Essex · Grease filter exchange
Lexden grease filter exchange
Grease filter exchange across Lexden and nearby, timed so the site keeps working and finished with a written report and photos.
- Smoke and heat lingering under the hood
- A canopy running with filters missing
- Filters left unwashed on busy weeks
Between visits
No system stays clean for ever, but care slows the build-up. A few tips:
- Watch for grease drips between visits
- Clean the canopy surfaces regularly
- Keep the canopy clear for exchange visits
- Never leave gaps in the filter bank
The canopy looks cleaner and the air moves better right away. Keep the extract running while you cook so the filters do their job.
Dripping filters are a clear sign they’re full. A clean set right away cuts the grease in the canopy, and it’s worth checking the plenum too.
Grease filter exchange in Lexden
The filters in the canopy are the first thing cooking vapour meets. They catch grease before it reaches the plenum and ductwork and they do it best when they’re clean. Our grease filter exchange service swaps dirty filters for clean ones on a schedule. If you have filters so greasy the air can barely pass and smoke and heat lingering under the hood, we can put it right, from school and hospital kitchens, island canopies and restaurants and pubs onwards.
Around a smaller place like Lexden, 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 cleaning is planned around how much it cooks and what the readings show.
The sign-off is always in writing: a written report, dated and illustrated with pictures, and for TR19® Grease cleans, a certificate issued through the BESCA VHE portal. Any parts we couldn’t reach are recorded on it too.
- Where
- Lexden (CO3, CO2)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Paperwork
- Written report with photos
- Price
- A fixed quote up front
- Working hours
- Evenings, overnight and weekends; 24/7 emergencies
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Reviewed
- 30 October 2026
When to call us in Lexden
Missing filters are more common than you’d think. Every gap in the filter bank lets grease straight into the plenum and on into the ductwork.
It’s time to book a visit if you see:
- Drips falling from the filters onto equipment
- Filters so greasy the air can barely pass
- Smoke and heat lingering under the hood
- Filters that come out of the sink still dirty
For schools such as Philip Morant School and College, kitchen extract cleaning is typically booked for the holidays, when the canteen is closed.
What your quote should include
- If the quote is a fixed price or an estimate
- Whether they’re fully insured
- How areas they can’t reach will be recorded
- What hours they’ll be on site
How we price grease filter exchange
The price is fixed before any work begins. It takes into account:
- Working hours and out-of-hours timing
- Where the site is and how we reach it
- The condition of the system
- Site rules, permits and inductions
Combining work into one visit or one programme can make for a more efficient booking. Mention every system or site you need covered and we will price it together.
Helping us quote
There’s no need for technical detail. It helps if you can send:
- Photos showing the whole system and its surroundings
- Close-ups of filters, grilles, hatches or access panels
- The paperwork from the last visit, if you have it
- The roof, plant room or outside wall the system runs to
If you need grease filter exchange in Lexden, call us on 0345 646 2711, or email photos. Let us know the site type and the opening hours, plus photos or the previous report if they’re to hand. We normally send a fixed quote within one working day.
Places near Lexden
Other services in Lexden
What a clean won’t put right
It’s worth knowing the limits before booking:
- Cooking smells reaching neighbours, which need odour control
- Grease behind the filters that a swap cannot remove
- A fan that is failing or too weak for the system
Not sure which it is? You can ring 0345 646 2711 or send us an email and we’ll tell you honestly.
Where we work
- Baffle filters
- Restaurants and pubs
- School and hospital kitchens
- Island canopies
- Mesh filters
- Wall canopies
Staff cleaning versus specialist work
In-house cleaning and specialist cleaning do different jobs. A daily filter wipe and a weekly filter wash keep grease down at the front of the system, but grease that has passed the filters is out of reach. Reaching it takes a specialist with the right equipment.
Day-to-day cleaning is something your team can do: wiping canopies, washing grease filters and recording it in a log. Inside the ducts, risers and fan is specialist work, which is where we come in.
Grease filter exchange around Lexden
The Food Standards Agency lists about 32 pubs and bars and about 6 hotels and B&Bs as registered food businesses within 1.5 miles or so of the middle of Lexden. Wherever they cook, the canopy, duct and fan collect grease just as a restaurant’s do. It’s Colchester council that sends environmental health officers to food businesses in Lexden. The cleanliness of the kitchen and its equipment, extraction included, is part of what they check. Our report lists what was cleaned and when, which is useful to have ready. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service covers Lexden. Grease in a kitchen extract is a recognised fire risk, and the fire authority enforces the law on managing it in most commercial premises.
