Medway · Ductwork cleaning
Ductwork Cleaning in Borstal
Looking for ductwork cleaning in Borstal? We diagnose first, fix the price and book the work around your hours, finishing with a written report and pictures.
- Gaps where access panels were never fitted
- A duct clean needed for an insurer
- A rancid smell from the extract duct
How we handle ductwork cleaning in Borstal
In doctor’s terms, the ductwork is the system’s arteries: find the blockages, clear them, then check the flow is right. Readings taken before and after show the difference, alongside before and after photos. If you’re dealing with an insurer asking for TR19 evidence and ductwork that has never been cleaned, we can help, from multi-storey ducts, horizontal duct runs and attenuators onwards.
Kitchens around a place like Borstal are often in older buildings or single-storey extensions, where the duct may cross a roof void or climb an outside wall. Flat runs collect grease and need proper access to clean.
The sign-off is always in writing: a dated report with pictures of the work, plus a certificate through the BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite portal when the work is a TR19® Grease clean. Any parts we couldn’t reach are recorded on it too.
- Place
- Borstal (ME1, ME2)
- Region
- Medway
- Reporting
- TR19® certificate and photo report
- Quote
- A fixed quote up front
- Working hours
- Nights, weekends or holidays to suit you
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Last updated
- 30 October 2026
What affects the quote in Borstal
A fixed price needs a few facts first. We look at:
- Where the site is and how we reach it
- How big the system is
- Whether it’s a one-off visit or part of a schedule
- The condition of the system
One small site or a whole estate, we price it on the same basis: the work involved, the access and the timing. You’ll have a fixed price before work begins.
What we need to know
You do not need the technical terms. It helps if you can send:
- The postcode and the type of business
- Close-ups of filters, grilles, hatches or access panels
- How we’d reach plant on a roof or in a plant room
- Any symptoms, from odd noises to smells or leaks
Some systems can be priced from pictures; others need a survey. Larger sites, and anything hidden behind walls, ceilings or floors, are normally surveyed first. Either way, the quote is fixed before any work is booked.
Multi-site and managed buildings
Managing agents often deal with us directly. Tell us the site, the work and the access arrangements and we’ll come back with a fixed quote.
Multi-site operators often want one contractor and one number. We work across London and the South East, so a run of sites can go into one programme and kept to a regular schedule.
Different parts, different methods
Access panels
Every section of duct is cleaned through an access panel. Without them, parts of the duct can’t be reached, and TR19 expects them to be recorded.
Vertical risers
Risers often pass through floors and walls, so fire dampers may be fitted where it crosses them. We test those as a separate job.
How it works
Our technicians bring everything the work needs, including protection sheets, the right tools and access kit. You only need to give us clear access and switch off what needs to be off. The visit takes a few hours for a short run, longer for long runs and tall risers. Tell us about any gates, ladders or locked plant areas at your site near Borstal when you book.
- First the duct route is traced and every access point noted.
- Grease readings are taken at set points along the duct.
- Through the access panels, thick grease is removed by hand first.
- The duct is degreased with the method that suits the grease, from degreasers to hot water or steam.
- We test again, take pictures and note any part that couldn’t be reached.
How to prepare
- Let us know how we reach the system, including roofs, risers and plant rooms
- Move anything stored near the system
- Find the previous report, if there is one
Getting a quote
For a fixed quote, phone us on 0345 646 2711 or drop us a line and tell us the type of site, your opening hours and roughly what the system looks like. A few photos and your last certificate or report help a lot. We normally come back within one working day.
Related advice
What we are called out for in Borstal
A greasy duct is a fire path, in Borstal as anywhere. Burning grease can carry fire through the ductwork to other rooms or floors, which is why the responsible person needs it under control.
The symptoms we are asked about most include:
- Proof of duct cleaning for the insurer
- Grease leaking from duct joints
- Ductwork that has never been cleaned
- Grease pooling at the foot of the riser
Temple Manor, about 1 mile north, is one of the historic houses near Borstal; if you run event catering at a venue like that, cleans can be booked between functions.
Comparing quotes
- Whether a survey comes first
- Proof of insurance
- If the quote is a fixed price or an estimate
- Whether VAT is included
Aftercare tips
Good habits slow the build-up between visits. Our tips:
- Get panels fitted where the duct couldn’t be cleaned
- Ask for a grease thickness test if the kitchen gets busier
- Do not switch the extract off early
- Diarise the next duct clean
When the duct is cleaned as part of a full TR19® Grease clean, a TR19 certificate is issued through the BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite portal. It shows when and where the clean was done and by whom.
