Hertfordshire · Kitchen extract cleaning
Kitchen Extract Cleaning in Friar's Wash
Kitchen extract cleaning for commercial sites in Friar's Wash and across Hertfordshire. BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease.
- Proof of cleaning requested by an insurer
- A kitchen with no current TR19 certificate
- Ductwork thick with old, hardened grease
How it works
Each visit runs to the same pattern: sheeting and protection first, make the system safe, carry out the kitchen extract cleaning, tidy up and hand over the paperwork. The visit itself takes one visit for most kitchens, while large or complex systems may need more than one. Photos of the system and how to reach it help us plan a visit to Friar's Wash.
- You send pictures or we visit, and the system is surveyed from 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.
- We re-test, photograph and send your certificate and photo report.
How to prepare
- Make sure equipment near the work can be switched off and left to cool
- Make sure someone can let us in and lock up afterwards
- Let us know about permits to work or site inductions
Getting a quote
For a fixed quote, call 0345 646 2711, or email photos with the site type, your trading hours and a short description of the system. Photos and the last report, if you have one, make the quote quicker. You’ll normally have a quote within one working day.
Related advice
Kitchen duct cleaning in Friar's Wash
Think of it as a health check for the kitchen’s airways: diagnose with a survey, treat with a thorough clean, then sign it off. The sign-off is a TR19 certificate with a photo report, issued through the BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite portal. The work covers discharge points, extract fans and plenums and filters, and common reasons people get in touch are proof of cleaning requested by an insurer and an inspection that picked up a dirty extract. Kitchens in Friar's Wash book us for TR19 cleaning for three reasons: the insurer asked, the EHO asked, or the canopy is dripping. Either way, the answer is the same: a proper clean and the paperwork to match.
BESA sets minimum intervals by hours of cooking a day: every 3 months for 12–16 hours, every 6 months for 6–12 hours and every 12 months for 2–6 hours, adjusted by what the grease readings show.
In a village or hamlet like Friar's Wash, 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.
Duct Doctor has been trading since 2009, and we’re a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. We also hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and we’re fully insured.
- Location
- Friar's Wash (AL3)
- Region
- Hertfordshire
- Reporting
- Certificate plus before-and-after pictures
- Quotes
- A fixed price before any work starts
- Hours
- When your site is closed, plus a 24/7 line
- Call
- 0345 646 2711
- Reviewed
- 30 October 2026
Towns and villages near Friar's Wash
Also in Friar's Wash
What the work involves, part by part
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.
Grease filters
Filters need cleaning far more often than the duct, and a filter exchange service can take that off your hands. Keeping them clean helps the rest of the system stay cleaner.
Honest limits
Not every problem is solved by kitchen extract cleaning, and we’ll tell you before any work starts. It does not solve:
- Extraction that cannot cope with the cooking because of its design
- Fat blocking the kitchen drains
- A broken extract fan that will not run
If in doubt, ring 0345 646 2711 or send us an email and we’ll say what we think before you book.
Parts of the system we cover
- Discharge points
- Horizontal duct runs
- Extract fans
- Canopies and hoods
- Plenums and filters
- Vertical risers
When to call us in Friar's Wash
Grease in the extract matters because it burns. Flames from a pan or grill can be pulled into the canopy by the fan, and once grease in the duct catches, fire can spread through the building’s ductwork. That is why controlling extract grease belongs in the fire risk assessment.
Clients usually contact us after spotting something like this:
- Poor airflow at the canopy
- A new tenancy or takeover with no cleaning history
- Extraction mentioned at an environmental health visit
- A system with no record of a TR19 clean
If you look after a school kitchen, at a school such as Flamstead Village School or anywhere near Friar's Wash, the holidays are the usual time for a TR19® clean.
Before booking anyone
- Whether the quote is based on a survey or pictures
- Whether they recommend a next date
- How VAT is shown on the quote
- Whether they’re fully insured
For landlords and multi-site operators
Multi-site operators often want one contractor and one number. We work across London and the South East, so a run of sites can go into one programme and kept on a regular cycle.
From a single site to a large estate, you get the same standard: a survey first, a fixed quote, the work timed around the site and a report with photos.
Common questions in Friar's Wash
Who carries out food hygiene inspections in Friar's Wash?