Church and community hall kitchens, near Church of St Leonard or anywhere around Lexden, are easy to forget, but their extracts collect grease like any other. If you run catering at a healthcare site, such as a hospital like Essex County Hospital about 1 mile east, the extract may need cleaning more often than a part-time kitchen.
Lexden is about 1 mile west of Colchester, in Essex. We provide grease filter exchange for businesses, landlords and public buildings in Lexden and the rest of Essex. Across Essex, we cover 644 places, Lexden among them. Our Chelmsford page covers sites nearby (19 miles or so).
Grease filter exchange in CO3 and CO2 is surveyed, quoted and booked the same way as anywhere else. We cover sites on Park Road, Heath Road and Capel Road and nearby roads. Lexden sits on or near the A1124, which makes travel easy for grease filter exchange. Neighbouring places we cover for grease filter exchange include Camulodunum (1 mile east), Braiswick (1 mile north), Abbey Field (1 mile south-east), Colchester (1 mile east) and Beacon End (2 miles west). We also work in nearby towns such as Braintree (13 miles west), Clacton-on-Sea (13 miles south-east), Maldon (13 miles south-west), Witham (11 miles south-west), Halstead (11 miles west) and Heybridge (12 miles south-west).
Around Lexden
Typical jobs here are in premises near Lexden Park, Prettygate Infant School and The Sun Inn and the streets around them. Lexden’s nearest station is Colchester station, about 1.6 miles north-east. Well-known places in the area include Essex County Hospital (1 mile east) and Lion Walk (1.5 miles east). Open spaces near Lexden include Lexden Gathering Grounds.
Different parts, different methods
Canopy filter housings
We check that filters sit snugly in the housing at each visit since a gap is a route for grease.
School, care home and staff kitchens
A longer exchange interval may suit lighter cooking. The interval is set to fit.
Your questions about grease filter exchange in Lexden
Can you work in Lexden outside opening hours?
Yes, we can come after you close and finish before you open. The work in Lexden can fit around your hours. Just give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or use the quote form with your opening times and we will plan around them.
Who is the fire and rescue service for Lexden?
It’s Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, which covers Lexden. It’s worth keeping your fire risk assessment, TR19® certificates and photo reports together, ready to show.
Is TR19 a legal requirement?
No. The law sets the duty; TR19® is the benchmark used to show it’s met. Under the Fire Safety Order 2005, the responsible person must reduce fire risk, and many insurers can refuse or reduce a claim without proof of cleaning.
How far ahead should we book?
That depends on the slot you want and the size of the job. Mention your preferred dates with your enquiry, and if it’s an emergency, call us any time.
Can you come out in an emergency?
Yes, any time. For anything urgent, such as a fan failure or damage after a fire, ring the 24/7 line, and we will advise on what to do next.
Do you survey before quoting?
Yes. Every job is surveyed first, from your pictures and details, or with a visit where necessary. Then you get a fixed quote.
Where does the waste go?
Anything we remove is contained as we work and taken away with us, from grease and debris to used cleaning water. We don’t leave it behind.
Who is responsible for fire safety on the premises?
In the words of the Fire Safety Order 2005, it’s the responsible person. That’s generally the employer or the person in control of the premises, and in shared buildings more than one person can have duties. If you are not sure, check your lease and fire risk assessment.
How it works
At the end of the visit, someone from your team can look over the work with us. We point out anything that couldn’t be reached or needs a follow-up, and it goes on the report too. The visit takes well under an hour for most canopies. Your opening hours decide when we come to Lexden, not ours.
- We count and measure the filters in every canopy.
- A change schedule is agreed to match the kitchen’s cooking hours.
- On each visit, the dirty filters come out of the canopy.
- We fit clean filters and check they sit snugly in the housing.
- We flag any damaged filters or anything wrong with the canopy.
How to prepare
- Have your last certificate or report to hand
- Tell us the best time to work, such as after service or at a weekend
- Move anything stored near the system
Get a fixed quote
Photos are enough for some jobs, while others need a look on site. Big or complicated sites, and systems that are hard to see in photos, get a survey first. Either way, the quote is fixed before any work is booked.