Ductwork Cleaning: Ingot Services Advises on Food Hygiene Ratings

5 Steps to an Excellent Food Hygiene Rating in 2014

An excellent food hygiene rating has become the new must-have accolade for food outlets everywhere – and ductwork cleaning is among the essential steps needed. Make 2014 the year to get this aspect of your business right. This is vital to preserve your reputation with new and existing customers and protect your business from negative publicity. As an expert duct cleaning contractor, Ingot can advise you on the best steps to take.

About the Food Hygiene Rating System

Anyone eating out in England, Wales or Northern Ireland will probably have noticed the “scores on the doors”. These are numbers displayed outside a catering business, which show its rating for hygiene. They range from 0 – meaning “urgent improvement needed” – up to 5, or “very good”. 

The ratings in Scotland are different, with companies either being awarded a “pass” grade or one of “improvement required”. Whichever system you operate under, your business should aim to achieve the top rating available. This will reassure your customers that food is handled hygienically and all possible steps are being taken to keep the premises safe, including meticulous kitchen extract cleaning.

1. Train all staff in Food Hygiene

It is a legal requirement for all staff working with food to have at least a Level 2 Hygiene Certificate in Catering. An Environmental Health Inspector will carry out an inspection every three years to ensure their knowledge is up to date, so you must ensure all members of your team regularly attend courses and are aware of any changes in best practice.  

It is also a good idea to have supervisors, managers and owners qualified well above the minimum, achieving a level 3 certificate, designed for anyone running a team of food handlers, or level 4, which equips workers to train others. This is not just a box ticking exercise to impress inspectors, but an important safeguard for your business and its customers. 

It is also good to give training to all employees, including waiters and bar staff, even if they are not actually handling food. This will ensure the awareness of hygiene runs through every level of your business.

2. Get staff on board

It is essential to tell staff about the food hygiene rating system and make sure they know how important it is to the business, and to their own jobs. You need to foster daily vigilance to ensure there is no danger of slipping into bad habits, such as skimping on kitchen cleaning or failing to schedule ductwork cleaning. Put measures in place to reward good hygiene and encourage people to spot and report any problems they might notice. Remember, your staff are your first line of defence in promoting good hygiene.

3. Review your regular cleaning regime

It is a legal requirement to have a properly documented cleaning rota, with adequate supplies of cleaning materials. However, what was a suitable cleaning regime when you started the business may not be enough as demands change. You will need to look at it again if your restaurant expands, you change the range of foods being served, or you buy different equipment and change the layout of your kitchen area. 

In the hectic atmosphere of a busy kitchen, with so many demands on your time, it is easy to put off reviewing your cleaning regime, but this is a recipe for problems. You must make it a priority to look at your daily routine and make any necessary adjustments.  

4. Back up with scheduled deep cleaning

Deep kitchen cleaning gives everyone a fresh start. Having this carried out regularly guards against hazardous build-up of dirt in areas which are not easily accessible every day, such as behind cupboards and appliances. Deep cleans demonstrate to staff the importance of hygiene and reduce the chance of problems.

5. Include invisible kitchen extracts and ductwork

Because kitchen extracts and ductwork can't be seen or accessed by staff, it is tempting to overlook the need for them to be cleaned regularly. However, these are potential sources of contamination, where grease, bacteria and germs can build up. If you fail to arrange ductwork cleaning on a regular basis, it can undermine other hygiene efforts. Dirty extracts and ductwork alone are enough for inspectors to withhold a good food hygiene rating, so you need to give full attention to these areas.

Ductwork Cleaning  – Click here to contact Ingot and find out more.

Duct Work Cleaning – Commercial Cleaning London – Kitchen Health and Safety

Duct Work Cleaning – Meeting Your Basic Health and Safety Responsibilities

As a restaurant owner, if you avoid duct work cleaning as part of your health and safety requirements, you are putting staff and customers at risk and could damage the reputation of your business.

