West Sussex · Kitchen extract cleaning
Kitchen extract cleaning in Crawley, West Sussex
Kitchen extract cleaning for Crawley and the surrounding area: a survey, a fixed price, careful work and proper paperwork. Ask us for a fixed quote.
- An overdue clean flagged by an EHO or fire officer
- Stale cooking odours from the system
- Cleaning needed before an insurance renewal or survey
About our kitchen extract cleaning in Crawley
Duct Doctor has been cleaning kitchen extract systems since 2009. As a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, we clean to BESA TR19® Grease, and we hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001 and are fully insured. The work covers discharge points, vertical risers and canopies and hoods, and people most often call us about heavy grease build-up inside the duct runs and an extract that has never been cleaned to TR19. Canopy cleaning, extract cleaning and duct cleaning are often used to mean the same thing, but a proper TR19® clean in Crawley covers all of it, from the hood to the fan.
BESA sets minimum intervals by hours of cooking a day: 3-monthly for heavy use, 6-monthly for moderate use and yearly for light use, with grease readings setting the real interval.
Town-centre kitchens in a place like Crawley often sit below flats or offices, and the extract can climb several storeys before it discharges. A riser needs proper access to be cleaned top to bottom, and any section we cannot reach is recorded on the report.
The paperwork matters as much as the work. You get a written report with photos after each visit, listing what was done, anything we couldn’t reach and when the next visit is due. Keep it with your fire safety records so it’s ready for an insurer, fire officer or EHO.
- Location
- Crawley (RH10, RH11, RH12, RH6)
- Region
- West Sussex
- Records
- Certificate plus before-and-after pictures
- Price
- A fixed price before work begins
- Working hours
- Out of hours as standard, 24/7 emergency line
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Page updated
- 30 October 2026
Kitchen extract cleaning in Crawley: the local picture
Food Standards Agency records list about 101 restaurants, cafés and canteens and about 51 takeaways and sandwich shops across Crawley and its immediate surroundings (about a mile and a half). Those that fry, grill or roast under a canopy need their extracts cleaned at intervals set by how long they cook. It’s Crawley council that sends environmental health officers to food businesses in Crawley. A greasy canopy or dripping filters are the sort of thing an inspection can pick up. A dated certificate in the maintenance file answers the question before it’s asked. The fire and rescue service for Crawley is 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 that cook twelve hours or more a day, as some healthcare kitchens do, fall into BESA’s three-monthly minimum; Crawley Hospital is the nearest hospital to Crawley, about 0.5 miles north-west. For kitchens close to Crawley station, where the day often starts early and ends late, the extract can be cleaned overnight.
Crawley is about 27 miles south of London, in West Sussex. If you need kitchen extract cleaning in Crawley, please call us on 0345 646 2711, or send details by email for a fixed quote. Our area covers London and the South East, including Crawley. We cover 371 places across West Sussex, from busy centres to quieter spots. There’s also a page for Brighton, about 19 miles away.
All of RH10, RH11, RH12 and RH6 is within our area for kitchen extract cleaning, from busy streets to back roads. If you need kitchen extract cleaning at premises on Station Road, Queens Square and High Street or anywhere close by, our technicians can take on the work. Main roads around Crawley include the A23 and A264, which makes travel easy for kitchen extract cleaning. Other places close to Crawley include Southgate (1 mile south-west), Tilgate (1 mile south-east), West Green (1 mile north), Three Bridges (1 mile east) and Langley Green (1 mile north). Larger places within reach include Horsham (7 miles south-west), Haywards Heath (9 miles south-east), Burgess Hill (11 miles south), East Grinstead (8 miles east), Billingshurst (13 miles south-west) and Roffey (5 miles south-west). Crawley is one of the larger places we cover in West Sussex for kitchen extract cleaning.
Near you in Crawley
Typical jobs here are in premises near Tilgate Park, St Wilfrid's Catholic School and St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, among other places. Crawley has its own railway station: Crawley station. Other landmarks nearby include Crawley Hospital (0.5 miles north-west) and County Mall (within half a mile north-east). Green spaces nearby include Tilgate Lake.
Different parts, different methods
Grease filters
A filter that is missing or bent lets grease straight past. Each filter is checked as it goes back in, and flag any that don’t.
Restaurant and pub kitchens
High-heat cooking loads the extract with grease, and measured readings show whether the minimum interval is enough.
