Medway · Kitchen extract cleaning
TR19 kitchen extract cleaning in Chatham
Kitchen extract cleaning for Chatham, from a team that has been trading since 2009. Out-of-hours visits and 24/7 emergency callout.
- Grease smells coming from the extract
- Cleaning needed before an insurance renewal or survey
- An extract that no longer clears the smoke
About our kitchen extract cleaning in Chatham
Insurers often want evidence of regular TR19 cleaning, and some may refuse or reduce a claim when it’s missing. For a kitchen in Chatham, our certificate and photo report give you that record for the maintenance log. The work covers extract fans, vertical risers and plenums and filters, and the jobs we see most are stale cooking odours from the system and years of baked-on grease in the ducts. People looking for “duct cleaning near me” in Chatham typically mean the kitchen extract, and that is our main job: canopy to fan, to TR19® Grease.
Before we clean, we look at where the grease is: grease readings at set points tell us where the heaviest deposits are, and readings afterwards go into your report.
In Chatham, extract cleaning fits around service: after the last cover, before breakfast or on a day the kitchen is shut. Sites with more than one kitchen can be cleaned in phases.
It’s worth checking any contractor’s accreditations. We are a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, and we hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, with full insurance on top.
What a clean won’t put right
It’s worth knowing the limits before booking:
- Blocked drains from a neglected grease trap (a separate service)
- A broken extract fan that will not run
- A damper that sticks or has a damaged link
Not sure which it is? You can ring 0345 646 2711, or send details by email and we will tell you honestly.
Where we work
- Extract fans
- Discharge points
- Plenums and filters
- Vertical risers
- Horizontal duct runs
- Canopies and hoods
Why act early in Chatham
TR19® isn’t law, but the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is. It puts a duty on the responsible person to assess and reduce fire risk, which in a kitchen includes the grease in the extract. Cleaning to TR19 is the recognised way to show you’ve done it. For a site in Chatham with several systems, a planned schedule stops everything falling due at once.
What you pay reflects the actual work. That is why we survey first, from pictures or on site, and why the quote is fixed before any work starts.
Why us?
- CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001
- Fully insured
- Work around your opening hours, with 24/7 emergency cover
- Member of BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease
See how cleaning jobs are priced and how to check a contractor.
Kitchen extract cleaning in Chatham: the local picture
Food Standards Agency data counts about 23 cafés, restaurants and staff canteens and about 37 takeaways and sandwich shops in Chatham and the streets around it, up to about 1.5 miles out. Those that fry, grill or roast under a canopy need their extracts cleaned at intervals set by how long they cook. It’s Medway council that sends environmental health officers to food businesses in Chatham. An officer looking round a kitchen will see the canopy, and grease there is hard to miss. Our report lists what was cleaned and when, which is useful to have ready. Kent Fire and Rescue Service covers Chatham. 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 that cook twelve hours or more a day, as some healthcare kitchens do, fall into BESA’s three-monthly minimum; Medway Maritime Hospital is the nearest hospital to Chatham, about 1.7 miles north. If you look after a school kitchen, at a school such as Wayfield Primary School or anywhere near Chatham, the holidays are the usual time for a TR19® clean.
Chatham is about 29 miles east of London, in Medway. Whether your site is in the middle of Chatham or further out, kitchen extract cleaning is available to all kinds of commercial premises, from small sites to large estates. Chatham is one of 68 places in Medway we cover for kitchen extract cleaning. Our Maidstone page covers sites nearby, about 6 miles away.
Kitchen extract cleaning in ME5, ME4, ME7 and ME1 follows the same survey, fixed quote and written report as everywhere else we cover. Streets in the area include Luton High Street, Market Place and High Street, all of which we cover for kitchen extract cleaning. Main roads around Chatham include the A2 and A229, so getting to you is simple for kitchen extract cleaning. We also cover the places around Chatham: Luton (1 mile north), Hale (1 mile north-east), Darland (1 mile east), Capstone (1 mile east) and Walderslade (1 mile south). Further out, we also cover Rochester (3 miles north-west), Rainham (3 miles east), Strood (3 miles north-west), Park Wood (3 miles east), Twydall (3 miles north-east) and Hoo St Werburgh (5 miles north). Chatham is one of the larger places we cover in Medway for kitchen extract cleaning.
Near you in Chatham
In Chatham, that means kitchens and buildings near The Huntsman pub, Walderslade Girls' School and Darland Banks. The nearest railway station is Chatham station, about 1.7 miles north. Other landmarks nearby include Six Poor Travellers House (2.5 miles north-west) and Rochester Castle (2.6 miles north-west). Green spaces nearby include Blue Bell Hill and Burham Down.