Kitchens in Friar's Wash are inspected by Dacorum council’s environmental health officers. Ratings are published by the Food Standards Agency, so a clean extract and good records are worth keeping up.
Do you work at weekends in Friar's Wash?
Yes, evening, overnight and weekend work is normal for us. The work in Friar's Wash can fit around your hours. Let us know the hours you are closed and we’ll book within them.
What’s the right cleaning interval for a kitchen extract?
BESA guidance sets minimums by daily cooking hours: every 3 months for 12 to 16 hours, 6 months for 6 to 12 hours and 12 months for 2 to 6 hours. Grease readings can show a shorter interval is needed.
Do you clean the whole extract system or just the canopy?
A TR19 Grease clean covers the full extract route, not just the canopy. Canopy, plenum, filters, ductwork, risers, fan and discharge are all included, reached through access panels where needed.
Are you a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member?
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.
Why do insurers care about 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.
How long will the clean take?
That depends on the size of the system, the amount of grease and the number of access points. Most jobs take a single shift for most kitchens, with long duct runs and tall risers needing more time.
What happens to the waste?
It’s contained and taken away. We collect grease, debris and waste water as we go rather than letting it spread.
Leave it or put it right?
Putting it off simply moves the grease further down the duct. Over time, soft grease bakes into a harder, thicker crust, and that takes more work to shift. Regular cleans keep each visit shorter. Equipment tucked in a roof space or outbuilding near Friar's Wash rarely gets looked at unless someone books it.
When the work has to happen, how we reach it and how big the site is all affect the cost. Each of those is built into the quote, and the price is fixed before we start.
Why us?
- A fixed price before any work starts
- We are fully insured
- Every job surveyed first
- Photo reports with every job
Take a look at what affects the cost and our accreditations.
Kitchen extract cleaning in Friar's Wash: the local picture
The FSA’s data shows about 4 pubs, bars and clubs registered within roughly a mile and a half of the centre of Friar's Wash. Where they serve hot food, their kitchen extracts need cleaning to TR19® like any restaurant’s. Friar's Wash is covered by Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. In most workplaces, including commercial kitchens, it’s the fire and rescue authority that enforces the Fire Safety Order. It’s Dacorum council that sends environmental health officers to food businesses in Friar's Wash. Extraction counts as kitchen equipment, so its condition can come up on the day. Our report lists what was cleaned and when, which is useful to have ready.
Volunteers running a hall kitchen near Church of St Leonard, or anywhere in Friar's Wash, may not know when the extract was last cleaned, and a grease test settles it. Childwickbury Manor, about 4.5 miles south-east, is one of the historic houses near Friar's Wash; if you run event catering at a venue like that, cleans can be booked between functions.
Friar's Wash is about 3 miles west of Harpenden, in Hertfordshire. We carry out kitchen extract cleaning for businesses, landlords and public buildings in Friar's Wash and the rest of Hertfordshire. Our area takes in 381 places across Hertfordshire, from busy centres to quieter spots. There’s also a page for Milton Keynes, roughly 21 miles from Friar's Wash.
Our technicians cover all of the AL3 postcode area for kitchen extract cleaning and the roads nearby. Streets in the area include London Road, Chequers Hill and Old Watling Street, all of which we cover for kitchen extract cleaning. If your site is just outside Friar's Wash, we cover Flamstead (1 mile south-west), Trowley Bottom (1 mile south-west) and Markyate (2 miles north-west). Further out, we also cover Watford (11 miles south), Hemel Hempstead (5 miles south), Stevenage (12 miles north-east), St Albans (7 miles south-east), Welwyn Garden City (10 miles east) and Harpenden (3 miles east).
Local landmarks in Friar's Wash
In Friar's Wash, that means kitchens and buildings near Chequers pub and Roundwood Park School. Friar's Wash’s nearest station is Harpenden station, roughly 3.2 miles east. Well-known places in the area include Luton Castle (3.5 miles north) and Redbourn Museum (2.3 miles south-east). Not far away are Landpark Wood.
What staff can safely do
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.
If your staff spot something between visits, such as dripping grease, a noisy fan, a smell or a filter that will not come clean, it’s best reported rather than tackled in-house. We will take a look and send you a fixed quote.