It’s essential to have an extraction system for a commercial kitchen, to prevent air pollution threatening the health of workers. However, the system itself can pose a range of threats if it isn’t cleaned and maintained on a regular basis. Besides harbouring germs and mould spores, a build-up of grease in the ductwork can create a more immediate danger — fire.
Kitchen Fires
Commercial kitchens are at constant risk of fire, and often, as in the fire at Liverpool Street Station reported by the BBC, the culprit is a ventilation shaft or duct. This is because a proportion of the grease extracted ends up coating the filters or ductwork of the system. The extraction system can generate a good deal of heat, especially if it’s not working at peak efficiency because of blocked filters, creating a flashpoint waiting to happen.
Ductwork cleaning specialist Filtrex Environmental recommends setting up a regular schedule of professional cleaning and maintenance. As Fire Risk Management journal points out, failure to do so could result in prosecution if it results in a fire. If the fire should cause fatalities, the charge is liable to be corporate manslaughter.
Consequences
Regular cleaning of your ductwork may seem expensive, especially if you have to close down operations while it’s happening. But, as Essentially Catering Magazine makes clear, avoiding this expense is a false economy.
Ignoring the need to clean your extraction system could invalidate your insurance policy in the event of a fire, while it’s also likely to lay you open to heavy fines and compensation claims. The likelihood is that you’d lose your business.
Cleaning and Maintenance
The whole system needs a thorough clean and overhaul on a regular basis by a professional company that specialises in the process. As the Essentially Catering article cited above makes clear, it’s important to find a company with a good reputation rather then just taking the cheapest quote.
The frequency depends on how much the system is in operation. Once a year is the absolute minimum for light use, but a commercial kitchen where the extraction system is in constant use must be cleaned at least every three months. In between, the filters need to be checked, cleaned and replaced on a daily basis by a trained member of staff, as part of your basic schedule.
If you’re in doubt how often your system needs to be cleaned, you can get advice from the local fire service, or from a specialist company such as Filtrex Environmental Tel: 01279 457590 alternatively you can visit their website at: https://filtrex.co.uk.
