Medway · Canopy and hood cleaning
Canopy and hood cleaning in Cliffe Woods, Medway
Professional canopy cleaning in and around Cliffe Woods, timed so the site keeps working and finished with a written report and photos.
- Heavy deposits behind the grease filters
- A hood coated in old grease
- Grease channels that no longer drain
Questions from Cliffe Woods
Who would carry out a food hygiene inspection at a kitchen in Cliffe Woods?
In Cliffe Woods, it’s Medway council that carries out food hygiene inspections. Ratings are published by the Food Standards Agency, so a clean extract and good records are worth keeping up.
Do you do school kitchen extract cleaning in Cliffe Woods in the summer holidays?
Yes. The holidays are the usual time for school work. There are about 3 schools, colleges and universities on the FSA’s food hygiene register within about 1.5 miles of Cliffe Woods. Booking early in the term gives the best choice of holiday dates.
Why is my canopy dripping grease?
Full gutters and a heavily coated plenum are the common causes. With nowhere to collect, the grease overflows, and condensation can carry it too. Cleaning the canopy and plenum clears it.
Can we book visits on a schedule?
Yes. Regular plans can run on 3, 6 or 12-monthly cycles, to suit the system and how it’s used.
Can I just have the canopy cleaned instead of the whole system?
A canopy-only clean is possible, but it is not a full TR19 clean. For TR19, the whole system needs cleaning, at intervals set by BESA guidance.
What’s TR19?
TR19® is the BESA specification for keeping ventilation systems clean. Since 2019, TR19® Grease has been a standalone specification for grease in kitchen extract systems, and TR19® Air covers general supply and extract systems.
What if parts of the system can’t be reached?
Anything we can’t reach goes on the report, with pictures where possible, and we tell you what would make it reachable, for example new access panels.
Are you accredited?
We are a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001 are in place too, and we carry full insurance.
Canopy cleaning for kitchens and businesses in Cliffe Woods
Duct Doctor has cleaned canopies and hoods since 2009. As a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, we treat the canopy as one part of a whole system, and we are fully insured, with CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001. If you have heavy deposits behind the grease filters and grease filters blocking between washes, we can put it right.
Work in a small place like Cliffe Woods starts with a call to agree access and timings, and the clean itself is the same full TR19® job as in any town: canopy, filters, duct, fan and discharge, with a certificate and photo report at the end.
We are CHAS and SafeContractor accredited, we hold ISO 9001 and we are fully insured. On top of that, we are a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, and we have been trading since 2009.
- Where
- Cliffe Woods (ME3)
- Region
- Medway
- Reporting
- Certificate and photo report
- Price
- A fixed quote up front
- When we work
- Nights, weekends or holidays to suit you
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Updated
- 30 October 2026
Keeping the system healthy
Results last longer with the right care. We suggest:
- Check filters are not leaving gaps
- Run the extract the whole time you are cooking
- Report new drips or smells from the canopy
- Do not scrape the canopy with metal tools
File the report alongside your fire risk assessment where an inspector can see it. Before and after photos speak for themselves.
Keep the fan running throughout service and for a short while after. Turning the fan off early lets vapour settle on the hood.
Common problems we fix in Cliffe Woods
A canopy in Cliffe Woods picks up grease at much the same rate as one anywhere else with the same cooking: it comes down to how long the kitchen cooks and what’s on the menu. Frying and grilling load a canopy far faster than steaming or boiling.
Look out for these warning signs:
- Condensation running down the canopy
- Fat running down the front of the hood
- Greasy streaks across the canopy
- Smoke hanging around the canopy during service
If you look after a school kitchen, at a school such as Cliffe Woods Primary School or anywhere near Cliffe Woods, the holidays are the usual time for a TR19® clean.
Before you book anyone
- Which accreditations they hold, and whether you can check them
- Whether the quote is based on a survey or pictures
- Whether the work can be done while the site is closed
- What insurance they carry
What happens on the day
At the end of the visit, someone from your team can look over the work with us. We point out anything that couldn’t be reached or needs a follow-up, and the same goes into the written report. The visit takes a few hours, depending on the size of the canopy and how much grease has built up. If the van will struggle with a lane or gateway near Cliffe Woods, let us know and we’ll plan around it.
- Diagnosis first: we look behind the filters as well as at the hood.
- Equipment is turned off and cooled, and the area under the canopy is protected.
- Thick grease is scraped away before the canopy is degreased.
- We finish the plenum, troughs and canopy and check them over.
