Wokingham · Grease filter exchange
Grease Filter Exchange in Reading
Specialist grease filter exchange for Reading: diagnosis first, then a fixed quote, the work and a report with photos. Call for a fixed quote.
- Filters left unwashed on busy weeks
- Filters that leave gaps in the canopy
- Grease filters clogged with grease
Grease filter exchange in Reading, done properly
An exchange visit in Reading does not take long. We lift out the dirty filters and fit a clean set, and we check they’re seated with no gaps. If something looks wrong, we tell you. If you’re dealing with filter washing that keeps being missed and blocked baffle filters, we can put it right, from mesh filters, school and hospital kitchens and baffle filters onwards.
Town-centre kitchens in a place like Reading often sit below flats or offices, with risers that run up the back of the building to roof level. A riser needs proper access to be cleaned top to bottom, and any section we can’t reach is recorded on the report.
Think of the report as the system’s health record: a dated account with pictures of everything we did. Grease extract cleans are also certificated to TR19® Grease through the BESCA VHE portal, ready for your insurer.
Why deal with it now?
A filter exchange is a few minutes; a choked extract affects a whole service. It’s one of the simplest parts of looking after the system, and one of the easiest to let slip. Larger sites in Reading are easier to manage on a planned schedule.
Kitchens, offices, schools and hospitals are all priced the same way: the size of the job, access, condition and working hours. Call for a fixed quote and we will explain each part.
Why choose Duct Doctor in Reading
- BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease
- Ventilation hygiene specialists since 2009
- A fixed price before any work starts
- Photo reports with every job
Take a look at what affects the cost and how to check a contractor.
Common questions in Reading
Which council inspects kitchens in Reading?
That’s Reading council, whose environmental health officers carry out food hygiene inspections in Reading. How often a business is inspected depends on the risk rating the council gives it, so it’s worth staying ready all year.
Which fire service covers Reading?
It’s Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, which covers Reading. Records of extract cleaning are a sensible thing to have ready if a fire safety officer carries out an audit.
What accreditations do you have?
Our accreditations are CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, alongside BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite membership, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. Vent Hygiene Elite is run by BESCA and independently audited.
Can you give a price for filter changes?
We price it on the number of filters and the visit frequency. Send us details or photos and we will quote quickly.
Do we need to close the kitchen while filters are changed?
A change takes anything from a few minutes to an hour or so, depending on the number of filters, so disruption is small. We will fit it around your service wherever we can.
Do you offer emergency callouts?
Yes. For anything urgent, such as a fan failure or damage after a fire, ring the 24/7 line, and we’ll advise on what to do next.
Can we book visits on a schedule?
Yes. Scheduled maintenance plans are part of what we do, with visits at the interval your system needs. Each report recommends when the next visit should be.
Does the report say when we need you again?
Yes. How often depends on use and condition, and we explain the reasoning on the report.
For landlords and multi-site operators
Managing agents often deal with us directly. Send the address, what’s needed and how access works, and we will send a fixed quote.
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person must assess and reduce fire risk, which may be the employer, owner, landlord, FM or managing agent. Where responsibility is shared, records matter even more.
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.
Logging matters as much as cleaning. A dated log of in-house cleaning and checks shows an inspector that the system is looked after between visits, alongside our reports.
Also near Reading
Other services in Reading
When something else is needed
To be straight with you, there are a few things this work will not fix:
- A canopy too small for the cooking beneath it
- A fan that’s failing or too weak for the system
- Grease deep in the extract system
If in doubt, call 0345 646 2711, or email photos and we will say what we think before booking.
Where we work
- School and hospital kitchens
- Restaurants and pubs
- Baffle filters
- Wall canopies
- Island canopies
- Mesh filters
How it works
Night work is normal for us. A lot of visits happen overnight or at weekends, so a kitchen or building can carry on as usual the next day. On site, the work takes well under an hour for most canopies. In Reading, bigger jobs are often split over several out-of-hours visits.
- The filters in each canopy are measured and counted.