Keep to the cleaning interval on the report. If the kitchen starts cooking longer hours, the interval may need to shorten, and grease thickness testing will show it.
What a clean will not put right
An honest diagnosis matters more to us than a booking, so here’s what ductwork cleaning won’t do:
- Parts of the duct with no way in
- Leaking duct joints that need repair
- An extract fan that has stopped working
If in doubt, give us a ring on 0345 646 2711, or email photos and we will say what we think.
What we work on in Borstal
- Bends and junctions
- Vertical risers
- Access panels
- Multi-storey ducts
- Horizontal duct runs
- Attenuators
Grease, kitchens and Borstal
Food Standards Agency data counts about 69 cafés, restaurants and staff canteens and about 42 takeaways in Borstal and the streets around it, up to about 1.5 miles out. Where they cook under a canopy, grease doesn’t stop at the filters: it settles along the duct and up the riser. Kent Fire and Rescue Service covers Borstal. The Fire Safety Order puts the duty on whoever runs a kitchen to control its fire risk, and a greasy duct is fuel. It’s Medway council that sends environmental health officers to food businesses in Borstal. An officer looking round a kitchen will see the canopy, and grease there is hard to miss. Before-and-after photos from each clean are a simple way to show the extract is in hand.
A hospital like St. Catherine's Hospital, about 1.1 miles north-east, is the kind of site where a kitchen may cook for patients, staff and visitors all day. Church and community hall kitchens, near St Matthew's or anywhere around Borstal, are easy to forget, but their extracts collect grease like any other.
Borstal is about 1 mile south-west of Rochester, in Medway. From the centre of Borstal to the outskirts, ductwork cleaning is available to all kinds of commercial premises, from a single unit to a large public building. Across Medway, we cover 68 places, Borstal among them. You can also see our page for Maidstone, about 8 miles away.
Postcode districts we cover here for ductwork cleaning: ME1 and ME2. That includes premises on Hill Road, Manor Lane and Mount Road and nearby roads. You’ll find Borstal on the M2, which makes it straightforward for our technicians to reach for ductwork cleaning. Other places close to Borstal include Rochester (1 mile north-east), Strood (1 mile north), Cuxton (1 mile west), North Halling (2 miles west) and Wouldham (2 miles south-west). Larger places within reach include Gillingham (4 miles east), Rainham (5 miles east), Park Wood (5 miles east), Lordswood (4 miles south-east), Twydall (4 miles east) and Hoo St Werburgh (5 miles north-east).
Near you in Borstal
Around Borstal, our work takes us to kitchens and buildings near Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, Former Ordnance Store At Chatham Gun Wharf and St John Fisher RC Comprehensive School and the streets around them. The closest station to Borstal is Cuxton station, about 1 mile west. A little further out are Six Poor Travellers House (1.3 miles north-east) and Rochester Castle (1.3 miles north-east). Not far away are Blue Bell Hill and Ranscombe Farm.
Nearby places to Borstal
Other services in Borstal
Common questions in Borstal
Can you get to a site in Borstal?
Yes, we work in villages as well as towns, and Borstal is covered. A survey first, from photos or a visit, means we arrive with the right kit.
Which fire authority looks after Borstal?
Fire safety enforcement in Borstal is handled by Kent Fire and Rescue Service. If a fire safety officer visits a commercial kitchen, they may ask about the fire risk assessment and how the extract is kept clean.
How long does it take to clean extract ducts?
A short duct can be cleaned in a few hours, but long or complex ducts may take several visits. We plan the work around your kitchen.
What accreditations do you have?
Our accreditations are CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and we are a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. The Vent Hygiene Elite scheme is run by BESCA and audited independently.
Do we have to stop cooking while the ducts are cleaned?
The duct is cleaned out of hours, so evenings, nights and weekends are all possible. The extract and cooking equipment need to be off.
Do you install duct access panels?
Yes. We’ll point out where panels are needed, and we can fit them so those sections are cleaned in future.
Can one contract cover all our sites?
Yes. Send the list of sites and the work at each and we’ll quote them together.
Do you look at the system first?
Yes, always. We diagnose before we treat: the survey tells us what the system needs and how to reach it and the fixed quote is built on it.