- You get pictures of the result and a recommended date for the next clean.
How to prepare
- Allow time for equipment near the work to be turned off and cool down
- Mention any sign-in, permit or induction we need
- Let us know how we reach the system, including roofs, risers and plant rooms
Getting a quote
Quoting starts with a diagnosis, from your photos and details or, where that isn’t enough, a survey on site. After that, you get a fixed price for the work so you know the cost before work begins.
Advice
Part by part
School and staff canteen kitchens
In a school or workplace canteen, the canopy is often the only part of the extract staff ever see. We clean it and the plenum behind the filters, so what’s out of sight is dealt with too.
Plenums and filter housings
Behind the grease filters is the plenum. Grease that slips past the filters settles there, and it’s cleaned every time we clean the canopy.
What your team can do, and what needs us
If your staff spot something between visits, like drips, unusual noise, smells or damaged filters, it’s best reported rather than tackled in-house. We’ll take a look and give you a fixed quote.
Staff cleaning does not replace a specialist visit; it supports it. Clean filters and tidy surfaces slow the build-up, but hidden parts of the system still need specialist attention.
What affects the cost of canopy cleaning
Some jobs are bigger than they look, and some smaller. The main factors:
- How many systems or sites are involved
- Any permits to work or inductions
- The times the site is available
- Parking and loading at the site
Kitchens, offices, schools and hospitals are all priced the same way: how much there is, how we reach it, what state it’s in and when we can work. Call for a fixed quote and we’ll go through it with you.
Asking for a quote
Photos let us diagnose from a distance. The most useful are:
- Where the site is and what kind of site it is
- Detail shots of panels, filters and grilles
- The paperwork from the last visit, if you have it
- Problems your staff have spotted
Here’s what helps us quote: where the site is, what it is and its opening hours, a few photos and any previous report or certificate. Once you have those, phone us on 0345 646 2711, or email photos.
Kitchen extracts in Cliffe Woods
Sea air reaches Cliffe Woods, which sits within about 3 miles of the coast. Corrosion on the fan housing and cowl is worth a look at every clean, alongside the grease. Food hygiene inspections in Cliffe Woods are the job of Medway council’s environmental health team. The cleanliness of the kitchen and its equipment, extraction included, is part of what they check. A dated certificate in the maintenance file answers the question before it’s asked. Kent Fire and Rescue Service covers Cliffe Woods. Its fire safety officers can audit commercial kitchens, and grease in the extract is part of a kitchen’s fire risk.
Healthcare kitchens, like those at hospitals such as French Hospital (about 3.1 miles south), often cook for long hours, which puts them in BESA’s heavier-use bands. Historic houses near Cliffe Woods, such as Temple Manor about 3.1 miles south, are a reminder that older buildings with event kitchens can have long, awkward duct routes.
Cliffe Woods is about 3 miles north of Rochester, in Medway. Whether your site is in the middle of Cliffe Woods or further out, canopy cleaning is available to all kinds of commercial premises, from small sites to large estates. Across Medway, we cover 68 places, and Cliffe Woods is one of them. There’s also a page for Maidstone, about 12 miles away.
All of ME3 is covered for canopy cleaning, from the main roads to the quietest streets. We cover sites on Cardens Road, View Road and Brewer Road and the roads around them. We also cover the places around Cliffe Woods: Mockbeggar (1 mile south-west), Church Street (1 mile west), Lower Higham (2 miles west), Cliffe (2 miles north) and Higham (2 miles south-west). Further out, we also cover Gillingham (5 miles south-east), Chatham (5 miles south), Rochester (3 miles south), Rainham (7 miles south-east), Strood (3 miles south) and Luton (5 miles south).
Around Cliffe Woods
Typical jobs here are in premises near The Hundred of Hoo Academy, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Higham station, roughly 1.5 miles west. Nearby you will also find Huguenot Museum (3.1 miles south) and Pentagon Shopping Centre (3.6 miles south). Open spaces near Cliffe Woods include Gad's Hill and Rede Common.
What canopy cleaning cannot fix
We won’t sell you work that does not address the problem, so these are the things it will not cover:
- A fan that can’t pull enough air because it’s worn out
- A light fitting that does not work
- Ductwork and fans beyond the canopy (those need a full TR19 clean)
If you are not sure, just call 0345 646 2711, or send details by email and we will give you a straight answer before you book.
What we work on in Cliffe Woods
- Wall canopies
- Plenum chambers
- Canopy light fittings
- Island canopies
- Grease gutters
- Baffle filters