Dallas, Texas had a population of 1,345 million people in 2018. It is also one of the most popular places for people to visit. Some even say there are more restaurants per capita of any city in the United States. That makes it a perfect place to have a restaurant hood cleaning business.
An example of a great place to stay in Dallas, Texas is the Omni Dallas Hotel. It is located at 555 S. Lamar and connects the hotel to the Dallas Convention Center via a sky bridge. It provides stunning views of downtown Dallas and showcases local history with art displayed throughout the place that features local Dallas artists.
The majority of commercial kitchens have at least one exhaust system. The exhaust system is in place to remove grease, dander, dust and other items that are airborne in a restaurant. It is installed over the grill and fryers and has filters and a duct system that vents out usually on the roof of the restaurant out of the turbine.
The process of hood cleaning begins with the installation of plastic sheeting that is held up by magnets. The sheeting is there to protect the equipment below it and it is placed in large trash cans to catch the water that removes the grease. The technicians will remove the filters and spray the duct and filters with an environmentally friendly chemical that is designed to break down the grease.
The filters are taken outside and hosed down with hot water from a pressure washer. If the filters are not cleaned properly, the grease will accumulate and harden that look like worms when flushed out. The problem with clogged filters is they do not perform well, and it can harm the system.
The pressure washer will then be used to rinse the duct to remove the grease and grime. The technicians will go up on the roof with the pressure washer to remove the grease and grime that has accumulated in the turbine.
The technicians will polish the hood to give it that “like new” appearance. Pictures are taken before and after to show the grease and grime was removed. They will also put a sticker on the hood indicating the date the hood was cleaned and the next recommended cleaning.
The pictures are important as the restaurant owner/manager can show their insurance company they had a professional cleaning done. Many insurance companies as well as Fire Marshalls are starting to demand the restaurant hood be cleaned professionally on a regular basis.
The National Fire Protection Association Code 96 has recommendation on how often the commercial exhaust system should be cleaned. Those recommendations are as follows:
* Annually is the kitchen is used infrequently. Examples of these places are churches, day camps, seasonal businesses and senior centers.
* Semiannually for kitchens that do a moderation volume of cooking.
* Quarterly for kitchens that are open twenty-four hours or do a lot of charbroiling.
* Monthly is the kitchen is cooking with solid fuel like hard wood or pellets.
Some restaurants rely on their employees to clean the kitchen exhaust system. That can be risky because they are on properly trained and can miss some areas especially the roof. If the turbine on the roof is not properly cleaned, grease can accumulate on the roof. There have been times when our technicians had to literally shovel the grease off the roof. Grease can be a fire hazard and if it does catch on fire it is difficult to put out. The damage to the roof and building could be devastating and if the insurance company finds out it was not professionally cleaned, they may not cover the damage.
Grease accumulation on the roof is also an environmental problem. If there is a storm, the grease can run down the side of the building and into storm drains. If that is detected by the city, the fines are high, and the clean-up can be costly.