Making health and safety a priority is a legal responsibility for employers and is designed to reduce accidents and provide a healthy work environment. The first step is to carry out a risk assessment to ensure that all the right safeguards are in place. 

Duct Work Cleaning

Although maintaining your duct work cleaning may not be one of the first things that springs to mind, the consequences of not doing so can be considerable, leading to a dangerous build-up of grease in the pipework. 

At a low level, avoiding duct cleaning can lead to staff sickness and lost work hours; but in the worst case scenario it can lead to fatalities, resulting from major incidents such as fires. By failing to tackle duct cleaning, you could face the possibility of legal action against you, which will damage the reputation of your restaurant, and may ultimately lead to business closure.

Duct work cleaning should be part and parcel of your risk assessment, and it is essential to assign a staff member with responsibility for this, which can either be you or a manager.  The cleaning work should to be carried out by experts, so it is important to call on a commercial cleaning company that specialises in this area – such as Ingot, which serves customers in London and across the UK. 

What Can Happen if You Don’t Meet Your Responsibilities

Staff off sick – Each year millions of work days are lost through work related accidents or illnesses. This can have a detrimental effect on your company as lost work days create a backlog that can be hard to catch up on. Small companies, in particular, rely on healthy staff to keep the business running. 

Damage reputation of business – If your staff or customers fall ill as a result of badly maintained duct work and air conditioning systems, this can have a knock-on effect on your business. Yet, organising the cleaning and maintenance is so simple to do: it just takes one phone call to the specialists who will take the worry out of your hands.

Risk of fatalities – Dirty duct work is a fire risk and can have potentially life threatening consequences. Contacting the experts in commercial kitchen cleaning can prevent fatalities and create a safe working environment. 

Insurance becomes invalid – If a fire breaks out on your premises and the cause is down to the lack of duct work cleaning, this can invalidate your insurance; the costs can be considerable and could ultimately lead to business closure.  

Potential court cases – If a staff member sustains a work related injury, this can leave you wide open to legal action.  However, having a regular maintenance programme will avoid this by showing that you have taken your health and safety responsibilities seriously, and will save money in the long run by avoiding pricy legal battles.

About Ingot Services

To find out more on how Ingot can help with your duct work cleaning and to obtain a free quotation for their services, telephone Ingot on 0800 731 7892 or click on the above link.

Ductwork Cleaning – Commercial Cleaning Contractors – Germs in Your Air Conditioning

Ductwork Cleaning – Ingot Services puts the spotlight on germs that can be harboured in your air conditioning duct work.

Germs, Bugs and Other Nasties that Can Thrive in Your Air Conditioning Ductwork

Whether you run an office based organisation or are in the hospitality trade, it is vital to the health and safety of your staff and customers that you organise regular professional ductwork cleaning. 

Air conditioning can harbour all sorts of germs, bugs and contaminants; so if cleaning and maintenance work is overlooked, this can create an unhealthy work environment and contribute to staff sicknesses and absences. 

Some employers put ductwork cleaning on the back-burner because they are worried about cost and don’t see it as a priority, but professional duct cleaning is essential for your organisation. As well as being important for the health of your employees, it also saves money in the long run as it prevents lost hours from staff off sick, so will help your business run more efficiently. 

Here are three contaminants that can be harboured in unclean air conditioning ductwork:

Mould and Fungi

Mould and fungi thrive in areas of warmth and high humidity and can be found in parts of the air conditioning duct work, such as the internal insulation, the coils, and in the air conditioning filters. Their spores are carried through the air, so mould and fungi will multiply if there are any leaks in the system. 

These contaminants can be detrimental to health as moulds produce mycotoxins, which are toxic to humans, and can cause breathing difficulties, allergic reactions, fatigue, mild fever or headaches in some people. 

To minimise the risks, it is vital to organise the services of professional commercial cleaners, such as Ingot, who will not only clean your air conditioning duct work, but also inspect it for leaks. 

