Kent · Ductwork cleaning
Ductwork cleaning in Shipbourne, Kent
Ductwork cleaning for businesses, landlords and public buildings in Shipbourne. BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease.
- A duct clean needed for an insurer
- Ductwork that has never been cleaned
- Readings above 200 microns from a grease thickness test
Kitchen extracts in Shipbourne
Shipbourne is about 24 miles from central London, well within the area we cover across London and the South East. Evening, overnight and weekend visits are all possible. The fire and rescue service for Shipbourne is Kent Fire and Rescue Service. 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.
If you run catering at a healthcare site, such as a hospital like Tonbridge Cottage Hospital about 4.8 miles south, the extract may need cleaning more often than a part-time kitchen. Older buildings often hide long, awkward duct runs, and if you run a kitchen at a historic venue in the area (Ightham Mote is about 1.1 miles north-west), access may need planning.
Shipbourne is about 3 miles north of Tonbridge, in Kent. We provide ductwork cleaning for businesses, landlords and public buildings in Shipbourne and the rest of Kent. Across Kent, we cover 922 places, and Shipbourne is one of them. For sites nearby, see our Maidstone page, about 11 miles away.
Here we cover the TN11 postcode area for ductwork cleaning. You will find streets such as Upper Green Road, Upper Green Lane and Back Lane, and we cover them all for ductwork cleaning. We also cover the places around Shipbourne: Budds (1 mile west), Yopps Green (1 mile north), Sheet Hill (2 miles north), Ivy Hatch (2 miles north) and Coldharbour (2 miles south-west). Within a short drive, we also cover Maidstone (11 miles east), Dartford (14 miles north), Sevenoaks (5 miles north-west), Royal Tunbridge Wells (8 miles south), Gravesend (13 miles north) and Tonbridge (3 miles south).
Local landmarks in Shipbourne
Typical jobs here are in premises near Ivy Hatch Nature Reserve, Hugh Christie Technology College and The Chaser Public House, among other places. Shipbourne’s nearest station is Borough Green & Wrotham station, about 3.3 miles north. Nearby you will also find Ightham Court (3.3 miles north) and Hadlow Tower museum (2.8 miles south-east). For a walk, there’s Barden Lake.
Ductwork cleaning for kitchens and businesses in Shipbourne
Every duct has its own route. Some run a short distance to an outside wall, others climb several floors to the roof. We map the route during the survey, so we know where to get in and how long it will take. If you have an insurer asking for TR19 evidence and grease leaking from duct joints, we can help, from attenuators, vertical risers and horizontal duct runs onwards.
Work in a small place like Shipbourne starts with a call to agree access and timings, and the clean itself is the same full TR19® job as in any town: canopy to discharge, then a TR19® certificate and a photo report.
We are CHAS and SafeContractor accredited, we hold ISO 9001 and we’re fully insured. On top of that, we are a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, trading since 2009.
- Place
- Shipbourne (TN11)
- Region
- Kent
- Paperwork
- Certificate plus before-and-after photos
- Quotes
- A fixed quote up front
- When we work
- After hours by arrangement; emergencies any time
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Checked
- 30 October 2026
In-house cleaning or a specialist?
For ventilation and air handling systems, in-house care is mostly about checks: clear grilles, a log of filter changes and reporting anything odd. The inside of ducts and units needs a specialist.
If your staff spot something between visits, such as dripping grease, a noisy fan, a smell or a filter that will not come clean, it’s best reported rather than tackled in-house. We’ll take a look and give you a fixed quote.
Common problems we fix in Shipbourne
Damaged or poorly fitted filters let more grease into the duct. More grease reaches the ductwork than it should, and build-up speeds up.
Most sites get in touch when they notice one of these:
- High readings at a recent grease test
- Duct runs with no cleaning record
- Stale grease odours from the duct
- Gaps where access panels were never fitted
A hall kitchen that only cooks for events, whether near Church of St Giles or elsewhere in Shipbourne, still needs its extract cleaned, just less often.
