Essex · Ductwork cleaning
Ductwork Cleaning in Foster Street
Our technicians work in Foster Street on ductwork cleaning. Out-of-hours visits, a fixed quote and a written report with photos on every job.
- Sections of duct with no access panels
- Grease leaking from duct joints
- Duct runs with no cleaning record
How the job changes from site to site
Bends and transitions
A bend can hold far more grease than a straight run of the same length. It’s scraped out and degreased, and readings are taken there before and after.
Access panels
Panels have to seal properly once they’re closed, so grease and air stay inside the duct. We’ll tell you if any panel needs replacing.
Ductwork cleaning in Foster Street
Duct Doctor has cleaned kitchen extract ductwork since 2009, working across London and the South East. We are a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, and our certificates are issued through the BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite portal. Common call-outs are for a duct clean needed for an insurer and high readings at a recent grease test, across bends and junctions, attenuators and multi-storey ducts.
Somewhere as small as Foster Street, commercial kitchens are few: perhaps a pub, a school or care home kitchen, or a hall used for events. Each still has a canopy and duct that collect grease.
Duct Doctor has been trading since 2009, as a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. We also hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and we are fully insured.
- Where
- Foster Street (CM17)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Paperwork
- Certificate and photo report
- Quote
- A fixed price before any work starts
- When we work
- Out of hours as standard, 24/7 emergency line
- Phone
- 0345 646 2711
- Checked
- 30 October 2026
What your team can do, and what needs us
For ventilation and air handling systems, in-house care is mostly about checks: clear grilles, a log of filter changes and reporting anything odd. Cleaning inside ducts and units is specialist work.
If your staff spot something between visits, like drips, unusual noise, smells or damaged filters, they should report it rather than try to fix it. We can diagnose it and quote.
For landlords and multi-site operators
Managing agents often deal with us directly. Send the address, what’s needed and how access works, and we’ll send a fixed quote.
From a single site to a large estate, the standard is the same: a survey first, a fixed quote, the work timed around the site and a report with photos.
How we price ductwork cleaning
We don’t publish a price list, because no two systems are the same. What we look at:
- A single visit or a regular plan
- When the work can happen, such as evenings, overnight or weekends
- How easy every part is to reach
- The scale of the work
Working hours, access and the scale of the site all affect the cost. We take each of them into account and give you a fixed price before any work starts.
Asking for a quote
Before you ask for a quote, gather:
- When the site is open and when it’s quiet
- Anything you’ve noticed, such as smells, noise, drips or poor airflow
- Photos showing the whole system and its surroundings
- Detail shots of panels, filters and grilles
Some systems can be priced from photos; 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.
Your questions about ductwork cleaning in Foster Street
Can school kitchens in Foster Street be cleaned in the holidays?
Yes. The holidays are the usual time for school work. The FSA’s register shows about 12 schools and colleges with food registrations within roughly a mile and a half of Foster Street. You can ring 0345 646 2711 or drop us a line with the dates the site is empty.
Can you work in Foster Street outside opening hours?
Yes, we can come after you close and finish before you open. Your customers, staff or residents in Foster Street needn’t be disturbed. Your opening times are the first thing we ask for.
How can I tell if my extract ducts are dirty?
We measure it. Using a Wet Film Thickness Test or Deposit Thickness Test, we check the grease at set points. A mean above 200 microns, or 500 microns at any point, means it’s due.
What do you do to protect the area?
Protection goes down first: sheeting over floors, worktops and anything close to the work. We tidy up and take our waste away before we leave.
Do you offer emergency callouts?
Yes. For anything urgent, such as a fan failure or damage after a fire, ring the 24/7 line, and we’ll advise on what to do next.
How much does ductwork cleaning cost?
The cost depends on the size of the system, its condition, access and timing. Ask us for a fixed quote, normally ready within one working day.
Which accreditations do you hold?
We hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and we’re a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. Vent Hygiene Elite is run by BESCA and independently audited.
What’s the cleaning interval for extract ductwork?
The duct is cleaned as part of the whole system, at intervals set by BESA guidance, ranging from 3-monthly to 12-monthly. Grease thickness testing shows whether that’s often enough.
