Limestone Restaurant Hood Cleaning Service
Limestone Restaurant hood cleaning is vital to keeping the efficiency of your exhaust system high. I would like to talk about the hoods themselves in this article. The hood is designed to do two things:
- Act as a fire protection device by removing the grease
- Remove smoke and heat from cooking area below
The kitchen exhaust system is designed to pull grease laden smoke up into the hood and to the filters where it is filtered, turned back into grease then emptied into a catch tray. The three basic hood designs are the canopy, the galley and the downdraft. The closer the hood is to the cooking surface, the more efficient it is.
The most common type of hoods seen in restaurants today are canopy style. They are a simple design, do a good job and are easy to maintain. Restaurant hood cleaning is normally a simple task with these hoods. Just make sure that your hood cleaning company is cleaning the entire exhaust system and not the hood only.
Limestone Restaurant Hood Cleaning
New or expanding restaurants don't always have an unlimited amount of money at their disposal, so it makes sense that many owners and managers look for ways to save a buck when they can.
There are lots of opportunities to purchase used restaurant equipment. However, when it comes to purchasing used kitchen hoods and fire protection equipment, it's best to involve a professional consultant.
Fire safety codes change and older equipment and parts don't always meet the new codes. Also, older hoods often aren't UL listed, while many new hoods are. Equipment that is UL listed has had its electrical components tested for potential hazards by the Underwriters Laboratory, an independent testing organization.
Installing plumbing and electrical in a way that doesn't impede ongoing maintenance, cleaning and repairs makes it easier to do an effective job and it saves the customer money because the job can be done more quickly.
People are looking for ways to save money and run the kitchen efficiently and all of this can be done in the design phase.
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Stricter Regulation Vital For Restaurant Hood Cleaning
There are plenty of shows on "do-it-yourself" techniques for everything from retiling a bathroom to installing a new kitchen sink.
But when it comes to commercial kitchens, there is no substitute for professional hood, fan and duct cleaning services
The International Kitchen Exhaust Hood Cleaning Association is a Maryland-based trade association dedicated to educating its members about safety and cleaning techniques. The association has established stringent standards and practices for contractors engaged in kitchen exhaust cleaning, conducted a variety of educational programs and worked with influential code setting bodies such as the National Fire Protection Association to improve existing codes and regulations.
Even something that sounds as simple as cleaning a filter is not a job for a novice, as filters capture grease and other debris and when cleaning them, proper disposal of the effluent washed from the filter is an important consideration.
Federal law states that none of that wastewater can be put into a public sewer. But city and state guidelines also must be taken into consideration so the application of that law can vary from state to state for this reason.
Recommended cleaning schedules vary according to the type of equipment, cooking methods and volume of food cooked. However, there are recommendations that restaurant managers and owners can follow to determine how often to have kitchen hoods, ducts and fans professionally cleaned.
Restaurants should be cleaned every six months at a minimum. Restaurants that use deep fat fryers and/or charbroilers should clean these systems every three months at a minimum.
Eating establishments that use smokehouses or wood fires should undergo monthly cleanings at a minimum.
Restaurants that use large amounts of vegetable oils in their cooking processes should go no longer than three months between cleanings. When vegetable oil grease is left to build up, it becomes "glue-like" and removing it is a difficult task.
