Kent · Canopy and hood cleaning
Canopy and hood cleaning in Old Wives Lees, Kent
Need canopy cleaning in Old Wives Lees? We diagnose first, fix the price and book the work around your hours, then sign off with a report and photos.
- A filter housing caked in grease
- Fat running down the front of the hood
- A greasy hood noticed by an inspector
About our canopy cleaning in Old Wives Lees
Think of the canopy as the mouth of the extract. A dirty canopy passes more grease further into the system. Our diagnosis starts there, and the cure is a thorough clean of the hood, the plenum and the filter housing. We are often asked to deal with a canopy that no longer draws the smoke away and fat running down the front of the hood, on wall canopies, island canopies and canopy light fittings.
Rural kitchens often have long, low duct runs through a roof space or along an outside wall, and those horizontal sections are where grease settles. Access, parking and timings are agreed before the day.
Our accreditations include CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and we are fully insured. We’re also a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, trading since 2009.
- Place
- Old Wives Lees (CT4)
- Region
- Kent
- Reporting
- TR19® certificate and photo report
- Quote
- A fixed price before any work starts
- When we work
- Evenings, overnight and weekends; 24/7 emergencies
- Phone
- 0345 646 2711
- Checked
- 30 October 2026
Why it’s worth doing now in Old Wives Lees
A greasy canopy is fuel directly above the flame. A flare-up can catch it and be drawn into the plenum and duct, where a fire is much harder to stop. Cleaning it removes that fuel. In a place like Old Wives Lees, ductwork and fans are easy to forget until something goes wrong.
The cost depends on the size of the system, what state it’s in and access to every part of it. You get a fixed price before work begins, so you know where you stand.
Why choose Duct Doctor in Old Wives Lees
- Fully insured
- Fixed quotes from a survey or pictures
- Member of BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease
- Accredited under CHAS and SafeContractor, with ISO 9001
What we do, step by step
Before we leave, we walk the area with whoever is on site. Anything we couldn’t reach or that needs attention is pointed out there and then, and the same goes into the written report. All told, the work takes an hour or two for one small canopy, longer where there are several. If the van will struggle with a lane or gateway near Old Wives Lees, let us know and we will plan around it.
- First the canopy is surveyed, by photos or in person.
- Cooking equipment is left to cool and the area under the canopy protected.
- We remove the grease filters and clean the plenum and filter housing.
- We degrease the canopy shell, its seams and the grease troughs.
- Clean filters are refitted and before and after pictures go into your report.
Before we arrive
- Mention any locked doors, roof access or ceiling voids
- Tell us where we can park and unload
- Tell us about site rules, permits or sign-in
Getting a quote
To help us quote: the address, the type of site and when it’s open, a few photos and the last certificate or report, if there is one. Once you have those, call us on 0345 646 2711, or send details by email.
Related advice
What canopy cleaning looks like in Old Wives Lees
The FSA’s food hygiene register shows about 3 restaurants, cafés and canteens in and around Old Wives Lees, up to about a mile and a half out. Any of those kitchens with a canopy has a hood that needs cleaning inside and out. Environmental health officers from Ashford council inspect food businesses in Old Wives Lees. An officer looking round a kitchen will see the canopy, and grease there is hard to miss. Keeping each certificate and photo report on file helps show the extract is looked after. The fire and rescue service for Old Wives Lees is Kent Fire and Rescue Service. Grease in a kitchen extract is a recognised fire risk, and the fire authority enforces the law on managing it in most commercial premises.
A kitchen near Chilham station that serves breakfast and dinner can run its extract twelve hours or more, which shortens the cleaning interval. Kitchens that cook twelve hours or more a day, as some healthcare kitchens do, fall into BESA’s three-monthly minimum; Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr is the nearest hospital to Old Wives Lees, about 5.1 miles east. A hall kitchen that only cooks for events, whether near Church of St Mary or elsewhere in Old Wives Lees, still needs its extract cleaned, just less often.
Old Wives Lees is about 5 miles west of Canterbury, in Kent. Anywhere in CT4, we cover canopy cleaning for commercial sites. Across Kent, we cover 922 places, and Old Wives Lees is one of them. We also work in Maidstone, around 19 miles away.
