a hood in front of the filters and canopy area to see if it has been cleaned, says, Massoud Farazandeh, CEO of APS-Hoods, a Stockton hood installation company.
“This area usually is shiny and looks good, but the area where you really want to check is behind the filters,” Farazandeh says.
Check inside the track and in the plenum area, where grease buildup can be left behind. It also is important to check the grease filter track to make sure it has been cleaned. The top of the filter rack is another area where grease can get built up, so it’s a good idea to check that, too, says the Stockton hood cleaning expert. A lot of times, grease will be left behind the plenum area, as well.
In the fire suppression portion of the hood, inside the bracket where you see the fusible link, hood cleaners should take care not to get caustic chemicals on that because it will effect the integrity of the link itself. When you inspect that, you might see some grease build-up, and that is OK. However, if there is grease inside the pipe, call us so we can have our fire suppression professionals replace the pipes or clean it themselves.
You should also look at the red caps on the fire suppression nozzles- they need to be in place. If they are hanging off, grease will build up and clog the nozzles. If the system needs to go off, it might impede the system from extinguishing the fire.
The ductwork is another area to check. This is one of the primary areas that needs to be cleaned, even though you don’t see it. Use a flashlight to see whether all of the areas are cleaned to bare metal. If the duct turns, and there are horizontal runs inside the duct, that means you need to have access panels. If you don’t have access panels, you need to get them installed. These are necessary to clean the ductwork properly, says Farazandeh, a Stockton commercial hood installer.
“The only concern you may have on a vertical duct is the length of the duct to the fan,” he says. “If the duct goes through multiple floors and can’t clean the whole system, you need to have access panels installed every 10 feet to every floor. Another method of cleaning is to use a spin jet and run it through the ductwork.”
You also need to inspect areas on your rooftop, including fan blades that can get coated with grease. The best thing to have on the roof is a hinged exhaust fan so the fan can be tilted for easy cleaning of both sides of the blades. Not having a hinge kit is hard on the fan and the wiring, as you increase the risk of damage.
A common problem after cleaning is a wobbling fan. This typically means the fan blades weren’t cleaned properly. Cleaning the blades a second time often corrects the issue.
Look at the collection of grease around the fan, because grease left to collect on the rooftop can interfere with the integrity of the roof, eat into the membrane and lead to leaks. It is important that no grease is left on the roof. On the front of the fan is a drip spout, which lets the grease come out. There are products you can put around the fan to absorb the grease.
Besides grease buildup, another problem may be improper disposal of the grease. It is important that your hood cleaner doesn’t just blow the grease to another part of the roof, but disposes of it correctly. It is the hood cleaner’s responsibility to dispose properly of the grease. However, the restaurant owner needs to ensure that proper drainage is in place.
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