Greater London · Ductwork cleaning
Ductwork Cleaning in Rotherhithe
Professional ductwork cleaning in and around Rotherhithe, timed so the site keeps working and signed off in writing with pictures.
- Smells of old cooking grease from the ductwork
- A duct clean needed for an insurer
- Gaps where access panels were never fitted
Ductwork cleaning in Rotherhithe
Ductwork in Rotherhithe is cleaned the same thorough way as everywhere else we work: we test the grease first, remove thick deposits by hand and degrease what’s left. Readings are taken again afterwards and photos go into your report. The work covers multi-storey ducts, bends and junctions and access panels, and the jobs we see most are duct runs with no cleaning record and high readings at a recent grease test.
In London, few kitchens can spare a day to close, so work in Rotherhithe is normally booked for the night or the early hours. Before the clean, we agree loading, parking and roof access with whoever manages the building.
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
- Rotherhithe (SE16, SE8, E1W)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Reporting
- Certificate and photo report
- Price
- A fixed quote up front
- Hours
- Evenings, overnight and weekends; 24/7 emergencies
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Last updated
- 30 October 2026
Leave it or put it right?
Under BESA guidance, the mean grease level should stay at or below 200 microns between cleans. Anywhere that reaches 500 microns or more needs immediate spot cleaning. Leaving the duct makes those limits harder to keep to. Shared walls, risers and roofs mean a problem at one London site seldom stays put.
Combining work into one visit or one programme often makes better use of the time. Mention every system or site you need covered, and you’ll get one fixed quote.
Why us?
- CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001
- A single point of contact for sites across the South East and London
- Trading since 2009
- Fixed quotes, typically within one working day
Take a look at what affects the cost and how to check a contractor.
For landlords and multi-site operators
Records are where multi-site compliance often slips. Each visit ends with a dated report and pictures, ready to show insurers, fire officers or EHOs.
We regularly work with managing agents. Tell us the site, the work and the access arrangements, and we’ll send a fixed quote.
Ductwork cleaning around Rotherhithe
The Food Standards Agency lists about 97 bars, pubs and nightclubs and about 15 hotels and guest houses as registered food businesses in Rotherhithe and the streets around it, up to about 1.5 miles out. A pub or hotel kitchen that cooks every day builds up grease in its extract like any other. London Fire Brigade covers Rotherhithe. In most workplaces, including commercial kitchens, it’s the fire and rescue authority that enforces the Fire Safety Order. Kitchens in Rotherhithe get their food hygiene inspections from Southwark council. 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.
Where a hall near Holy Trinity Church, or anywhere in Rotherhithe, hosts lunch clubs or events, its extract gathers grease just as a café’s does. If you run catering at a healthcare site, such as a hospital like St Olave's Hospital about 0.5 miles west, the extract may need cleaning more often than a part-time kitchen. If you run a café or takeaway near Canada Water station, early starts and late finishes leave little time to clean, so overnight extract cleaning suits.
Rotherhithe is about 2 miles south-east of Whitechapel, in Greater London. We carry out ductwork cleaning for businesses, landlords and public buildings in Rotherhithe and the rest of Greater London. Our area takes in 764 places across Greater London, from busy centres to quieter spots.
Postcode districts we cover here for ductwork cleaning: SE16, SE8 and E1W. Local streets include Bush Road, Gomm Road and Swan Road, all of which we cover for ductwork cleaning. Being close to the A200, Rotherhithe is simple for us to get to at any hour. We also cover the places around Rotherhithe: Surrey Quays (1 mile south), Surrey Canal (1 mile south), South Bermondsey (1 mile south-west), Millwall (1 mile south-east) and North Greenwich (1 mile south-east). Within a short drive, we also cover City of Westminster (5 miles west), Marylebone (5 miles west), Kensington (7 miles west), St Pancras (4 miles north-west), Walthamstow (6 miles north) and Hoxton (3 miles north-west).
