Reading · Grease filter exchange
Grease filter exchange in Sonning, Reading
Grease filter exchange for Sonning, from a team that has been trading since 2009. Out-of-hours visits and 24/7 emergency callout.
- Gaps where filters have been removed
- Grease building up behind the canopy filters
- Weak extraction at the canopy
Grease filter exchange for kitchens and businesses in Sonning
We run grease filter exchange for all kinds of kitchens in Sonning, from a single canopy to several. Visits can be timed around your service, so cooking isn’t interrupted. The work covers mesh filters, island canopies and school and hospital kitchens, and the jobs we see most are staff short of time to wash filters and grease dripping from the canopy.
In a village or hamlet like Sonning, the kitchens that need extract cleaning are usually 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, whatever the size of the place.
For insurers and inspectors, the record counts. So every job comes with a written report and photos, and grease extract cleans come with a TR19® certificate issued through the BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite portal.
- Place
- Sonning (RG4)
- Region
- Reading
- Reporting
- Written report with pictures
- Quote
- A fixed price before we start
- Hours
- Out of hours as standard, 24/7 emergency line
- Call
- 0345 646 2711
- Page updated
- 30 October 2026
In-house cleaning or a specialist?
Day-to-day cleaning is something your team can do: wiping canopies, washing grease filters and recording it in a log. What they cannot safely do is clean inside the ductwork, the fan or the risers, which is where we come in.
Keep a record of what your team does. A simple log of filter washes, wipe-downs and checks helps show that the system is managed between specialist visits, next to our reports.
What grease filter exchange looks like in Sonning
Food Standards Agency records include about 15 bars, pubs and nightclubs in Sonning 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. The fire and rescue service for Sonning is Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service. Grease in a kitchen extract is a recognised fire risk, and the fire authority enforces the law on managing it in most commercial premises. Kitchens in Sonning get their food hygiene inspections from Wokingham council. Extraction counts as kitchen equipment, so its condition can come up on the day. A TR19® certificate and photo report after each clean gives you a record to show an inspector.
A hall kitchen that only cooks for events, whether near St Andrew's Church or elsewhere in Sonning, still needs its extract cleaned, just less often. Term dates shape school work: for a school like Sonning Church of England Primary School, an extract clean fits neatly into a half-term or summer break.
Sonning is about 1 mile north-west of Woodley, in Reading. Sites in Sonning get the same service as everywhere we cover: a survey first, a fixed quote, work timed around your hours and a report with photos. 34 places in Reading are on our list, from busy centres to quieter spots.
Grease filter exchange in RG4 is surveyed, quoted and booked the same way as anywhere else. If you need grease filter exchange at premises on High Street, Parkway Drive and Pound Lane or a nearby road, we can help. Main roads around Sonning include the B478 and B4446, which makes travel easy for evening and night visits. If your site is just outside Sonning, we cover Play Hatch (1 mile north-west), Dunsden Green (2 miles north-west), Newtown (2 miles south-west), Caversham Park Village (2 miles north-west) and Littlestead Green (2 miles north-west). Further out, we also cover Caversham (3 miles west), Norcot (5 miles west), West Reading (4 miles west), Tilehurst Within (5 miles west), Shinfield (5 miles south-west) and Arborfield Garrison (6 miles south).
What’s near Sonning
Typical jobs here are in premises near Ali's Pond Local Nature Reserve, Bull Inn and Waingels College. For rail, the closest station is Twyford station, roughly 1.9 miles east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Berkshire Medical Heritage Centre Museum (2.5 miles south-west) and Royal Berkshire Hospital (2.6 miles south-west). Open spaces near Sonning include Sonning Hill and South Lake.
Common questions in Sonning
Do you work at weekends in Sonning?
Yes. We work evenings, overnight and at weekends. The site is handed back ready to open. Your opening times are the first thing we ask for.
Who is the fire and rescue service for Sonning?
It’s Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, which covers Sonning. Records of extract cleaning are a sensible thing to have ready if a fire safety officer carries out an audit.
Which records should we keep?
Everything that shows the system is looked after: reports, certificates, photos and your own cleaning or check logs. One maintenance log per site keeps it simple.
Do you recommend a next date?