When something else is needed
We’d rather tell you now than book work that won’t help, so these are the things it will not cover:
- Ductwork that’s corroded, split or leaking (that is for a ductwork contractor)
- Fat blocking the kitchen drains
- Fire dampers that will not close (that needs damper testing and remedials)
Not sure which it is? You can call us on 0345 646 2711, or email photos and we will tell you honestly before you book.
What the work covers
- Vertical risers
- Discharge points
- Canopies and hoods
- Plenums and filters
- Horizontal duct runs
- Extract fans
What staff can safely do
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.
A few tasks are always specialist work: entering ducts, working on fans, testing dampers and taking grease readings need training, the right equipment and safe access. That is our job.
Questions from Crawley
Can a school canteen extract in Crawley be done out of term time?
Yes, and it’s the easiest time to do it. With about 23 schools and colleges on the FSA’s register within roughly a mile and a half of Crawley, it pays to plan holiday dates ahead. Just call us on 0345 646 2711 or send us an email with your term dates and we’ll plan around them.
Who enforces fire safety at workplaces in Crawley?
That’s West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service. A recent cleaning certificate and a note of the next clean date show that grease in the extract is being managed.
What paperwork comes with a kitchen extract clean?
You receive a TR19 certificate and a photo report. Certificates are issued through the BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite portal, and the report includes before and after pictures, grease readings and the recommended next clean date.
What about areas you can’t get to?
The report shows them clearly. In ductwork, new access panels are often the answer, which we can install.
Do insurers need proof of extract cleaning?
Grease-filled ducts can carry fire well beyond the kitchen. Many policies say the extract must be cleaned to TR19, and a claim may be reduced without proof, so keep every certificate.
Do you work in Crawley?
Yes. Crawley is part of the area we cover, within the South East and London area we cover.
Are you a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member?
As a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, our work sits within an independently audited scheme. We hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001 too, and we are fully insured.
Can one contract cover all our sites?
Yes. One number covers all your sites in our area, and visits can be set on a regular cycle.
Nearby places to Crawley
What else we do in Crawley
When to call us in Crawley
Grease in an extract starts as vapour. As the air cools on its way through the duct, the fat condenses and sticks, building a layer that gets thicker with every service. Filters catch some of it, but never all.
Any of these means the system needs a check-up:
- A TR19 certificate needed for the insurer
- Heavy grease build-up inside the duct runs
- Rancid smells from grease in the duct
- A new tenancy or takeover with no cleaning history
If you look after a school kitchen, at a school such as Three Bridges Junior School or anywhere near Crawley, the holidays are the usual time for a TR19® clean.
Before you book anyone
- Proof of insurance
- Whether inaccessible sections are listed on the report
- What records you will receive afterwards
- Whether the price is fixed
What affects the cost of kitchen extract cleaning
Before we fix a price, we need to know a few things. We check:
- Travel, parking and unloading
- The size of the system
- Whether several sites go on one quote
- A single visit or a regular plan
The price reflects the work, not guesswork. That is why we survey first, from photos or on site, and the price is agreed before we start.
What we need to know
A few details help us quote accurately. With your enquiry, please include:
- Photos showing the whole system and its surroundings
- The postcode and the type of business
- Problems your staff have spotted
- The times we could work without disrupting the site
Quotes are quick. Send a few details and pictures, and we typically reply with a fixed quote within one working day. If we need to see the system first, we book a survey around your hours.
How the visit works
We’re used to working while the site is closed. Evenings, nights and weekends are when much of our work happens, so a kitchen or building can carry on as usual the next day. On site, the work takes a single shift for most kitchens, with long duct runs and tall risers needing more time. Some sites in Crawley need contractors inducted or booked in ahead, so tell us the routine when you ask for a quote.
- First the diagnosis: a survey of the whole system and its access points.
- We record grease levels at set points, then fix the price.
- After the kitchen closes, we sheet the area and set up to contain grease and water.
- The treatment: heavy grease scraped out, then every part degreased to TR19® Grease.
- Then the clean bill of health: readings, a TR19 certificate and a photo report with the next date.
Getting ready for the visit
- Mention any sign-in, permit or induction we need
- Make sure someone can let us in and lock up afterwards
- Move anything stored near the system
Getting a quote
Quoting starts with a diagnosis, either from pictures and details you send or from a site visit. Then we send a fixed price, before we start.
Read more
Managing agents and facilities teams in Crawley
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.
Records are where multi-site compliance often slips. Each visit produces a dated report with pictures, ready to show insurers, fire officers or EHOs.