What’s near Rotherhithe
Around Rotherhithe, our work takes us to kitchens and buildings near The Ship York pub, Bacon's College and Russia Dock Woodland, among other places. Rotherhithe has its own railway station: Canada Water station. Other landmarks nearby include St Olave's Hospital (0.5 miles west) and Tower of London (1.6 miles north-west). The countryside around Rotherhithe includes St. James's Park Lake and Tower Hill.
Different parts, different methods
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 test it before and after.
Vertical risers
In taller buildings, a riser may pass through several floors and fire compartments, so fire dampers may be fitted where it crosses them. Damper testing is a separate service.
What staff can safely do
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.
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.
Your questions about ductwork cleaning in Rotherhithe
Can school kitchens in Rotherhithe be cleaned in the holidays?
Yes, out-of-term visits are normal for schools. There are about 87 schools, colleges and universities on the FSA’s food hygiene register within about 1.5 miles of Rotherhithe. Tell us your holiday dates and we will book the visit for when the site is empty.
Which fire service covers Rotherhithe?
That’s London Fire Brigade. A recent cleaning certificate and a note of the next clean date show that grease in the extract is being managed.
How can I tell if my extract ducts are dirty?
Signs include grease dripping from joints, smells and a fan working harder, but the only sure way is to measure. A WFTT or DTT reading gives a clear answer.
How is kitchen extract ductwork cleaned?
We survey the route, test the grease, then open the access panels. We clean the runs and risers section by section, and test again when we are done.
How often does extract ductwork need cleaning?
It depends mostly on daily cooking hours. Kitchens cooking 12 to 16 hours a day need it at least every 3 months, while lighter use can go longer.
Are you accredited?
BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite membership, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, plus CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001. We’re fully insured and have been trading since 2009.
Where does the waste go?
We take it away when we go. During the work, it’s contained to keep the area clean.
How long does it take to clean extract ducts?
Short runs are quick, while long ducts and tall risers can need more than one visit. Visits are planned out of hours.
Keeping the system healthy
Looking after the system between visits is straightforward, and it makes the next visit easier:
- Leave a way through to the access panels
- Book the next clean before the recommended date
- Keep grease filters clean and fitted whenever you cook
- Report any grease dripping from duct joints
Every panel we open is refitted when we finish, and the area around them is cleaned down. Grease and dirty water are contained and removed.
Keep the fan on throughout service. Moving air carries vapour through rather than letting it settle, so switching off early adds to the build-up.
What we do, step by step
Protection comes first: sheeting goes over floors and surfaces close to the work. Then we make the system safe and start. It takes a shift or more, depending on the length of the runs and the number of access points, and the area is cleaned down before we leave. Before any visit in Rotherhithe, we agree where the van can stop and how equipment reaches the system.
- We trace the duct and find every way in.
- Grease thickness is measured at set points.
- Once the kitchen has closed, we protect the area and open the panels.
- Thick grease is scraped out, then the runs and risers are degreased.
- We close up, re-test, photograph and record anything out of reach.
Preparing for the visit
- Dig out any earlier paperwork for the system
- Let us know how we reach the system, including roofs, risers and plant rooms
- Make sure someone can let us in and lock up afterwards
Get a fixed quote
Here’s what helps us quote: the address, the type of site and when it’s open, a few pictures and any previous report or certificate. Once you have those, phone us on 0345 646 2711 or use the quote form.
Related advice
What a clean won’t put right
An honest diagnosis matters more to us than a booking, so here’s what ductwork cleaning won’t do:
- Ductwork that’s corroded, split or holed (that needs a ductwork contractor)
- Fire dampers that do not close (they need testing and remedials)
- Undersized or badly laid-out ducts
Not sure which it is? You can call 0345 646 2711 or drop us a line and we’ll tell you honestly.
What we work on in Rotherhithe
- Access panels
- Attenuators
- Horizontal duct runs
- Vertical risers
- Multi-storey ducts
- Bends and junctions