Why Regular Extractor Hood Cleaning is Important

June 3, 2021 – by Tony Earnshaw

Almost all professional food establishments will have a cooker hood to enable the extraction of airborne grease, cooking odours and steam, the end result being a safer and more comfortable space to work in.

Regular maintenance and cleaning play an important part in following health and safety requirements, and in adhering to fire and safety rules. This is essential since commercial kitchens are the most common place for a fire to start in hospitality establishments.

Cleaning importance

Every commercial kitchen has strict guidelines to adhere to in relation to cleanliness. It is imperative to follow these to comply with the law, and to avoid becoming an environmental or indeed fire hazard.

When you imagine a fan whirring away all day in a busy kitchen, pulling out odours, fumes and smoke, it’s easy to forget that this crucial piece of apparatus will suffer from a build-up of dust, dirt and grease that over time can turn to thick sludge.

These deposits are not always immediately visible and just sit there dormant, becoming a prolific breeding ground for bacteria. They start to emit unpleasant odours and, in some worse case scenarios, leak noxious material onto other areas down below in the food preparation area.

As it accumulates, grease can turn into a serious hazard as it can easily ignite through spontaneous combustion if a critical temperature is reached, not merely from a stray spark or flame.

Regular maintenance of the cooker hood, ideally by a specialist, should be part of any business’ regular cleaning rota. What may seem to be a tedious cleaning task can prevent a potentially disastrous outcome.

Professional deep cleaning specialists such as UK Commercial cleaning offer a professional cleaning service that will comprehensively clean your kitchen cooker hood and extractor fan so that you continue to comply with relevant legislation and feel confident in the performance of your essential kitchen equipment.