What affects the cost of kitchen extract cleaning
You’ll get a fixed price before any work starts. It takes into account:
- Any permits to work or inductions
- How many systems or sites are involved
- Working hours and out-of-hours timing
- Whether it’s a one-off visit or part of a schedule
We don’t list prices on the website, because each job is priced on what it involves. Call for a fixed quote, and we will talk you through it.
Helping us quote
We can often survey from photos. The most useful are:
- The roof, plant room or outside wall the system runs to
- The paperwork from the last visit, if you have it
- Any symptoms, from odd noises to smells or leaks
- The postcode and the type of business
For a fixed quote, give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or email us with the site type, your trading hours and a short description of the system. A few photos and your last certificate or report help a lot. You will normally have a quote within one working day.
When to call us in Chatham
The type of cooking changes the amount of grease. Frying, grilling and roasting send far more fat into the canopy than steaming or boiling, so two kitchens with the same hours can need very different intervals.
Most sites get in touch when they notice one of these:
- A new tenancy or takeover with no cleaning history
- An extract that no longer clears the smoke
- Grease drips onto cooking equipment
- An inspection that picked up a dirty extract
Volunteers running a hall kitchen near Christ the King, or anywhere in Chatham, may not know when the extract was last cleaned, and a grease test settles it.
What your quote should include
- Exactly which parts of the system are covered
- What insurance they carry
- Proof of accreditation you can verify
- What happens if part of the system can’t be accessed
What staff can safely do
For ventilation and air handling systems, in-house care is mostly about checks: keeping grilles clear, noting unusual noise or smells and logging filter changes. Cleaning inside ducts and units is specialist work.
Staff cleaning and specialist work aren’t the same thing. 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.
Questions from Chatham
Do you do school kitchen extract cleaning in Chatham in the summer holidays?
Yes. The holidays are the usual time for school work. With about 22 schools and colleges on the FSA’s register within roughly a mile and a half of Chatham, it pays to plan holiday dates ahead. Send us your term dates when you phone us on 0345 646 2711 or email us, and we will fit the work in.
Do you work overnight in Chatham?
Yes, evening, overnight and weekend work is normal for us. It means the site in Chatham keeps running as normal. Let us know the hours you’re closed and we will book within them.
How long does it take to clean a kitchen extract system?
A small kitchen with a short duct can be done in a few hours, while long runs and tall risers take longer and may need more than one visit. We’ll tell you how long when we quote.
What do you do to protect the area?
Protection goes down first: sheeting over floors, worktops and anything close to the work. We tidy up and take our waste away before we leave.
What accreditations do you hold?
We are members of Vent Hygiene Elite, the scheme run by BESCA, and we clean to BESA TR19® Grease. We hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001 too, and we’re fully insured.
Can you look after several sites?
Yes. You deal with one contact for every site in our area, with visits on a regular schedule.
What does TR19 mean?
It’s BESA’s specification and the benchmark insurers, fire officers and EHOs look to. It sets out inspection, cleaning and record keeping and expects a risk-based approach.
Do insurers need proof of extract cleaning?
Extract grease is fuel for a kitchen fire, which is why many insurers require TR19 cleaning. Our certificate and photo report give you that evidence.
What we do, step by step
Before we leave, we walk the area with whoever is on site. Anything we couldn’t reach or that needs attention is pointed out there and then, and it goes on the report too. The visit takes one visit for most kitchens, while large or complex systems may need more than one. Access to the roof, the plant room and a parking space are worth sorting out before a visit in Chatham.
- We survey the system, from your photos or on site, canopy to discharge.
- Grease thickness is measured and the price is fixed before work starts.
- The kitchen is closed, the equipment cooled and everything nearby protected.
- Filters, canopy and plenum are cleaned, then the ducts, risers, fan and discharge.
- Readings are repeated, photos taken, and your TR19 certificate and photo report issued.
Preparing for the visit
- Make sure someone can let us in and lock up afterwards
- Let us know about parking and loading
- Plan for cooking equipment or plant to be off before we arrive
Get a fixed quote
Getting a quote doesn’t take long. Call or email with a few details and you’ll normally have a fixed price within one working day. If we need to see the system first, we book a survey around your hours.
Advice
Different parts, different methods
Canopy and plenum
Behind the grease filters sits the plenum, which daily cleaning never reaches. With the filters out, the plenum is scraped and degreased.
Extract fan and discharge
Some systems have attenuators to cut noise, and they hold grease. Where they can be cleaned, they are, and the report notes anything that cannot.