In both commercial kitchens and home kitchens, the kitchen hood is an essential tool for food safety and hygiene. The hood system removes smoke and fumes to keep toxins out of the air and out of our food, thus ensuring that the kitchen atmosphere and safe and hygienic. What’s more, it prevents fire hazards from occurring in the kitchen. Thus, having a regular cleaning and maintenance schedule for your kitchen hood is imperative to keep it working properly.
What is Hood Cleaning?
Hood cleaning, also known as kitchen exhaust cleaning, is the process of removing built-up grease and grime from kitchen exhaust systems. This process also cleans the other parts of the exhaust system including the ducts, fans, and vents. Over time, the fumes and smoke that pass through your kitchen exhaust system will deposit smoke residue through the system. What’s more, grease splatters can accumulate as well.
Why You Need to Clean your Kitchen Hood Regularly
Since you use your hood daily, there will be a significant amount of grease and smoke residue that will be deposited along the entire exhaust system. If you regularly cook greasy food items, the amount of the buildup increases at a significant rate.
If you don’t get regular hood cleaning services, three things can happen. First, your kitchen will be at greater risk for a fire hazard. Second, the polluted air inside your kitchen will not be filtered out properly. Finally, the accumulated grease and smoke will also affect the quality of the food that you serve. Ultimately, if you don’t invest in keeping your hood clean and maintained, it will adversely affect your livelihood because no one will want to eat at a restaurant that has poor sanitary conditions in the kitchen!
Keeping Your Business Up to Code
Did you know that states require commercial kitchens to adhere to strict codes covering cleanliness and sanitation in the kitchen? If your kitchen does not comply with these codes, you could be fined or even shut down, depending on the severity of your incompliance.
In Utah, the Utah State Fire Marshall’s office has mandated that all businesses, not just commercial kitchens, that use kitchen hoods subject their exhaust systems to regular cleaning. A certified inspector from the Fire Marshall’s office will visit your establishment to inspect your kitchen hood to see whether you are following state regulations.
A Guide on How Often to Clean Your Kitchen Hood
It can be difficult to keep a regular cleaning and maintenance schedule for your hood especially if you are a busy kitchen. Here is a great guide from the Utah Fire Marshall’s office that you can follow:
- Monthly – establishments that use solid fuel (i.e., charcoal or wood) for cooking operations.
- Quarterly – establishments with high-volume cooking operations such as 24-hour restaurants and hospitals.
- Semiannually – establishments with moderate cooking operations.
- Annually – establishments with low-volume cooking operations such as churches and seasonal businesses.
As a restaurant owner, it is your responsibility to provide a safe and sanitary working environment for your employees and your customers. Create a regular cleaning schedule for your kitchen hood to ensure that you will be providing the best possible atmosphere that make your business possible!