Towns and villages near Foster Street
Other services in Foster Street
How the visit works
Everything the job needs comes with us, 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 from a few hours to more than one visit, depending on duct length and access. If the van will struggle with a lane or gateway near Foster Street, let us know and we will plan around it.
- We start by working out how the duct runs and where it can be opened.
- Grease readings are taken at set points along the duct.
- Access panels are opened and heavy deposits scraped out by hand.
- Horizontal runs and risers are then degreased by the method that suits the deposit.
- Post-clean readings and pictures go into the report, with any unreachable section listed.
Getting ready for the visit
- Arrange a key holder or contact on site
- Clear the space around the work
- Tell us about access, such as roof hatches, plant rooms, ceilings or locked areas
How to get a quote
For a fixed quote, ring 0345 646 2711 or email us with the site type, your trading hours and a short description of the system. A few pictures and your last certificate or report help a lot. We normally come back within one working day.
Advice
What happens if it’s left?
TR19® isn’t law, but the duty to manage fire risk is. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person must assess and reduce fire risk, including the grease inside the extract ductwork. Rural sites cannot always move to another kitchen or room when something fails.
What you pay reflects the actual work. That is why every job is surveyed first, and why the quote is fixed before any work starts.
Why us?
- Work around your opening hours, with 24/7 emergency cover
- A BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease
- One contact for all your sites in London and the South East
- Fixed quotes from a survey or photos
What ductwork cleaning looks like in Foster Street
The FSA’s food hygiene register shows about 11 cafés, restaurants and staff canteens and about 7 takeaways within roughly a mile and a half of the centre of Foster Street. The duct above a busy canopy coats itself in grease long before anyone sees it. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service covers Foster Street. Fire and rescue authorities enforce the Fire Safety Order in most non-domestic premises, and in a kitchen that fire risk includes the grease in the extract. Kitchens in Foster Street get their food hygiene inspections from Epping Forest council. Extraction counts as kitchen equipment, so its condition can come up on the day. Our report lists what was cleaned and when, which is useful to have ready.
School kitchens, at schools like Henry Moore Primary School for example, are usually cleaned in the holidays so no lunches are lost. A hospital like Princess Alexandra Hospital, about 3 miles west, is the kind of site where a kitchen may cook for patients, staff and visitors all day. A hall kitchen that only cooks for events, whether near Church of All Saints or elsewhere in Foster Street, still needs its extract cleaned, just less often.
Foster Street is about 2 miles east of Harlow, in Essex. We provide ductwork cleaning for businesses, landlords and public buildings in Foster Street and the rest of Essex. Foster Street is one of 644 places in Essex where we work for commercial clients. For sites nearby, see our Chelmsford page, about 14 miles away.
Our technicians cover all of the CM17 postcode area for ductwork cleaning and the streets around it. We cover sites on Foster Street, Highfield Close and Hastingwood Park and the roads around them. We also cover Hastingwood (1 mile south), Newhall (1 mile north-west), Latton (1 mile west), Magdalen Laver (1 mile east) and Housham Tye (2 miles north-east). Further out, we also cover Chelmsford (14 miles east), Brentwood (11 miles south-east), Billericay (15 miles south-east), Loughton (9 miles south-west), Waltham Abbey (8 miles south-west) and Great Dunmow (12 miles north-east).
What’s near Foster Street
In Foster Street, that means kitchens and buildings near John Barleycorn Public House, Passmores Academy and Brays Grove and the streets around them. Foster Street’s nearest station is Harlow Mill station, about 2.3 miles north-west. Well-known places in the area include Princess Alexandra Hospital (3 miles west) and Harlow Mill (2.4 miles north-west). For a walk, there’s Gernon Bushes.
Between visits
Results last longer with the right care. We suggest:
- Leave a way through to the access panels
- Keep to the interval on the report
- Run the extract fan throughout service
- Tell us if grease leaks from the ductwork
Keep the certificate and report with the fire risk assessment. An insurer, fire officer or EHO may ask to see it, and the photos make the duct’s condition easy to see.
Book the next duct clean before the date passes. If the kitchen starts cooking longer hours, the interval may need to shorten, and grease thickness testing will show it.