Hertfordshire · Ductwork cleaning
Ductwork cleaning in Charlton, Hertfordshire
Ductwork cleaning in Charlton from ventilation hygiene specialists trading since 2009. Out-of-hours visits and 24/7 emergency callout.
- Ductwork that has never been cleaned
- Stale grease odours from the duct
- Readings above 200 microns from a grease thickness test
Ductwork cleaning in Charlton
Once air leaves the canopy, it travels through ductwork that most people never see. Grease settles along every metre of it and a fire in the duct can spread through the building. We clean it from the inside, through access panels, to BESA TR19® Grease. If you have stale grease odours from the duct and an insurer asking for TR19 evidence, we can put it right.
In a small place like Charlton, kitchens are often in older or extended buildings, with long single-storey duct runs, and those horizontal sections are where grease settles. We agree access and timings in advance.
The report is your system’s health record: a dated account with photos of everything we did. Grease extract cleans are also certificated to TR19® Grease through the BESCA VHE portal, ready for your insurer.
- Place
- Charlton (SG5)
- Wider area
- Hertfordshire
- Paperwork
- TR19® certificate and photo report
- Quotes
- A fixed price before any work starts
- Working hours
- Nights, weekends or holidays to suit you
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Updated
- 30 October 2026
What ductwork cleaning can’t fix
We won’t sell you work that does not address the problem, so these are the things it won’t cover:
- Duct sections that need replacing
- Faulty fire dampers
- Ductwork that was poorly designed
If you’re not sure, just call us on 0345 646 2711, or send details by email and we’ll give you a straight answer.
What the work covers
- Bends and junctions
- Horizontal duct runs
- Vertical risers
- Multi-storey ducts
- Attenuators
- Access panels
Ductwork cleaning in Charlton: the local picture
The Food Standards Agency lists about 31 bars, pubs and nightclubs and about 4 hotels, B&Bs and guest houses as registered food businesses across Charlton and its immediate surroundings (about a mile and a half). Where they serve hot food, their kitchen extracts need cleaning to TR19® like any restaurant’s. Charlton sits within the area of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. In most workplaces, including commercial kitchens, it’s the fire and rescue authority that enforces the Fire Safety Order. Environmental health officers from North Hertfordshire council inspect food businesses in Charlton. The cleanliness of the kitchen and its equipment, extraction included, is part of what they check. Before-and-after photos from each clean are a simple way to show the extract is in hand.
Healthcare kitchens can’t easily close, so their extracts are cleaned overnight or between meal services; the nearest hospital to Charlton is Lister Hospital, about 3.3 miles east. Volunteers running a hall kitchen near St Mary's Church, or anywhere in Charlton, may not know when the extract was last cleaned, and a grease test settles it.
Charlton is about 1 mile south-west of Hitchin, in Hertfordshire. Every kind of commercial site in Charlton, we can take on ductwork cleaning. We can work out of hours so trading is not interrupted. We cover 381 places across Hertfordshire, large and small. Milton Keynes is in our area too, about 22 miles from Charlton.
All of SG5 is covered for ductwork cleaning, from the main roads to the quietest streets. Close by, we work in Gosmore (1 mile south-east), Hitchin (1 mile north-east), Benslow (1 mile north-east), Bearton (1 mile north) and Westmill (1 mile north). Further out, we also cover Hemel Hempstead (15 miles south-west), Stevenage (5 miles south-east), St Albans (13 miles south), Welwyn Garden City (11 miles south), Harpenden (9 miles south) and Hatfield (12 miles south).
Around Charlton
Around Charlton, our work takes us to kitchens and buildings near Hitchin Boys' School, The Three Moorhens Public House and Kingshott School, among other places. Charlton’s nearest station is Hitchin station, about 1.4 miles north-east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include North Hertfordshire Museum (0.8 miles north-east) and Lister Hospital (3.3 miles east). Open spaces near Charlton include Markham's Hill and Oughtonhead Nature Reserve.
More services for Charlton
What affects the cost of ductwork cleaning
The price is fixed before any work begins. It’s based on:
- The scale of the work
- Any permits to work or inductions
- The condition we find in the survey
- The number of sites or systems
Combining work into one visit or one programme often makes better use of the time. Tell us about everything you’d like looked at and we will price it together.