- An exchange schedule is agreed to suit your cooking.
- The dirty set is lifted out.
- A clean set is fitted and checked for gaps.
- The dirty filters leave with us and the next visit is booked.
Before we arrive
- Make sure equipment near the work can be switched off and left to cool
- Mention any locked doors, roof access or ceiling voids
- Mention any sign-in, permit or induction we need
Ask for a quote
Getting a quote does not take long. Send a few details and pictures, and we usually reply with a fixed quote within one working day. If we need to see the system first, we book a survey around your hours.
Advice
When to call us in Reading
Kitchens in Reading, as everywhere, find filter washing slips down the list on busy weeks. A missed wash or two is all it takes for a filter bank to clog.
What we’re most often called out for:
- Grease collecting in the filter channels
- Blocked baffle filters
- Weak extraction at the canopy
- A canopy running with filters missing
School kitchens, at schools like Coley Primary School for example, are usually cleaned in the holidays so no lunches are lost.
Before booking anyone
- What hours they’ll be on site
- Whether they recommend a next date
- What happens if part of the system cannot be accessed
- Whether the figure could change on the day
Grease, kitchens and Reading
Food Standards Agency data counts about 287 cafés, restaurants and staff canteens and about 83 takeaways and sandwich shops within roughly a mile and a half of the centre of Reading. Swapping filters on a schedule keeps kitchens like these drawing air properly. Environmental health officers from Reading council inspect food businesses in Reading. Extraction counts as kitchen equipment, so its condition can come up on the day. Keeping each certificate and photo report on file helps show the extract is looked after. Reading is covered by Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service. The Fire Safety Order puts the duty on whoever runs a kitchen to control its fire risk, and a greasy duct is fuel.
If you run catering at a healthcare site, such as a hospital like Royal Berkshire Hospital about 0.8 miles east, the extract may need cleaning more often than a part-time kitchen. Commuter trade near Reading West station can mean long cooking hours, and long hours put a kitchen into BESA’s more frequent cleaning bands.
Reading is about 38 miles west of London, in Wokingham. Whatever kind of site you run in Reading, we can take on grease filter exchange. Visits can be booked for evenings, overnight or weekends so trading is not interrupted. 35 places in Wokingham are on our list, from busy centres to quieter spots.
Here we cover the RG6, RG31, RG1 and RG30 postcode area for grease filter exchange. Whether your site is on Downshire Square, Market Way and Market Place or a nearby road, our technicians can take on the work. Reading sits on or near the A4 and A33, which makes travel easy for evening and night visits. Close by, we work in Coley Park (1 mile south-west), West Reading (1 mile north-west), Newtown (1 mile east), Lower Caversham (1 mile north-east) and Whitley (2 miles south-east). Larger places within reach include Wokingham (6 miles south-east), Woodley (3 miles east), Crowthorne (9 miles south-east), Lower Earley (3 miles south-east), Winnersh (4 miles east) and Woosehill (6 miles south-east). Being one of Wokingham’s larger places, Reading has commercial sites of every size, and we cover all of them for grease filter exchange.
Near you in Reading
We work in commercial kitchens and buildings around Former Kennet Arms, Eldon Square and Kendrick School and the streets around them. Other local landmarks include University of Reading library (1.5 miles south-east) and Eurospeak Language School (0.5 miles north). The closest station to Reading is Reading West station, about 0.7 miles north-west of the centre. Well-known places in the area include The Oracle (under half a mile north-east) and Berkshire Medical Heritage Centre Museum (0.8 miles east). Green spaces nearby include Sonning Hill and Longwater.
Looking after it afterwards
Looking after the system between visits is straightforward, and it makes the next visit easier:
- Always run the extract while cooking
- Watch for grease drips between visits
- Clear anything stored on or near the canopy
- Clean the canopy surfaces regularly
Fresh filters improve airflow at the canopy straight away. Always run the extract during cooking so the filters do their job.
Damaged filters leave gaps in the defence. Replacing them early protects the plenum and ductwork.