Yes. We put a recommended next date on the report. BESA’s minimum intervals for kitchen extracts range from 3-monthly for heavy use to 12-monthly for light use, and fire dampers need testing at least once a year.
Do you handle baffle and mesh filters?
The common types of grease filter: baffle and mesh. Mention how many canopies you have when you get in touch, or we will check on the first visit.
Do you offer maintenance contracts?
Yes. Scheduled maintenance plans are part of what we do, set at the interval the system needs. The report from each visit recommends the next date.
Who is responsible for fire safety on the premises?
The law calls them the responsible person. It’s normally the employer, or whoever controls the building, and in shared buildings more than one person can have duties. If you are not sure, check your lease and fire risk assessment.
How regularly do grease filters need exchanging?
The right interval depends on the kitchen. If filters are dripping or clogging before the next change, it’s too long and we will adjust it.
What happens if it’s left?
When filters block, extraction suffers. Heat and fumes hang in the kitchen, and the fan works harder to pull air through. A regular exchange keeps the airflow where it should be. Rural sites cannot always move to another kitchen or room when something fails.
Working hours, access and the scale of the site can all change the price. We take each of them into account and give you a fixed price before work begins.
Why Sonning businesses choose us
- We are fully insured
- We diagnose before we treat
- In business since 2009
- Work around your opening hours, with 24/7 emergency cover
Read how cleaning jobs are priced and how to check a contractor.
Different parts, different methods
Busy restaurant and pub kitchens
High-output kitchens clog filters quickly. They often need the shortest exchange interval.
School, care home and staff kitchens
Visits can be planned around holidays and quieter periods, keeping the filters ready for the busy weeks.
Towns and villages near Sonning
More services for Sonning
When to call us in Sonning
Kitchens in Sonning, as everywhere, find filter washing slips down the list on busy weeks. It only takes a couple of missed weeks for a filter bank to clog.
Clients normally contact us after spotting something like this:
- Missing filters in the filter bank
- Filters so greasy the air can barely pass
- Smoke and heat lingering under the hood
- Filters that come out of the sink still dirty
Kitchens that cook twelve hours or more a day, as some healthcare kitchens do, fall into BESA’s three-monthly minimum; Royal Berkshire Hospital is the nearest hospital to Sonning, about 2.6 miles south-west.
Questions to ask before booking
- Exactly which parts of the system are covered
- When they can work, and whether that is outside your opening hours
- Whether a survey comes first
- Their accreditations, such as BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite, CHAS or SafeContractor
Between visits
How long the results last depends on use and care. Here’s what we suggest:
- Report damaged filters so they can be replaced
- Keep the extract on whenever the range is in use
- Book full TR19 cleans alongside filter changes
- Keep the canopy clear for exchange visits
If the plenum behind the filters looks greasy, we say so. It can be a sign that a full TR19® clean is due and we can book that in.
Bent or missing filters let grease straight past. Sorting them now keeps grease where it can be caught.
When it’s something else
We won’t sell you work that does not address the problem, so these are the things it will not cover:
- Odours from the discharge that filters won’t stop
- Grease behind the filters that a swap can’t remove
- Grease deep in the extract system
If in doubt, call 0345 646 2711 or drop us a line and we’ll say what we think before you book.
Parts of the system we cover
- School and hospital kitchens
- Mesh filters
- Baffle filters
- Island canopies
- Restaurants and pubs
- Wall canopies
What happens on the day
Night work is normal for us. A lot of visits happen overnight or at weekends, so the site can open as normal afterwards. The visit itself takes anything from a few minutes to an hour or so, depending on the number of filters. We agree a date with you, plan the drive to Sonning and turn up when the site is quiet.
- First, we check the canopies and the filters in them.
- We note any filters that are bent, damaged or missing.
- Greasy filters are swapped for clean ones.
- The filters are checked for fit before we go.
- Anything that needs attention, such as a greasy plenum, is pointed out.
Before we arrive
- Have your last certificate or report to hand
- Let us know about parking and loading
- Make sure equipment near the work can be switched off and left to cool
Get a fixed quote
If you need grease filter exchange in Sonning, call us on 0345 646 2711 or drop us a line. Let us know the site type and the opening hours, plus photos or the previous report if they’re to hand. A fixed quote usually follows within one working day.