kitchen extract and ductwork

Kitchen extract ducts are sometimes known as grease ducts are used to vent any grease caused by deep fryers, stovetops, and other commercial cooking equipment to outside of the building, its main purpose is to be a fire protection system by ventilating the flammable grease to another place so it doesn’t cause a fire when it travels through the other areas. Non-commercial buildings are required to have separate extract ducts that are not connected to the main one, this is mainly for safety purposes.

Ductwork is a tube that is generally made from fiberglass that runs through a commercial building. It is part of the buildings air condition systems and is used to circulate air for better ventilation of a building and so kitchen grease doesn’t get clogged in the ducts and cause a fire. The cleaning of a duct is generally decided by the fire service and is very important to fire safety regulations.

The cleaning of kitchen extract ducts depends on the usage of the kitchen equipment, so if the usage is light and the equipment is being used for 3 – 6 hours a day it would require a deep clean of the extraction system and ducts should take place every 12 months , medium usage which would mean the equipment would be being used between 6-12 hours a day would require a deep clean every  6 months and heavy use of the kitchen equipment which would mean the equipment was being used between 12-16 hours a day would require to have a deep cleaning of the ducts every 3 months.

TR19  is the recognized industry standard for the cleaning of commercial kitchen duct work.  Many insurance companies are now requesting TR19 certificates to demonstrate that your extraction system has been cleaned to a suitable and safe level for operation.  This demonstrates that you have instructed a competent contractor to undertake your cleaning and thus reduces the fire risk to your property.

The consequences of not having TR19 certification is that you could be held fully liable in the event of a fire stemming from your extraction system.