Medway · Kitchen extract cleaning
Kitchen extract cleaning in Higham, Medway
Specialist kitchen extract cleaning for Higham: a survey, a fixed price, careful work and proper paperwork. Ask us for a fixed quote.
- Grease smells coming from the extract
- An extract that has never been cleaned to TR19
- Fat running down the canopy edge
About our kitchen extract cleaning in Higham
Many insurers ask for proof that the extract has been cleaned to TR19, and some may refuse or reduce a claim when it’s missing. For a kitchen in Higham, our certificate and photo report give you that record for the maintenance log. If you’re dealing with a smoky, hot kitchen with weak extraction and grease smells coming from the extract, we can put it right. Whether you call it kitchen extract cleaning, TR19 cleaning or kitchen duct cleaning, in Higham it means the same thing to us: the whole system, cleaned and certificated.
Most kitchens in Higham fall into one of BESA’s three bands: 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.
Somewhere as small as Higham, commercial kitchens are few: perhaps a pub, a school or care home kitchen, or a hall used for events. Each still has a canopy and duct that collect grease, whatever the size of the place.
Each visit ends with a written report and pictures, so there’s a dated record of the work. Kitchen extract cleaning to TR19® Grease is certificated through the BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite portal.
- Place
- Higham (ME3, DA12)
- Wider area
- Medway
- Reporting
- Certificate plus before-and-after pictures
- Quote
- A fixed price before we start
- Hours
- Overnight and weekend work, 24/7 emergency callout
- Call
- 0345 646 2711
- Checked
- 30 October 2026
Managing agents and facilities teams in Higham
We also work for facilities teams across offices, schools and healthcare across Medway. Larger estates can be phased building by building to keep disruption down.
Keeping records across a portfolio is half the battle. Each visit produces a dated report with pictures, ready to show insurers, fire officers or EHOs.
How the visit works
Your staff do not need to do much on the day. Someone lets us in at the agreed time and shows us where everything is, and we take it from there. Before we leave, the area is tidied and the paperwork follows. Seeing the system in photos first means the trip to Higham can be planned properly.
- You send photos 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
- Agree a time when the area can be out of use
- Arrange a key holder or contact on site
- Tell us where we can park and unload
Get a fixed quote
Some systems can be priced from pictures; others need a survey. Larger sites, and anything hidden behind walls, ceilings or floors, are normally surveyed first. Either way, you get a fixed price before any work starts.
Advice
Between visits
Good habits slow the build-up between visits. A few tips:
- Report grease drips, smells or fan noise right away
- Keep the extract on whenever the range is lit
- Clean the grease filters regularly between TR19 cleans
- Keep the cleaning records where you can find them
You leave with a date for the next clean, set from your daily cooking hours and the readings we took. We can put the system on a 3, 6 or 12-monthly plan, so the date is not missed.
Book the next clean before the last one runs out. If the kitchen starts cooking longer hours, the interval should be looked at again, and grease readings will show it.
What the work involves, part by part
Extract fan and discharge
Grease that reaches the fan coats the blades and the housing. It’s isolated, opened and cleaned as part of the TR19 clean.
Canopy and plenum
The plenum is out of sight behind the filters, so it’s easy to forget. We take the filters out and clean the plenum and housing thoroughly.
FAQs for Higham
Can the work in Higham be done at night or at weekends?
Yes, we can come after you close and finish before you open. The site is handed back ready to open. Just give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or use the quote form with your opening times and we’ll plan around them.
Which council inspects kitchens in Higham?
In Higham, it’s Gravesham council that carries out food hygiene inspections. Ratings are published by the Food Standards Agency, so a clean extract and good records are worth keeping up.
Can one contract cover all our sites?
Yes. One number covers all your sites in our area, with visits on a regular schedule.
What do I get after the clean?
A TR19 certificate and a photo report. The certificate is issued through the BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite portal, and the report shows before and after pictures, readings, any areas not reached and the next clean date.
How far ahead should we book?
Earlier is better, particularly for night and weekend visits. We usually quote within one working day, and there’s a 24/7 line for emergencies.
Do you work in Higham?
Yes. Our technicians work in Higham, within the South East and London area we cover.
What does TR19 mean?
It’s the industry benchmark for cleaning ventilation and kitchen extract systems, written by BESA. It covers how systems are inspected, cleaned and checked and expects a risk-based approach.
