Southampton · Ductwork cleaning
Duct cleaning in Itchen
Cleaning of kitchen extract ductwork, horizontal runs and vertical risers through access panels in Itchen, surveyed first and signed off with a written report and pictures. Ask us for a fixed quote.
- A rancid smell from the extract duct
- High readings at a recent grease test
- Grease leaking from duct joints
Ductwork cleaning around Itchen
Sea air reaches Itchen, which sits within about 1 mile of the coast. Salt air speeds up corrosion of roof-level fans, discharge cowls and their fixings. The Food Standards Agency lists about 42 bars, pubs and nightclubs and about 4 hotels, B&Bs and guest houses as registered food businesses in Itchen and the streets around it, up to about 1.5 miles out. Any of them serving cooked food has an extract to keep clean, from canopy to discharge. Environmental health officers from Southampton council inspect food businesses in Itchen. An officer looking round a kitchen will see the canopy, and grease there is hard to miss. A TR19® certificate and photo report after each clean gives you a record to show an inspector.
School kitchens, at schools like Ludlow Junior School for example, are typically cleaned in the holidays so no lunches are lost. For kitchens close to Woolston station, where the day often starts early and ends late, the extract can be cleaned overnight.
Itchen is about 2 miles south-east of Southampton, in Southampton. Whether your site is in the middle of Itchen or further out, we cover ductwork cleaning for every kind of premises, from small sites to large estates. Our area takes in 40 places across Southampton, from busy centres to quieter spots.
Work in SO19 and SO14 follows the same survey, fixed quote and written report as everywhere else we cover. That includes premises on Sea Road, Oak Road and West Road and the roads around them. Being close to the A3025, Itchen is simple for us to get to at any hour. We also cover Peartree Green (1 mile north-west), Northam (1 mile north-west), Sholing (1 mile east), Bitterne (1 mile north-east) and St Mary's (1 mile west). Larger places within reach include Shirley (3 miles north-west), Regents Park (3 miles west), Maybush (4 miles north-west), Coxford (4 miles north-west), Freemantle (3 miles west) and Lordswood (4 miles north-west). As one of the bigger places in Southampton, Itchen has commercial sites of every size, all within our area for ductwork cleaning.
Near you in Itchen
Typical jobs here are in premises near Houndwell Park, Woolston School and Oasis Academy Sholing, among other places. There’s a railway station in Itchen itself: Woolston station. A little further out are Bitterne Local History Society Heritage And Research Centre (0.9 miles north) and Marlands Shopping Centre (1.6 miles west). Not far away are Netley Common.
How we handle ductwork cleaning in Itchen
Not every duct has enough access panels. Where a section can’t be reached, TR19 expects it to be recorded on the report, and we can fit new access panels so it’s cleaned next time. An honest report beats a guess. The work covers bends and junctions, horizontal duct runs and access panels, and the jobs we see most are gaps where access panels were never fitted and readings above 200 microns from a grease thickness test.
Around a smaller place like Itchen, kitchen extracts tend to belong to pubs, cafés, takeaways and school or care home kitchens. Quieter kitchens still collect grease in the duct, just more slowly, so the interval is set by hours of use and grease readings.
Accreditations are easy to claim and worth checking. Ours are BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite membership, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, plus CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and we’re fully insured.
- Location
- Itchen (SO19, SO14)
- Wider area
- Southampton
- Paperwork
- Certificate plus before-and-after photos
- Quotes
- A fixed price before work begins
- Hours
- When your site is closed, plus a 24/7 line
- Phone
- 0345 646 2711
- Checked
- 30 October 2026
Landlords, agents and facilities managers
Facilities teams in offices, schools and healthcare sites book us too in Itchen and across Southampton. Larger estates can be phased building by building to keep disruption down.
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person must assess and reduce fire risk, and that can be the employer, the owner, a landlord, a facilities manager or a managing agent. With shared responsibility, good records help everyone.
What else we do in Itchen
Between visits
Once we have finished, these simple steps help:
- Ask for a grease thickness test if the kitchen gets busier
- Keep to the interval on the report
- Keep the fan on while anything is cooking
- Tell us if grease leaks from the ductwork
The report gives a recommended next clean date, worked out from the grease we found and how long you cook each day, in line with BESA guidance.
