It is highly essential that every commercial kitchen should be equipped with kitchen extraction system to remove grease-laden vapours from the fuel sources and cooking surfaces of cooking appliances. Operating without a professional kitchen extraction system is highly dangerous for employees, customers and the facility itself. However, even with the most advanced equipment, grease build-up will surely occur over time depending on the type and frequency of cooking happening in the kitchen.
As we all know, Indians love fried foods and the daily frying contributes heavily to the grease build-up on the underside of the hood canopy, on the components of the fire suppression system, in the duct work and all the way up to the exhaust fan on the roof. This grease build-up is the leading cause of commercial kitchen fires around the globe. In order to remove this fire hazard, all of the exhaust equipment must be thoroughly cleaned by a professional contractor using the right chemicals and equipment.
EPSCO India follows NFPA 96 standards of National Fire Protection Association. According to NFPA 96, kitchen extraction systems, grease removal devices, fans, ducts shall be cleaned to bare metal at frequent intervals prior to surfaces becoming heavily contaminated with grease or oily sludge. After the exhaust system is cleaned to bare metal, it shall not be coated with powder or any other substance. The entire exhaust system shall be inspected by a properly trained, qualified and certified company or person(s) acceptable to the authority.
Exhaust hood cleaning requirements and best practices are outlined in Table 8-3.1 Exhaust System Inspection Schedule in NFPA 96:
As a commercial kitchen owner or a facility manager, it is a routine cleaning that is done by kitchen staff to clean the exterior surfaces of exhaust hoods as part of day-to-day operations. But the cleaning process described in NFPA 96 should only be performed by a trained and certified kitchen exhaust cleaning service provider like EPSCO India. For Annual Maintenance Contract, contact us.
