The kitchen canopy plays a massive role in any commercial kitchen. It is an exhaust system that captures and removes smoke, grease, and other airborne particles resulting from cooking.
Over time, these particles build within the canopy and its filters, forming thick grease deposits that obstruct proper airflow and pose serious fire hazards and health risks. Failure to address your kitchen canopy also results in drip trays overflowing, causing an unsightly mess and compromised hygiene standards.
Avoiding the safety hazards associated with an unclean kitchen canopy requires thorough commercial kitchen canopy cleaning. If you have a lacklustre approach to canopy cleaning, consider this: 70% of fires in commercial kitchens are caused by fat and grease buildup and faulty ventilation.
However, because this cleaning task presents a massive undertaking, it’s often overlooked, jeopardising the health of staff and patrons. But why should you pay attention to commercial kitchen canopy cleaning, and how can a cleaning professional help?
What are the Main Functions of a Canopy?
A kitchen canopy, also known as an exhaust or range hood, is a ventilation system created to eliminate airborne grease, smoke, heat, and odours generated during cooking in commercial or residential kitchens.
Canopy cleaning is vital for meeting kitchen ventilation safety standards, and building codes and safety regulations often require commercial canopies to guarantee the safety and well-being of facility occupants.
Australian kitchen canopy requirements include:
- Cooking appliances exceeding 8 kW of electrical power or 29 megajoules of gas must have a commercial exhaust ventilation system.
- Mechanical supply and exhaust systems are required when other means cannot provide natural ventilation.
- The canopy hood should contain rigid, hard-faced, noncombustible materials like stainless steel.
- The distance between cooking surfaces and the bottom edge of a grease filter varies depending on the intensity of the type of cooking.
- The exhaust hood must overhang the perimeter of the cooking equipment by at least 150mm.
- Light fittings within the canopy hood should be flush with the internal surfaces of the hood.
But what are the specific purposes of kitchen canopies?
Smoke and Odour Removal
Kitchen canopies capture and extract smoke and cooking odours produced during cooking, allowing commercial kitchens to maintain a cleaner and more comfortable environment.
Grease Filtration
The kitchen canopy provides filtration systems for kitchens that capture grease particles, preventing these particles from accumulating on kitchen surfaces. This purpose promotes fire hazard prevention and the risk of grease buildup in ductwork, an issue often considered in a fire risk assessment.
Heat Extraction
Heat extraction is another crucial component of a kitchen canopy, removing excess heat generated by cooking appliances. Extraction contributes to a cooler and more comfortable kitchen environment, ensuring your staff and customers can comfortably exist in your commercial space.
Air Quality Improvement
Kitchen air quality improvement is a crucial function of a kitchen canopy. A kitchen canopy helps improve indoor air quality by removing airborne contaminants, creating a healthier space for occupants.
Understanding Canopy Cleaning
Canopy cleaning is necessary for any commercial kitchen, but there are a few things to know before jumping into the cleaning process. First, it’s important to consider canopy and exhaust cleaning frequencies. How often you’ll require commercial kitchen canopy cleaning depends on the type of food you’re cooking and the frequency of use.
Generally, your filter and drip tray should be cleaned daily – forgoing this process results in fatty buildup that presents a fire hazard. Besides reducing the fire risk, cleaning your drip tray ensures your extractor works optimally and lasts longer.
Cleaning the canopy is another step to avoid safety hazards and ensure your system functions as expected. Ideally, canopy cleaning is a part of your daily routine, with periodic deep cleaning at least twice annually.
Finally, ventilation maintenance and duct cleaning should be performed frequently to minimise fire risks while promoting a clean and healthy environment.
Risks of Neglecting Canopy Cleaning
Neglecting canopy cleaning and kitchen exhaust system maintenance can lead to several issues that threaten your kitchen environment and the safety of your facility’s occupants.
Some of the main risks of forgoing canopy cleaning include:
Fire Hazard
Perhaps the most notable risk of neglecting canopy cleaning is that an unclean canopy can present a significant fire hazard. Kitchen grease buildup in the canopy and ductwork can become highly flammable, massively increasing the risk of a kitchen fire.
Grease removal services can help eliminate grease buildup to ensure your space is protected from potential fire hazards – something crucial, as more than 5,000 claims for fire damage occurred within a year in Australia.
