Grease is the fuel in most restaurant fires, and a commercial kitchen exhaust system is designed to carry it away from the line. If it's allowed to build up in the hood, the ductwork and the rooftop fan, that system can become the path a fire follows. Our commercial kitchen hood cleaning in Kansas City takes the whole exhaust system back to bare metal, from the hood over your cooking line to the fan on the roof.
Who we clean for
- Restaurants, bars and grills
- Barbecue joints and smokehouses
- Food trucks and commissary kitchens
- Schools, churches and community center kitchens
- Senior living and healthcare kitchens
- Hotel, catering and corporate cafeterias
Kansas City is a barbecue town, and wood- and charcoal-fired cooking produces heavy grease and creosote-like deposits. Those kitchens need a lot more attention than one that mostly steams and bakes.
NFPA 96 and how often hoods need attention
NFPA 96, the Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations, is the fire safety standard most jurisdictions use for kitchen exhaust. It sets how often the exhaust system should be inspected for grease buildup, based on the type and volume of cooking:
- Monthly for systems serving solid-fuel cooking, like wood or charcoal
- Quarterly for high-volume cooking, such as 24-hour operations, charbroiling or wok cooking
- Semiannually for moderate-volume cooking
- Annually for low-volume cooking, such as churches, day camps, seasonal businesses or senior centers
When an inspection finds the system contaminated with grease deposits, NFPA 96 calls for it to be cleaned. In practice, many kitchens set their cleaning schedule to match these intervals.
Which edition of NFPA 96 applies, and how it's enforced, depends on your jurisdiction. Kansas City, MO, Kansas City, KS, Overland Park and the other cities and fire districts in the metro each have their own fire code adoption and enforcement. Always check with your local fire marshal or authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) for the requirements that apply to your kitchen. Your insurance carrier may have its own expectations as well.
What we clean
A proper hood cleaning covers the full exhaust path, not just what customers can see:
- Hood canopy interior and exterior surfaces
- Grease filters or baffles, cleaned or soaked
- Plenum behind the filters, where grease often hides
- Horizontal and vertical ductwork, through accessible access panels
- Rooftop exhaust fan, including the fan wheel and housing
- Grease containment at the fan, where present
Areas we can't reach safely or that lack access panels will be noted in our service report so you know where the gaps are.
Our kitchen hood cleaning process in Kansas City
- Pre-service walkthrough. We look at your hoods, cooking line, duct access and rooftop fan, and agree on a schedule that fits your hours.
- Protect the kitchen. After close, we cover the cooking line, turn off and protect equipment, and set up containment to route rinse water and grease into collection.
- Scrape and degrease. We hand-scrape heavy deposits, apply degreaser, and use hot-water pressure washing to take hood, plenum, duct and fan surfaces down to bare metal where accessible.
- Clean up and restore. We clean the work area, reinstall filters, and leave the kitchen ready for the morning crew.
- Label and report. We place a service label on the hood and give you a report with before-and-after photos and notes on anything that needs attention.
Problems we flag
During cleaning we often see issues worth knowing about:
- Missing or damaged filters or baffles
- Fans with worn belts, bad hinges or no easy access
- Duct runs without enough access panels to clean fully
- Grease leaking at the rooftop fan onto the roof
We'll document what we find. Fire suppression systems should be inspected and serviced by a qualified fire protection company, so we'll let you know if anything looks off and coordinate around their visit.
Keep your kitchen clean between services
- Clean or swap filters regularly, often weekly in busy kitchens
- Never run the line without filters in place
- Wipe down hood surfaces daily
- Keep an eye on the rooftop fan for grease leaks
Other commercial services
Kitchen hood cleaning is just one piece. Many restaurants also book commercial air duct cleaning for the dining room HVAC and commercial dryer vent cleaning for on-site laundry. Looking for a home kitchen? See range hood vent cleaning.
Get a free kitchen hood cleaning quote
Tell us about your kitchen: the number of hoods, the type of cooking, and when you're closed. Call or request your free quote below and we'll build a schedule around your operation.
