A quality exhaust hood system is the back bone to any properly running kitchen. The primary role of the system is to keep the air clean and the appliances grease / contaminant free. When the system is running efficiently it not only keeps the air and appliances grease and contaminant free, but it increases employee safety while decreasing the likelihood of a kitchen fire. A system with such importance needs to be properly maintained, otherwise you risk accidents or faulty appliances that can lead to kitchen downtime. 

The length of time between scheduled maintenance depends on the type of restaurant kitchen you are running. Firstly, how often is the kitchen being used? If you are running a 24-hour diner you are running kitchen equipment almost constantly and will require more regular maintenance and cleanings than say a child summer camp which runs the kitchen a few times a day during the summer months. The busier the kitchen is, the more food is being cooked and the more the exhaust hood system needs to work to exhaust all the grease and contaminants that are being released. 

Another factor in the frequency of scheduled hood maintenance and cleanings is the types of food you are cooking in your kitchen. When a kitchen uses solid fuels, such as wood or charcoal, there is significantly more residue left behind after use that requires more frequent cleaning. If you are an establishment that cooks with a lot of grease you are likely to have greater grease buildups that require more frequent cleaning as opposed to a kitchen that rarely uses the grease cooker. The more residue and grease left behind in your day to day operations will help dictate the time between each cleaning.

Most restaurants can get away with a quarterly schedule for cleaning and maintenance, however if you are unsure what is best for your kitchen it may be worth reaching out to a hood cleaning professional to see what they would recommend, or you can reach out to HoodMart’s expert staff to see what they would recommend. HoodMart provides our customers with a wide range of exhaust hood systems - from Compensating (Short Cycle) to Perforated Supply Plenum PSP - as well as all exhaust hood accessories such as hood filters, canopy hood lights, and curbs. If you still have questions regarding the purchase of your hood system, please feel free to contact one of our experts today by calling us at 1.800.715.1014 or by contacting us through our live chat system.