Monday, 11 February 2013

Degrease Is The Word – Top Tips To Keep Your Commercial Kitchen Extract Fan Spotless



 As commercial kitchen and duct work cleaning specialists, we are often asked our advice on aspects of health and safety, including cleaning the grease from extractor fans.

Keeping your commercial kitchen clean is an endless task, with many different aspects to consider. Cleaning the surfaces, floors, and the other visible areas within your kitchen are easily catered for with a daily and weekly cleaning schedule, but carrying out duct work cleaning for your kitchen extractor fan, with its many mechanical parts and hard to reach areas,  presents a much larger task.

Drawing up fumes, pollutants and airborne grease, your commercial kitchen extractor fan is a vital element of your safe and healthy workplace. Using duct work to take this contaminated air and remove it outside, the machinery inside consists mainly of heat pipes and fans, all of which need regular cleaning so that efficiency can be maintained, so that they don’t become clogged, and so that they don’t harbour potentially harmful bacteria.

Whether in a domestic or a commercial kitchen, keeping an extractor fan completely free of grease is near to impossible. But built up grease can be a big hazard, allowing dust and debris to stick to it and presenting the ideal place for bacteria to grow. Add to this the increased risk of fire from the fan overheating and it is clear to see the benefits of a regular cleaning routine.

Our Five Tips For Cleaning Kitchen Extractor Fans

1.   Regular, little and often

As is true with all cleaning, the more often you clean your kitchen extractor fan, the less effort and time it will take, and the lower the grease levels to be cleaned off each time.

2.   Cover everything else to avoid splattering

Sounds obvious, but covering the area underneath and for some distance around your extractor fan will ensure that the grease and grime you are cleaning off doesn’t fall and contaminate your other equipment and surfaces.  And you should wear protective clothing and gloves yourself – cleaning the extractor can be a messy job!

3.   Disassemble all the elements

Once you have ensured that the extractor fan is disconnected from the mains and any other power supply, your extractor fan can be taken apart and cleaned using the manufacturer’s instructions. The interior elements that will need cleaning will include the filter (unless it is a charcoal one, in which case it will need replacing), the fan (taking care not to get cleaning solution into any electrical components), and the light.

4.   Plenty of elbow grease!!

To degrease your extractor fan is no light weight task, especially as many extractors have highly polished or painted surfaces that will scratch should you use an abrasive cloth. Of course, with regular cleaning, less effort is needed each time.

5.   Professional kitchen and duct work cleaning

While methodical cleaning can make your extractor fan work harder and longer for you, it is also just as important to clean the entire ducting that carries the grease and contaminated air outside for you – ducting that is difficult or impossible to reach through ordinary access methods. So to do a full and thorough duct work cleaning job requires professional help from someone who has the right tools and mechanical knowledge to enable them to reach every part of your duct work. In addition, it is a legal requirement to have your duct work cleaning done regularly by professionals.

Ingot Services – Your Professional Kitchen Extract and Duct Work Cleaning Company

With a proven track record of over 25 years in cleaning commercial kitchens, at Ingot Services we work with businesses across the spectrum of industries. We are fully HVCA registered, as well as being members of the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme and a Safe Contractor Registered firm. And when we have completed your duct work cleaning, we will provide you with a certificate, recognised by your insurers and fire authorities, to prove you have carried out your requirements by law.

To find out more about Ingot Services and our kitchen extractor fan and duct work cleaning services, please call on 0800 731 7892.



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