All of CT4 is within our area for canopy cleaning, from the main roads to the quietest streets. That includes premises on Cherry Orchard, Cobbs Hill and Green Lane and nearby roads. We also cover the places around Old Wives Lees: Chilham (1 mile south), Mountain Street (1 mile south), Oversland (2 miles north), Neames Forstal (2 miles north-west) and Shottenden (2 miles west). Within a short drive, we also cover Ashford (9 miles south-west), Canterbury (5 miles east), Sittingbourne (12 miles north-west), Folkestone (15 miles south-east), Whitstable (7 miles north) and Faversham (5 miles north-west).
Landmarks near Old Wives Lees
We work in commercial kitchens and buildings around Broadham Down and The Star Inn and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Chilham station, roughly 0.8 miles south-east of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Chilham Castle (0.9 miles south-west) and Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr (5.1 miles east). Green spaces nearby include Blean Woods RSPB Reserve.
Places near Old Wives Lees
More services for Old Wives Lees
Looking after it afterwards
A little care between visits keeps the system in better shape. We recommend:
- Refit filters the right way round and fully seated
- Report new drips or smells from the canopy
- Keep filters on a set cleaning routine
- Check and empty canopy gutters regularly
Keep the photo report with your maintenance log where an inspector can see it. Before and after pictures speak for themselves.
Run the extract for as long as anything is cooking. Turning the fan off early lets vapour settle on the hood.
What your team can do, and what needs us
A few tasks are always specialist work: entering ducts, working on fans, testing dampers and taking grease readings need training, the right equipment and safe access. Leave those to us.
Logging matters as much as cleaning. A simple log of filter washes, wipe-downs and checks shows an inspector that the system is looked after between visits, alongside our reports.
Part by part
Wall canopies
Long wall canopies often have several filter banks. We work along the canopy section by section, with photos for each.
Island canopies
Island canopies often have filters on two sides. Both sides are taken apart and cleaned.
Your questions about canopy cleaning in Old Wives Lees
Who would carry out a food hygiene inspection at a kitchen in Old Wives Lees?
Food hygiene inspections in Old Wives Lees are carried out by Ashford council. How often a business is inspected depends on the risk rating the council gives it, so it’s worth staying ready all year.
Can you come to Old Wives Lees after we close?
Yes, out-of-hours work is a big part of what we do. The site is handed back ready to open. When you call us on 0345 646 2711, or send details by email, mention when the site is quiet.
Who is responsible for fire safety on the premises?
That depends on who controls the premises. Under the Fire Safety Order 2005, it’s the responsible person, which may be the employer, owner, landlord, facilities manager or managing agent.
Is TR19 cleaning required by law?
No. The law sets the duty, and TR19® is the recognised benchmark for meeting it. Under the Fire Safety Order 2005, the responsible person must reduce fire risk, and many insurers can refuse or reduce a claim without proof of cleaning.
Can we book visits on a schedule?
Yes. Send details of the systems and how they’re used and we’ll propose a schedule with a fixed quote.
What do you need from me for a quote?
Where the site is, what it is and when it’s open, along with a few pictures and any previous report.
Do you look at the system first?
Yes. We always survey first, either from pictures and details you send or on a site visit. Then you get a fixed quote.
Do you provide photos of the cleaned canopy?
You get a photo report with before and after pictures. If the canopy is cleaned as part of a full TR19 clean, a TR19 certificate is issued too.
Managing agents and facilities teams in Old Wives Lees
Landlords, managing agents and facilities managers book us, not only the businesses that use the systems. Shared systems, like a riser serving several units, need a clear agreement on who books the work, and we can quote for the whole system.
Where a tenant occupies the premises but the landlord owns the building, it’s worth checking the lease for who maintains the systems. We can quote either party and send the paperwork to whoever needs it.
What a clean won’t put right
To be straight with you, there are a few things this work will not fix:
- Grease filters too damaged to refit (they need replacing)
- Ductwork and fans beyond the canopy (those need a full TR19 clean)
- A canopy too small for the cooking under it (that is a design question)
If you are not sure, just call 0345 646 2711, or email photos and we will give you a straight answer before booking.
Where we work
- Plenum chambers
- Baffle filters
- Island canopies
- Canopy light fittings
- Grease gutters
- Wall canopies