Watch for warning signs between cleans: grease leaking from duct joints, smells, or a fan that sounds rough. A grease thickness test can confirm whether a spot clean is needed.
In-house cleaning or a specialist?
Your own staff can handle the daily basics: wiping down canopy surfaces, cleaning filters and keeping a simple log. Inside the ducts, risers and fan is specialist work, which is where we come in.
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’ll take a look and give you a fixed quote.
What a clean won’t put right
A few issues sit outside what this work can do:
- Ductwork that was poorly designed
- An extract fan that has stopped working
- A damper stuck open in the duct
Not sure which it is? You can phone us on 0345 646 2711, or send details by email and we will tell you honestly.
Parts of the system we cover
- Bends and junctions
- Vertical risers
- Multi-storey ducts
- Attenuators
- Horizontal duct runs
- Access panels
FAQs for Itchen
Does the sea air around Itchen make a difference to ductwork cleaning?
It can. Salt air reaches Itchen, which is within about 1 mile of the coast, and it speeds up rust. Outdoor metalwork near the sea is worth inspecting at each visit.
Which council inspects kitchens in Itchen?
In Itchen, it’s Southampton council that carries out food hygiene inspections. It helps to keep the extract cleaning records with your food safety paperwork, so they’re ready if asked for.
What information do you need?
The site address, the type of premises and your opening hours, plus pictures of the system and your last certificate or report if you have one.
What happens if you cannot reach some of it?
We never leave them off the paperwork. You will know exactly which parts weren’t reached and why, along with a quote to put access in.
What paperwork do you give after a duct clean?
When the duct is cleaned as part of a full TR19 clean, you get a TR19 certificate and a photo report. It includes readings, photos and any unreachable sections.
Can we book visits on a schedule?
Yes. We run scheduled maintenance contracts, set at the interval the system needs. Each report recommends when the next visit should be.
Can extra access doors be added to the duct?
Yes, we fit access panels where the duct needs them. It means more of the duct can be cleaned next time, and the report will show where they’re needed.
Do you survey before quoting?
Yes. We always survey first, from your pictures and details, or with a visit where necessary. A fixed quote follows.
How it works
Your trading hours come first. Most visits are booked for when the area is out of use, such as evenings, overnight, early mornings or weekends. Once we are in, the area is sheeted and anything that has to be off is turned off and cooled, and the job takes a few hours for a short run, longer for long runs and tall risers. Because the survey comes first, a visit to Itchen can typically be finished without a second trip.
- Diagnosis: a survey of the duct’s route, size and access.
- A fixed quote follows, based on what we found.
- We clean section by section, working from panel to panel.
- We take extra care at bends and at the foot of risers.
- The duct is signed off with readings, pictures and a next clean date.
How to prepare
- Tell us about access, such as roof hatches, plant rooms, ceilings or locked areas
- Allow time for equipment near the work to be turned off and cool down
- Move anything stored near the system
Get a fixed quote
There’s no standard price list, because no two systems are the same. Instead, we look at your site first, from pictures or a survey, and then give you a fixed quote. To get going, give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or send us an email.
Read more
What the work involves, part by part
Multi-storey and shared buildings
In a shared building, the duct links the kitchen to other spaces, which makes keeping it clean all the more important. Your certificate and report give building managers the record they need.
Vertical risers
Risers are cleaned through panels at different levels. Where it can’t be reached safely, the report says so.
What we’re called out for in Itchen
A vertical riser can run up several floors. Grease collects on the riser walls and gathers at the bottom, where it can pool. Access along its height is needed to clean it properly.
The symptoms we’re asked about most are:
- Grease seeping out of the duct seams
- Gaps where access panels were never fitted
- Proof of duct cleaning for the insurer
- Smells of old cooking grease from the ductwork
If you run catering at a healthcare site, such as a hospital like Royal South Hants Hospital about 1.3 miles north-west, the extract may need cleaning more often than a part-time kitchen.
Questions to ask before you book
- Whether a written report and photos are included
- Whether the quote is based on a survey or pictures
- If the quote is a fixed price or an estimate
- Whether VAT is included