What to send for a quote
Photos and a few facts are often enough to price the work. Send what you can of the following:
- The roof, plant room or outside wall the system runs to
- Any access panels or hatches you can see
- The site address and the type of premises
- Any previous report or certificate
Photos are enough for some jobs, while others need a look on site. Larger sites, and anything hidden behind walls, ceilings or floors, are normally surveyed first. Either way, you get a fixed price before any work starts.
Staff cleaning versus specialist work
A few tasks are always specialist work: entering ducts, working on fans, testing dampers and taking grease readings call for the right kit, training and safe access. That is our job.
Away from the kitchen, the in-house job is mainly checking: clear grilles, a log of filter changes and reporting anything odd. Cleaning inside ducts and units is specialist work.
What happens on the day
We turn up at the time agreed with you, often in the evening, overnight or at the weekend so the site keeps working. Anything that needs to be off for the work is switched off and left to cool before we start, and the area around the work is covered and protected. The work itself takes anything from a few hours to several visits, depending on the length of duct. Rural roads and tight entrances are worth telling us about before a visit to Charlton.
- We trace the duct and find every way in.
- Grease thickness is measured at set points.
- Out of hours, the area is protected and the access panels opened.
- Heavy deposits come out by hand, then each section is degreased.
- We close up, re-test, photograph and record anything out of reach.
Before we arrive
- Clear the space around the work
- Mention any sign-in, permit or induction we need
- Plan for cooking equipment or plant to be off before we arrive
Getting a quote
If you need ductwork cleaning in Charlton, ring 0345 646 2711 or send us an email. Let us know the site type and the opening hours, plus pictures or the previous report if they’re to hand. A fixed quote normally follows within one working day.
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How the job changes from site to site
Vertical risers
Risers often pass through floors and walls, so fire dampers may be fitted where it crosses them. Damper testing is a separate service.
Attenuators and discharge
The discharge is where the duct ends and air leaves the building. It can gather grease and mark the wall or roof around it, so it’s cleaned as far as safe access allows.
For landlords and multi-site operators
We work for landlords, managing agents and facilities managers as well as the people running the site. Shared systems, like a riser serving several units, need a clear agreement on who books the work, and we’re happy to quote for all of it.
The Fire Safety Order 2005 puts the duty to manage fire risk on the responsible person, and that can be the employer, the owner, a landlord, a facilities manager or a managing agent. Where responsibility is shared, records matter even more.
When to call us in Charlton
Slow air leaves the most grease behind. Long horizontal runs, bends, changes in size and the foot of a riser all collect more, and those are the points we pay most attention to.
Most sites get in touch when they notice something like this:
- A duct clean needed for an insurer
- Grease leaking from duct joints
- Hardened, baked-on grease in long horizontal runs
- Duct runs that cannot be reached
For schools such as Highbury Infant School and Nursery, kitchen extract cleaning is typically booked for the holidays, when the canteen is closed.
Questions to ask before you book
- Whether the price is fixed
- Whether the quote shows VAT
- Whether a written report and photos are included
- When the next visit should be, and why
Your questions about ductwork cleaning in Charlton
Who enforces fire safety at workplaces in Charlton?
That is Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. TR19® isn’t law, but it’s the benchmark many fire officers and insurers look to when they ask how often the extract is cleaned.
Can a school canteen extract in Charlton be done out of term time?
Yes. The holidays are the usual time for school work. Food Standards Agency records list about 12 schools, colleges and universities with registered kitchens within about a mile and a half of Charlton. Tell us your holiday dates and we will book the visit for when the site is empty.
Which sectors do you work in?
We work for restaurants, pubs, hotels, schools, colleges, hospitals, care homes, offices and shops, plus food production and leisure sites.
Can extra access doors be added to the duct?
Yes. The survey or clean shows where sections couldn’t be reached, and we can fit them so those sections are cleaned in future.
What does ductwork cleaning cost?
Every site is different, so each gets its own fixed quote. To get one, call us on 0345 646 2711 or drop us a line and tell us about the site and its opening hours.
Which accreditations do you hold?
We hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, alongside BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite membership, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. Vent Hygiene Elite is run by BESCA and independently audited.
What about areas you can’t get to?
They’re marked on the report. In ductwork, new access panels are often the answer, which we can install.
Do you survey before quoting?
Yes, every time. We diagnose before we treat: the survey shows what needs doing and what access we need, and the quote is based on that.