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Over time every commercial kitchen ends up with deposits of grease, dust, grime, and steam that get caught up in the extraction mechanisms. Without regular professional cleaning, ventilation system contaminants can cause health and safety risks including reduced airflow, fire hazards, pest and rodent issues, bacteria that cause illness circulating the building, and unpleasant odors filling the building. Additionally, dirty extraction systems are the single greatest cause of commercial kitchen fires which can threaten both the building and the people within. These hazards make it essential to clean and maintain a commercial kitchen extraction system regularly and to a high level without exception. To stay in tip-top condition, commercial kitchens should be professionally cleaned at a minimum every three to six months to maintain compliance and safety. For more information on how important kitchen extraction cleaning is and why it matters for every food business, read on for full details below.
Vital For Air Quality and Airflow
An extractor system works by sucking contaminated air out of the space to ensure the environment stays pollutants and smoke-free. When the extraction system is not cleaned regularly, air quality in the kitchen can plummet, compromising breathability and individual safety. This often is caused by the increase in air pollutants that don’t escape as they should when an extractor system is faulty or functioning in a subpar manner. Regular cleaning removes grease and other contaminants to ensure equipment can function at optimal capacity. This will ensure the work environment benefits from efficient airflow, temperature regulation, and clean air that will keep the air safe to breathe in the building.
Cost Management and Reduction
A dirty air circulation and extraction system costs more to run – it’s that simple. This is because unfortunately, it takes more electrical and mechanical effort to work efficiently when the system is forced to overcome any blockages or impediments often resulting from a lack of cleanliness. This is never good for the financial bottom line of a business, especially when energy bills are already sky-high and making regular day-to-day costs a challenge to meet. Regular cleaning of the kitchen extraction system helps to prevent this by ensuring no grime and grease buildup will increase your energy usage. This will help keep business expenses lower and manageable.
Prevent Vermin and Pest Issues
Any grease and grime trapped in the extractor system offer food and comfort for pests encouraging them to infest the space and nest. Animals and insects, such as rats, mice, cockroaches and more, pose additional risks with their dropping and urine that will be further recirculated through the air systems, causing a host of illnesses and issues for building users. Cleaning the system and duct regularly will not only prevent this but remove any pest and rodent issues before they can fully infest a space and get into your kitchen.
Prevention of Unwanted Building Smells
An extraction system filled with an assortment of debris, grease, grime, and pests can cause horrible smells. These can permeate through not only the kitchen but the entire venue causing issues throughout the building. This can be as benign as old oil and food, all the way through to putrid rotting smells that can clear the space. Neither is good for a venue or anyone using the building so the best course of action is prevention. Cleanliness and maintenance are the only course of action to take that will ensure there are no health hazards, building use disruption, or client complaints and ensure the building and kitchen always smells fresh.
Avoid Allergens and Bacteria Flourishing
Allergies are, unfortunately, a fact of life for 1 in 4 people in the UK, and these can be crippling for sufferers. Working or spending time in a kitchen or venue with a compromised extraction system can exacerbate allergy issues. This can lead to more time off work for kitchen workers or even staff quitting if their symptoms are worse during work hours. Allergens trapped inside an air system will recirculate through a building and irritate the breathing, lungs, and allergies of anyone who breathes the contaminated air. To prevent this type of avoidable suffering and allergy flare-ups for staff and clients, the cleanliness of an extraction system is vital.
Fire Prevention
Another vitally important benefit of vent cleaning and extraction system maintenance is fire prevention. With the high temperatures created in a functioning kitchen, grease deposits can cause a fire to catch easily and quickly spread through the ventilation system. This spark and blaze endanger the lives of everyone who uses the building not to mention the building itself. Therefore, it’s vital to remove grease build-up to eliminate any fire hazards that can be prevented. This also ensures compliance with The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and any other legislation around fire safety. Additionally, the premises’ kitchen exhaust system will be checked during a routine inspection, so compliance is a must to keep the venue open and operating.
Compliance with TR19 Standards
Every commercial kitchen must aim to comply with the cleaning guidance in the TR19. These guidelines were implemented by BESA (Building Engineering Services Association) in 2005. This provides a comprehensive guide for commercial business cleaning and maintenance of building extraction systems with a focus on fire safety while also preventing food and air contamination. Commercial kitchens require TR19-compliance cleaning every three months to stay within guidelines and failure to comply has serious consequences. For example, if a fire were to break out, an insurance provider may not pay out if the standard was not implemented, leaving the business owner liable for repairs. They may also be liable for heavy fines for failing to take precautions for fire safety.
Discover Professional Extractor Cleaning Assistance?
When you require professional commercial kitchen cleaning assistance, be sure to contact J&I Grease Gone – the UK’s leading cleaning specialist. The company proudly delivers trustworthy solutions for all of your cleaning, safety, and compliance needs to keep every commercial kitchen up to code and safe for all users and diners.
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