West Sussex · Grease filter exchange
Hickstead grease filter exchange
For grease filter exchange in Hickstead, one call is all it takes: survey, fixed quote, work and sign-off. Fully insured, with CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001.
- Grease filters clogged with grease
- Gaps where filters have been removed
- Filters that leave gaps in the canopy
Your questions about grease filter exchange in Hickstead
Can you get to a site in Hickstead?
Yes, Hickstead is part of our area, however small the site. A survey first, from photos or a visit, means we arrive with the right kit.
Who inspects food businesses in Hickstead?
Food hygiene inspections in Hickstead are carried out by Mid Sussex council. Have your latest TR19® certificate and photo report to hand, as an officer may ask how the extract is maintained.
Will we have to stop cooking for a filter change?
An exchange does not take long, and we can come before or after service. The clean set goes in as soon as the dirty one comes out.
Which grease filters does the service cover?
We work with both baffle and mesh filters. We check what’s in your canopies first and set up the service around them.
Which kinds of sites do you work on?
Any site with a kitchen or a ventilation system to look after, from a single café to a large school. Hotels, schools, care homes, offices, shops and leisure sites are all part of our work.
Can we book visits on a schedule?
Yes. Plans on a 3, 6 or 12-monthly cycle are available, to suit the system and how it’s used.
Can you clean our existing filters instead?
Yes, that is an option. We will check your filters first because bent or damaged ones may need replacing.
What about areas you cannot get to?
The report shows them clearly. In ductwork, new access panels are often the answer, and we can fit those.
Grease filter exchange for kitchens and businesses in Hickstead
Baffle filters and mesh filters both fill with grease. Once they’re clogged, airflow drops and the fan has to work harder. A steady cycle of clean filters keeps extraction strong. If you are dealing with gaps where filters have been removed and blocked baffle filters, we can help.
In a village or hamlet like Hickstead, the kitchens that need extract cleaning are typically a pub, a school, a care home or a hall kitchen, wherever there is one. Each still has a canopy and duct that collect grease.
We are CHAS and SafeContractor accredited, we hold ISO 9001 and we’re fully insured. On top of that, we’re a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, and we’ve been trading since 2009.
- Where
- Hickstead (RH17, BN6)
- Wider area
- West Sussex
- Reporting
- Report and photos after the visit
- Price
- Fixed quote, normally within a working day
- When we work
- Out of hours as standard, 24/7 emergency line
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Updated
- 30 October 2026
Why it’s worth doing now in Hickstead
Dripping canopies and greasy smells often start with the filters. Left, it ends up on equipment, food areas and staff and that’s the kind of thing inspectors look for. With notice, the visit to Hickstead can be fitted around your bookings and events.
Putting the work off seldom saves money. Problems in a system tend to grow, which can make the next visit longer. If you’re not sure what’s needed, phone us on 0345 646 2711 or email us for straight advice and a fixed quote.
Why choose Duct Doctor in Hickstead
- Trading since 2009
- A BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease
- We are fully insured
- Fixed quotes from a survey or photos
See our cost guide and our accreditations.
Grease, kitchens and Hickstead
Food Standards Agency records include about 5 bars, pubs and nightclubs within roughly a mile and a half of the centre of Hickstead. Breakfasts, bar meals and functions all put grease into the extract wherever they’re cooked. Hickstead is covered by West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service. In most workplaces, including commercial kitchens, it’s the fire and rescue authority that enforces the Fire Safety Order. Kitchens in Hickstead get their food hygiene inspections from Mid Sussex council. Extraction counts as kitchen equipment, so its condition can come up on the day. A dated certificate in the maintenance file answers the question before it’s asked.
Where a hall near The Parish Church of St Peter, or anywhere in Hickstead, hosts lunch clubs or events, its extract gathers grease just as a café’s does. Healthcare kitchens cannot easily close, so their extracts are cleaned overnight or between meal services; the nearest hospital to Hickstead is The Dene Hospital, about 1.3 miles east.
