There is a method to clean kitchen exhaust systems. There is a right way and a wrong way to offer this service. I’m going to go over here how I think the correct way is to clean a bell system. The first step is the tuning. All items are removed from the kitchen equipment. Then the lights go out. The equipment is covered with plastic sheets or a funnel is installed so that all the water falls into a barrel. Please note that all systems can be configured with a funnel.

Once the kitchen equipment is properly covered. We now contain the area that we covered with plastic from a point as high as possible, hopefully the ceiling to 3 inches above the floor in front of the kitchen equipment. This prevents water splashes from contaminating your kitchen.

The next step is to remove the grease filters from your kitchen exhaust system and place them where we are going to clean them. If possible, submerging them in a chemical solution to help clean them when we reach that stage.

Now that we’re set up, we look for panels. If there are panels, we open them up and scrape off the grease. We also do this to the bell itself.

Now is the time to go to where the fan is normally located on the roof, however many times the fan is located on the side of your building. At this point, a man stands on the hood armed with a vacuum ready to suck up the water. We then turn the fan over so that the duct and fan blades are exposed; you should note that it is code that each fan has a hinge hook set up specifically for this purpose.

Once the fan is flipped over, the action begins. Ductwork and fan blades are degreased and pressure washed. Then the fan is replaced. The inside of the fan top is now degreased and pressure washed. All this happens while water is pouring through the pipes at a rate of between 2 and 5 gallons of water per minute, depending on the equipment used. The man on the floor inside your kitchen deals with it while he falls. Teamwork is crucial in this job!

Once the fan and ductwork have been properly cleaned, it’s time to move on to the range hood. We move our equipment and ourselves to the ground, then degrease and pressure wash the hood as needed to get it clean. Scrubbing with steel wool and scraping with rigid heavy metal scrapers is sometimes required.

Once the hood is clean, one man blots the water from the hood with a towel and polishes the hood with a steel polish while the other man goes to attack the filters. Filters are degreased and pressure washed first from the rear and then from the front. When this is all done, we put the filters back in your sparkling clean kitchen exhaust system, clean up all the mess, collect payment, and leave it as we found it.