Dust Mites

The existence of dust mites in a home or business isn’t down to the air conditioning system alone – as dust mites can be found everywhere such as in upholstery, carpets, and clothing – but having a thorough clean-out will help. 

Although dust mites are too tiny to be seen with the naked eye, the chemicals in their droppings can trigger allergies and asthma. 

So, the more dust there is in your air conditioning system, the bigger  the problem. Maintaining your system, and keeping the ducts clean, will help control the population and prevent dust mite excrement re-circulating throughout your business.

Germs and Bacteria

An alarming recent study in China showed 75 per cent of the air conditioning units tested had filters that contained the bacteria that caused Legionnaire’s disease, a form of pneumonia that can be fatal. 

A separate study, led by the European Respiratory Society in 1997, revealed that those working in air conditioned buildings were found to be two and a half times more likely to have breathing difficulties, than those who didn’t. 

It is important to prevent this by regular professional duct cleaning – as germs and bacteria trapped in dirty air filters will just be circulated around your office building, posing a health threat to staff and visitors. 

About Ingot Services

Ingot provides a full, thorough, and competitively priced ductwork cleaning service which also includes inspections and filter cleans. To find out more and to obtain a free quote, contact Ingot on 0800 731 7892.

Duct work cleaning – Disasters That Can Occur if You Avoid Good Kitchen Hygiene Practices

5 (Scary) Disasters that Can Happen if You Put Duct Work Cleaning on the Backburner

Don’t put your air conditioning and duct work cleaning on the back burner - that’s the message from Ingot! If you avoid calling on the experts for regular air conditioning and grease extract cleaning, the consequences can be devastating for your restaurant and your staff. With Halloween just gone, here are five horror stories that could turn into a real-life nightmare if you don’t maintain your duct work:

Don’t Get Burned

Did you know that as many as 6,000 fires are caused by cooking appliances in commercial buildings per year? Recent years have seen a number of high profile blazes caused by the lack of duct cleaning – including a fire in Brighton’s oldest Italian restaurant at the start of 2013. The sad fact is that fires such as this one could so easily be avoided with proper kitchen hygiene practices and regular grease extract cleaning. However, according to Erimus Insurance brokers as many as 80 percent of restaurants avoid this to cut costs. It just takes one stray spark to ignite the grease and the consequences could be fatal. 

Avoid Exposure to Disease

Lack of duct cleaning can create a host of health hazards, from the aggravation of existing allergies and minor breathing problems, to worse, potentially fatal diseases such as Legionnaires Disease, a severe form of pneumonia. The legionella bacteria are known to thrive in water, including manmade systems such as air conditioning systems. However, you can reduce the risk of disease and illness by organising regular air conditioning cleaning and duct work cleaning. 

Prevent Vermin in Your kitchen

As well as being a breeding ground for bacteria, dirty grease extract ducts can attract mice and other rodents – the last thing you want in your kitchen when the health inspector calls! Vermin can contaminate food with bacteria, such as Ecoli and salmonella, which can threaten the health of your staff and customers and could threaten the future of your business. 

Keep Your Finances Afloat

While some restaurant owners are worried about the initial cost of duct work cleaning, proper hygiene standards will save you money in the long run and prevent a possible disaster. Restaurants that don’t employ proper hygiene standards could face a fine or prosecution and, if a fire breaks out in your premises as a result of unclean grease extractor ducts, the chances are you won’t be covered by insurance.

Save Your Restaurant’s Reputation

If word gets out about poor hygiene practices at your premises, resulting in illness or an outbreak of fire, this can cause untold damage to the reputation of your restaurant and ultimately result in business closure.  

The best way of avoiding any potential disasters in your kitchen is by employing good hygiene practices, which includes regular air conditioning clean ing and duct work cleaning. Just contact the experts, Ingot Services, today on 0800 731 7892 for a free of charge quotation.