How much does kitchen extract cleaning cost?
Every site is different, so each gets its own fixed quote. To get one, call us on 0345 646 2711 or email us with the site type, opening hours and a few pictures.
Grease, kitchens and Higham
According to Food Standards Agency records, there are about 7 bars, pubs and nightclubs in Higham and the streets around it, up to about 1.5 miles out. Where they serve hot food, their kitchen extracts need cleaning to TR19® like any restaurant’s. Kent Fire and Rescue Service covers Higham. Its fire safety officers can audit commercial kitchens, and grease in the extract is part of a kitchen’s fire risk. It’s Gravesham council that sends environmental health officers to food businesses in Higham. They look at how clean the premises and equipment are, and the kitchen extract is part of that. Keeping each certificate and photo report on file helps show the extract is looked after.
Healthcare kitchens, like those at hospitals such as French Hospital (about 2.8 miles south-east), often cook for long hours, which puts them in BESA’s heavier-use bands. Volunteers running a hall kitchen near Church of St John, or anywhere in Higham, may not know when the extract was last cleaned, and a grease test settles it.
Higham is about 2 miles north-west of Rochester, in Medway. Every kind of commercial site in Higham, kitchen extract cleaning is something we can help with. We can work out of hours so trading isn’t interrupted. Our area takes in 68 places across Medway, large and small. We also work in Maidstone, around 11 miles away.
Every address in ME3 and DA12 is covered for kitchen extract cleaning, from the main roads to the quietest streets. Local streets include Villa Road, Darby Gardens and Ash Crescent, and we cover them all for kitchen extract cleaning. Other places close to Higham include Gadshill (1 mile south), Lower Higham (1 mile north), Shorne (1 mile west), Shorne Ridgeway (1 mile south-west) and Mockbeggar (2 miles east). We also work in nearby towns such as Gillingham (6 miles south-east), Chatham (5 miles south-east), Rainham (8 miles south-east), Luton (5 miles south-east), Park Wood (8 miles south-east) and Lordswood (7 miles south-east).
Local landmarks in Higham
Around Higham, our work takes us to kitchens and buildings near Rede Common, Sir John Falstaff Public House and Strood Academy, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Higham station, about 0.9 miles north-east. Nearby you’ll also find Rochester Castle (2.6 miles south-east) and French Hospital (2.8 miles south-east). The countryside around Higham includes Gad's Hill and Rede Common.
What kitchen extract cleaning cannot fix
A few issues sit outside what this work can do:
- A grease trap that needs emptying
- An undersized canopy or fan
- Damaged duct sections that need replacing
If in doubt, call us on 0345 646 2711, or send details by email and we will say what we think.
Parts of the system we cover
- Extract fans
- Canopies and hoods
- Vertical risers
- Horizontal duct runs
- Discharge points
- Plenums and filters
Why act early in Higham
TR19® is not law, but the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is. It puts a duty on the responsible person to assess and reduce fire risk, and in a kitchen that means keeping extract grease under control. TR19 is the benchmark insurers, fire officers and EHOs look to. Our emergency line runs 24/7, but a planned visit to Higham is calmer for everyone.
Whatever the type of site, the quote works the same way: the size of the job, access, condition and working hours. Call for a fixed quote and we’ll go through it with you.
Why choose Duct Doctor in Higham
- We diagnose before we treat
- One contact for all your sites in London and the South East
- Accredited under CHAS and SafeContractor, with ISO 9001
- Member of BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease
See how cleaning jobs are priced and how to check a contractor.
What we’re called out for in Higham
Cooking fat leaves the pan as a fine vapour. As the air cools on its way through the duct, the fat condenses and sticks, and the layer grows a little with every meal cooked. Filters catch some of it, but never all.
What we are most often called out for:
- Rancid smells from grease in the duct
- A system with no record of a TR19 clean
- Poor airflow at the canopy
- A kitchen taken over without any extract records
A kitchen near Higham station that serves breakfast and dinner can run its extract twelve hours or more, which shortens the cleaning interval.
Questions to ask before you book
- When they can work, and whether that’s outside your opening hours
- What paperwork you get at the end
- Whether the whole system is included, or only the parts that are easy to reach
- Whether the figure could change on the day