Tips on how to keep your commercial kitchen clean

Cleaning the kitchen is probably one of the hardest cleaning jobs we do. Lots of elbow grease is the only real way of making sure it is done properly!

In a commercial kitchen, we all know that keeping ventilation and exhaust systems clean and minimising grease buildup will reduce the potential risk of fires in your premises. Australian Standard 1851.6 – 2012 requires each commercial kitchen exhaust system to be thoroughly cleaned at least once a year. Not only is this required for workplace health and safety, compliance to the Australian Standard can be crucial from an insurance point of view. If there is a fire and you do not comply – everything you have worked for is literally down the drain!

There are some general maintenance options to consider when it comes to cleaning – if you consider yourself a do-it-yourselfer;:

• manual scraping and washing by hand, climbing into the ductwork and scraping down walls and the exhaust fan as well
• wet washing the ducting and exhaust fan using steam or hot water and detergent – you can just imagine how very messy this would be!
• robotic systems using compressed air, rotating brushes, dry ice, vacuum or pressurised water. How much would this option cost – and then to have to do it yourself? No thanks!

That really sounds like hard work, and when you have been running your business 7 days a week overseeing staff, ensuring supplies are kept up, carrying out maintenance in your front of house area or shopfront – let’s face it, who has the time or the energy to do a 100% job on the cleaning of your ductwork and extraction equipment? Not you! However, don’t panic – there is someone who can help, someone who is like your fairy godfather – only they wave a steam cleaner and a scraper instead of a wand! Who you gonna call? Grease Busters!

There are a number of companies that specialise in commercial kitchen exhaust system cleaning and maintenance – and I am definitely not biased… at all… but I think that Grease Busters really is the best, by reputation and by recommendations from clients.

You do not need to ask us for details of works carried out for you, we will always supply you with the following items on completion of the job:

• before-and-after photographs
• a detailed system diagram of the kitchen exhaust system for future reference
• a full report on its condition
• a certificate of compliance.

We also leave you with a smile, happier staff, a nice fresh smell and a cooler kitchen.

We are all looking forward to being able to use the new technologies that are currently being developed which can help reduce the build-up of grease and aid the cleaning of ductwork. However, the use of such technologies will not reduce the legal obligation to undertake regular inspections and cleaning. Failure to satisfy inspections by statutory enforcement authorities (such as fire and environmental health authorities) can lead to closure of your business and even prosecution.

The main fire risk in extraction duct and ventilation systems is created by the excessive build-up of cooking oil deposits. The different cooking styles create different grease build ups: Asian cooking creates sticky, syrup-like grease that can become very adhesive to metal surfaces. The surface tension cannot be broken by normal scraping or with general purpose cleaning chemicals. Solid fuel cooked and charbroiled meats create grease – lots of it. A first layer of grease will bond to metal surfaces, and then additional layers of thick, heavy black carbon will build-up created by ash and grease from the cooking process. Sounds appealing, doesn’t it!

Never fear, grease busters is here to tackle all of that for you! Call us today and let us at it!!