What to look for in a quote
- Proof of accreditation you can verify
- If the quote is a fixed price or an estimate
- How areas they can’t reach will be recorded
- When the next visit should be, and why
Between visits
So the system stays in good health:
- Book the next clean before the recommended date
- File each certificate and photo report in the maintenance log
- Keep access panels clear of stored items
- Ask for a grease thickness test if the kitchen gets busier
After the clean, the same points are tested again, giving you before and after readings. Photos of each section go alongside them.
Have access panels fitted where sections cannot be reached. It doesn’t stop grease forming, but it stops it building unseen.
What happens on the day
We start by comparing what we find with the survey or your pictures. If anything is different, we talk it through with the person on site before carrying on. From there, it takes a shift or more, depending on the length of the runs and the number of access points. In a small place like Shipbourne, the journey is planned ahead and the visit arranged around the site’s hours.
- First we diagnose: the route, the access and the grease levels.
- You get a fixed price before work starts.
- We clean section by section, working from panel to panel.
- Bends, risers and the base of each riser get extra attention.
- Readings, photos and a recommended next clean date complete the job.
Before we arrive
- Dig out any earlier paperwork for the system
- Let us know when the site is closed or quiet
- Name a contact who can let us in at the agreed time
Get a fixed quote
Photos are the quickest way to a quote: the system from a couple of angles, plus any access panels or hatches. Add the site type and your opening hours, and many jobs can be priced from that alone.
Related advice
How the job changes from site to site
Bends and transitions
The join where the canopy meets the duct is a common hotspot. We clean it from the canopy side or through a nearby panel.
Horizontal duct runs
Long horizontal runs need access panels at regular intervals. Where the gaps between panels are too long, we record what couldn’t be reached and can fit extra panels.
Your questions about ductwork cleaning in Shipbourne
Do you clean school canteen extracts around Shipbourne out of term?
Yes, and it’s the easiest time to do it. The FSA’s register shows about 3 schools and colleges with food registrations within roughly a mile and a half of Shipbourne. Tell us your holiday dates and we’ll book the visit for when the site is empty.
Can you come to Shipbourne after we close?
Yes, nights and weekends are routine for us. The work in Shipbourne can fit around your hours. Just call us on 0345 646 2711 or send us an email with your opening times and we’ll plan around them.
What should I send you?
Where the site is, what it is and when it’s open, plus pictures of the system and your last certificate or report if you have one.
Do we need to close while you work?
Not typically. The area we are working in has to be out of use while we are there, so we book a time when it would be closed anyway.
Who has the legal duty for fire safety?
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, it’s the responsible person: often the employer, owner or occupier. In shared or managed buildings, a landlord, facilities manager or managing agent can share the duty.
Can you clean ductwork with no access panels?
Without a way in, a section can’t be cleaned properly. We record those sections on the report and can fit access panels.
What does TR19 mean?
TR19® is the BESA specification for keeping ventilation systems clean. TR19® Grease, a standalone specification since 2019, covers grease in kitchen extract systems, and TR19® Air covers general supply and extract systems.
How much notice do you need?
For planned work, earlier is better, particularly if your next visit is nearly due. For emergencies, we take calls 24/7.
How we price ductwork cleaning
Some jobs are bigger than they look, and some smaller. What affects the quote:
- The size of the system
- Whether it’s a one-off visit or part of a schedule
- The number of sites or systems
- What state the system is in
What you pay reflects the actual work. That’s why every job is surveyed first, and why the quote is fixed before work begins.
Helping us quote
You don’t need the technical terms. It helps if you can send:
- Problems your staff have spotted
- The paperwork from the last visit, if you have it
- Any access panels or hatches you can see
- Your opening hours and when the area is out of use
Need a price for ductwork cleaning? Please give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or use the quote form and tell us about the site. We will explain what we’d do and send a fixed quote before you commit to anything.
Towns and villages near Shipbourne
More services for Shipbourne
Multi-site and managed buildings
Where a tenant occupies the premises but the landlord owns the building, the lease normally sets out who maintains what. We can quote either party and send the paperwork to whoever needs it.
We regularly work with managing agents. Tell us the site, the work and the access arrangements, and we will send a fixed quote.