Hickstead is about 3 miles west of Burgess Hill, in West Sussex. Whether your site is in the middle of Hickstead or further out, grease filter exchange is available to all kinds of commercial premises, from small sites to large estates. Our area takes in 371 places across West Sussex, from busy centres to quieter spots. We also work in Brighton, around 10 miles away.
Postcode districts we cover here for grease filter exchange: RH17 and BN6. We also cover the places around Hickstead: Goddards Green (1 mile east), Sayers Common (1 mile south), Abbotsford (2 miles east), Ansty (2 miles north-east) and Hurstpierpoint (2 miles south). We also work in nearby towns such as Crawley (10 miles north), Horsham (9 miles north-west), Worthing (13 miles south-west), Haywards Heath (5 miles north-east), Burgess Hill (3 miles east) and East Grinstead (14 miles north-east).
Local landmarks in Hickstead
Typical jobs here are in premises near St Paul's Catholic College and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Burgess Hill station, roughly 3.1 miles east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include The Dene Hospital (1.3 miles east) and Clayton Castle (4.6 miles south-east). Not far away are Wolstonbury Hill and Bedelands Farm Nature Reserve.
What affects the cost of grease filter exchange
Before we fix a price, we need to know a few things. We check:
- Site requirements such as sign-in and permits
- The scale of the work
- A single visit or a regular plan
- The times the site is available
No two sites are the same, so we price each one individually. The size of the job, how we reach it, its condition and the working hours all make a difference.
Helping us quote
The more you tell us, the more accurate the quote. When you get in touch, it helps to send:
- The roof, plant room or outside wall the system runs to
- Problems your staff have spotted
- Any access panels or hatches you can see
- Wide photos of the system and the area around it
Some systems can be priced from photos; others need a survey. Big or complicated sites, and systems that are hard to see in pictures, get a survey first. Either way, you get a fixed price before any work starts.
The process
There are three stages on the day: set-up, the treatment itself and the sign-off. Getting ready means protecting surfaces and switching off what needs to be off, while signing off means the written report and photos. The middle part takes longest, and that takes less than an hour in most kitchens. If the van will struggle with a lane or gateway near Hickstead, let us know and we will plan around it.
- We count and measure the filters in every canopy.
- Together we set how often the filters should be changed.
- Each visit starts with the used filters being removed.
- We fit clean filters and check they sit snugly in the housing.
- Anything we notice, such as bent filters or a dirty plenum, is pointed out.
Preparing for the visit
- Tell us where we can park and unload
- Mention any sign-in, permit or induction we need
- Tell us the best time to work, such as after service or at a weekend
Ask for a quote
To help us quote: where the site is, what it is and its opening hours, a few photos and the last certificate or report, if there is one. Then give us a ring on 0345 646 2711, or email photos.
Advice
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.
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.
Different parts, different methods
The plenum
The plenum is the space behind the filters. It collects whatever grease the filters miss.
Canopy filter housings
Every exchange includes a check of how the filters sit since a gap is a route for grease.
Do you need grease filter exchange in Hickstead?
Filters get bent and damaged with handling. Damaged filters do not sit flush and grease passes round them.
It’s time to book a visit if you see:
- Filters left unwashed on busy weeks
- Hand-washed filters that still look greasy
- Filters that leave gaps in the canopy
- Grease dripping from the canopy
Bursars and site managers at schools such as Twineham CofE Primary School tend to book extract cleaning for when the kitchen is empty.
Before booking anyone
- Exactly which parts of the system are covered
- How areas they can’t reach will be recorded
- Which accreditations they hold, and whether you can check them
- What records you will receive afterwards
Aftercare tips
Looking after the system between visits is straightforward, and it makes the next visit easier:
- Don’t refit a filter that’s bent
- Never cook with the extract switched off
- Keep filter exchange and TR19 cleaning on the same plan
- Make sure we can reach the canopy on exchange day
Between visits, check that every filter is still in place. Gaps let grease into the plenum so tell us if you need a replacement.
Saturated filters let more grease through. A regular cycle keeps the rest of the system cleaner between full cleans.