Ductwork Cleaning – Preventing Restaurant Fires Caused by the Build-up of Grease

Ductwork Cleaning – What Three London Restaurant Owners Are Wishing They Had Done

If you are a restaurant owner, avoiding good safety and hygiene practices, such as regular ductwork cleaning, can have catastrophic consequences – as three London restaurant owners discovered to their peril on the same day earlier this year (July, 2013). All of the fires detailed below started in the ventilation system, and London’s Fire Brigade warned that the likely cause of all three blazes was the lack of commercial duct cleaning.

At the start of the day, more than 20 fire fighters tackled a morning blaze in a Central London restaurant in Lisle Street. Station manager Charlie Pugsley said the fire started in the building’s ventilation system, and urged businesses to keep their equipment clean to prevent the build-up of grease and fat.

The nine people who were in the building at the time were uninjured in the blaze, which ravaged the building’s ventilation system and tore through part of the basement.

In the afternoon, 21 fire fighters took just over an hour to bring flames under control in a restaurant in Boundary Road, St John’s Wood; the blaze wrecked two floors of the eatery’s extraction system.

Finally, crews issued another warning to restaurant owners after four people escaped unscathed from a takeaway restaurant in Bartholomew Street, Southwark. The blaze - which occurred just over an hour after the second incident - was severe enough to completely destroy the shop’s ventilation system.

A spokesman for the London fire brigade warned restaurants to take heed and have the right measures in place for ductwork cleaning to prevent a build-up of cooking materials which can cause a fire.

How to Prevent Duct Work Fires

Unfortunately, fires caused by a lack of ductwork cleaning are not just possible in theory, but almost inevitable if the restaurant owners don’t have proper measures in place to eliminate the build-up of dirt.  

If grime and cooking materials are not cleared from the ventilation system, a stray spark can ignite the grease, due to the presence of flames and high temperatures involved in the general cooking process.

The consequences of poor hygiene practices can be catastrophic, as they will not only put staff and customers at risk, but can also cause damage the business as a whole.

Restaurants with ductwork that has not been cleaned by competent specialists also almost certainly aren’t insured in the event of a fire – so a fire could be more than just a temporary blip in your business.

However, restaurant fires can be so easily prevented by regular duct cleaning, and this is simple to organise. Just contact Ingot Services, the experts in commercial duct cleaning, who will take all the worry out of your hands.

About Ingot

Ingot provides a complete duct cleaning service which also includes inspections and filter cleaning. Give Ingot a call on 0800 731 7892 for a free of charge ductwork cleaning quote and get complete peace of mind today.

Duct Work Cleaning: Ingot Services Gives Health and Safety Advice

Ten Ways to Improve the Health and Safety of Your Commercial Kitchen

Health and safety issues are vital in all workplaces, but there are special rules governing commercial kitchens. Duct work cleaning specialists Ingot Services have put together 10 tips to help ensure your kitchen meets the highest standards of hygiene and safety.

Assess Risks – Carrying out a risk assessment is a legal requirement, but it is also the vital first step in ensuring that the workplace is as safe as possible.

Training – Ensure that staff are fully trained in dealing with all the hazards in the workplace, including any aspects highlighted by the risk assessment. Training must constantly be adapted to any changes in equipment or kitchen layout, as well as any updates in the law. 

Maintaining Equipment – It's estimated that around 65% of accidents in catering are related to maintenance. This emphasises just how important proper upkeep of equipment is, especially in the case of gas and electrical appliances, where there are strict regulations to follow. Be careful during maintenance, as there can be a risk of accidents while this work is being done.

Cleaning Regime – Commercial kitchen cleaning is a vital daily regime, and essential for the health of staff and customers alike. However, the strong chemicals used for cleaning in a commercial kitchen pose hazards, and it is important to use all these substances correctly. Make sure floors are not left wet after cleaning, as many accidents are caused by slippery surfaces.

Fire Safety – All cooking equipment must be correctly installed and operated, including deep fat fryers which can pose particular hazards. Duct work cleaning is also part of fire prevention, as grease in HVAC systems can cause a blaze. You also need to ensure you have appropriate fire extinguishers, a fire blanket and smoke detectors. Sensitive detectors are now available which will not be set off by normal cooking.