Repairs
Not paying attention to commercial kitchen canopy cleaning means your canopy hood is in worse condition and more likely to need repairs. While all ventilation systems will require repair at some stage, keeping your canopy functional for as long as possible is essential to avoiding downtime and providing a safe facility for workers.
A potential repair you might need if you fail to keep up with canopy maintenance could be sealant coming loose from your canopy, causing chemicals to leak through onto sensitive surfaces at high risk for contamination. You can avoid this issue and guarantee a healthy environment by performing routine canopy cleaning.
Poor Air Quality
Without proper kitchen ductwork cleaning solutions, airborne contaminants like smoke, cooking odours, and grease particles will accumulate in your kitchen. This issue causes poor indoor air quality, leading to discomfort for occupants and presenting a potential health hazard.
Equipment Damage
As grease and debris accumulate over time, they damage your canopy and its components. Neglecting to clean your canopy might result in costly repairs or replacing your kitchen canopy filters and system.
Non-Compliance With Regulations
Following commercial kitchen cleaning regulations not only protects your occupants – it also helps you avoid legal issues, fines, or closure of your establishment that can result from non-compliance.
Keeping air circulating is the responsibility of the employer and business owner, so if your kitchen canopy isn’t up to par with Australian standards, you could be in trouble.
Increased Energy Costs
An inefficient commercial cooking environment naturally raises costs, and an unclean kitchen canopy might require additional energy. Regular maintenance guarantees the unit operates at peak efficiency, helping you reduce your energy bills to avoid overspending.
Best Practices for Effective Canopy Cleaning
Getting your canopy thoroughly cleaned is best done by canopy cleaning services experienced in Australia smoke and odour removal. This intensive work requires professional cleaners who have the right tools to dismantle the various components of a canopy and exhaust system.
Working with a professional like Lotus Commercial ensures you’re safe and helps you avoid damage to the system. Professionals can help extend your kitchen equipment longevity using cleaning products based on the surface’s raw material.
If you’re performing daily kitchen canopy cleaning practices, pay attention to installer recommendations. They can recommend the best detergent to use when cleaning the kitchen canopy. Additionally, follow the natural pattern of the surface material to avoid damaging the canopy’s texture, as abrasions can lead to grease accumulation.
Recommended Kitchen Canopy, Hood, and Exhaust System Cleaning Frequencies
Following a kitchen canopy deep cleaning schedule can help you ensure the safety of your commercial environment. Cleaning frequency depends on several factors, like the type of food being prepared, the cooking method, and the frequency that food is cooked.
Weekly or fortnightly canopy exhaust cleaning services are recommended for a heavy cooking load between 16 and 24 hours daily. Moderate cooking loads between 10 and 16 hours daily require fortnightly or monthly cleaning.
A general load operating for 6-10 hours daily will require monthly or bi-monthly canopy exhaust cleaning services. If you’re operating with a light load and cooking between 2-6 hours daily, quarterly, half-yearly, or annual canopy exhaust cleaning services are ideal.
Invest in an annual deep clean and certification regardless of your cleaning schedule. This process will remove fuel loads from the exhaust duct system, associated ducts, and roof exhaust fans.
The Importance of Canopy Cleaning By Professionals
Getting canopy cleaning services from companies with professional kitchen cleaning certifications is vital to your environment’s overall occupational health and safety. Many restaurateurs prioritise in-house staff for cleaning, forgetting that staff aren’t trained to clean kitchen canopies.
While you can clean your filter and drip tray in-house, the rest of your kitchen canopy should be cleaned by specialists with the right tools to dismantle the canopy’s components. Beyond ensuring you’re safe and avoiding damage to your canopy, professional services will help you prolong the life of your equipment, meaning you won’t need to replace it as often and can save time and money.
Guaranteeing safe kitchen staff working conditions is also possible when you choose professional commercial kitchen canopy cleaning services. These services create a cleaner working space to ensure the health of everyone in the kitchen.
Unlock Canopy Cleaning From Lotus Commercial
From fire hazard reduction to airborne contaminants removal and promoting better working conditions, there’s no underestimating the importance of kitchen canopy cleaning. Following the best practices for kitchen canopy cleaning requires help from experts like Lotus Commercial to get your canopy cleaner than ever before.
Lotus Commercial can help you achieve a kitchen deep clean that secures the health and well-being of everyone who visits your establishment. Contact Lotus Commercial today to unlock our cleaning solutions!