Handling Equipment Correctly – Kitchen staff face many hazards during their working day, from chemicals and hot ovens to machinery. Accidents from knives are especially common, so it is vital that staff are properly trained in using and sharpening them. 

Heavy Lifting – Some kitchen equipment is heavy, and injuries can easily be caused by lifting or pulling items. It is important to be careful to avoid staff hurting their backs, and you could consider actions such as using trolleys where possible. 

Storage – Equipment, chemicals and food must all be stored safely and any flammable substances must be kept away from sources of heat. Cleaning chemicals should be kept in their original containers where possible, while knives need to be stored suitably and never left lying on surfaces.

Wear the Right Clothing – Covering or tying back hair in the kitchen isn't just important for hygiene, but also to prevent hair getting caught in machinery or posing a fire hazard. Staff should also wear the right protective clothing when handling dangerous substances.

Ventilation – One of the most vital health and safety measures is to carry out regular duct work cleaning. This will ensure that there is no build-up of dirt and grease which could pose a fire hazard and create hygiene risks. To comply with the law, this work must be done regularly and by professionals. Ingot Services are fully accredited HVAC specialists who can help you ensure that your ventilation system is clean and safe and complies with all relevant regulations.

Duct Work Cleaning  – click here for details about our service.

Duct Work Cleaning: Advice from Ingot Services on Keeping HVAC Systems Clean

Flu Season: The Importance of Clean Ventilation Systems

As the flu season arrives, it is essential to be meticulous about hygiene in order to avoid spreading germs, and duct work cleaning is an aspect of this that must not be forgotten.

Every winter, many of us have flu jabs at the start of the season. These are provided on the NHS for older people and those who suffer from various health conditions. Small children are now also being offered a routine immunisation via a nasal spray. In addition, some employers provide injections for their workforce and it is possible to have an injection privately at a chemist's. 

There are also annual advertising campaigns advising people to be careful about hygiene, for instance by washing hands frequently and throwing away tissues rather than leaving them lying around. Recent outbreaks of swine flu have raised awareness of how vital these measures are and there is an increased knowledge that surfaces can harbour germs and pass them on to other people. 

To minimise this risk, sanitiser gels are used in many workplaces, especially in hospitals and health clinics, but also in offices and factories. Some people even carry a bottle of gel around for extra reassurance. Wrapping up warmly, eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, and giving up smoking are additional ways to boost health in the flu season.

Workplace Hygiene to Guard Against Disease

At the same time as emphasising personal health and hygiene, it is also important to ensure the workplace itself is spotlessly clean and that germs and bacteria are not being spread around. Daily cleaning routines need to be carried out carefully and, in premises such as commercial kitchens, regular deep cleaning is also vital. Allowing any build-up of grease can all too easily let bacteria breed. 

Installing ventilation systems will boost to health by raising the air quality in a workplace. However, it is essential to realise that, if HVAC systems are not maintained properly, they can carry cold and flu viruses and spread them to other people. More serious illnesses, such as superbugs, can also be spread via ventilation pipework.

Another problem is that if dust and dirt are allowed to build up in ductwork systems, these can also lead to allergy symptoms and sinus or respiratory problems, which can make it harder to fight off colds and other infections, including flu. This means that duct work cleaning is vital to remove the risks of spreading dirt and illness. It is also important this is done regularly and professionally to avoid any build-up of debris and maintain a high standard of cleanliness. There is a legal requirement for all HVAC systems to be cleaned every two years, but in some types of building this needs to be done more often, depending on the type of business and the level of use.

About Ingot Services

If you want your ventilation system cleaned as the flu season approaches, Ingot Services are experts in duct work cleaning and provide a professional and reliable service to customers in Suffolk and across the UK. We will advise you on drawing up a schedule for cleaning your HVAC system regularly, clear filters in between full cleans, and provide you with the paperwork you need for your records.

Duct Work Cleaning  – click here to find out more.