Hertfordshire · Kitchen extract cleaning
Kitchen extraction cleaning in Little Almshoe
Professional kitchen extract cleaning in and around Little Almshoe, timed so the site keeps working and finished with a written report and pictures.
- An overdue clean flagged by an EHO or fire officer
- A new tenancy or takeover with no cleaning history
- Ductwork thick with old, hardened grease
What your team can do, and what needs us
Logging matters as much as cleaning. A simple log of filter washes, wipe-downs and checks shows an inspector that the system is looked after between visits, next to our reports.
Staff cleaning does not replace a specialist visit; it supports it. Regular in-house cleaning slows the build-up, but hidden parts of the system still need specialist attention.
Kitchen extract cleaning for kitchens and businesses in Little Almshoe
The canopy over the range is only the start of a kitchen extract system. Behind it sit the plenum and grease filters, then the ductwork, risers, extract fan and discharge, and each part collects grease. A TR19® Grease clean deals with the whole route, not only the parts on show. The work covers canopies and hoods, vertical risers and discharge points, and common reasons people get in touch are extraction mentioned at an environmental health visit and a kitchen taken over without any extract records. If you need a kitchen extract clean in Little Almshoe, you get one team and one number for every site, wherever you are in Hertfordshire.
Each job starts with a look at where grease has built up: wet film or deposit thickness readings show which parts of the duct need the most attention, and the same readings after the clean show the result.
Work in a small place like Little Almshoe starts with a call to agree access and timings, and the clean itself is the same full TR19® job as in any town: canopy to discharge, then a TR19® certificate and a photo report.
Insurers, fire officers and environmental health officers all look at records. So every job comes with a written report and pictures, and grease extract cleans come with a TR19® certificate issued through the BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite portal.
- Location
- Little Almshoe (SG4)
- Region
- Hertfordshire
- Paperwork
- Certificate plus before-and-after photos
- Quote
- A fixed quote up front
- Working hours
- When your site is closed, plus a 24/7 line
- Phone
- 0345 646 2711
- Page updated
- 30 October 2026
Also near Little Almshoe
What else we do in Little Almshoe
How the job changes from site to site
Ductwork and risers
Risers take the extract up through floors to roof level, and grease often collects at the bottom of them. They’re cleaned through access points along their height.
Extract fan and discharge
Attenuators, where fitted, can soak up grease and need attention. We clean what can be reached and note anything that cannot.
What we’re called out for in Little Almshoe
How fast grease builds up depends mostly on how long the kitchen cooks each day. Under BESA guidance, heavy use of 12 to 16 hours a day means a clean at least every 3 months, moderate use every 6 months and light use every 12. Those are minimums, and grease readings can show a kitchen needs cleaning sooner.
Any of these means the system needs a check-up:
- An extract that no longer clears the smoke
- A system with no record of a TR19 clean
- Extraction mentioned at an environmental health visit
- Ductwork thick with old, hardened grease
Knebworth House, about 3.8 miles south-east, is one of the historic houses near Little Almshoe; if you run event catering at a venue like that, cleans can be booked between functions.
Before booking anyone
- Whether VAT is included
- Whether the figure could change on the day
- What hours they’ll be on site
- When the next visit should be, and why
How we price kitchen extract cleaning
Before we fix a price, we need to know a few things. We check:
- What state the system is in
- How many systems or sites are involved
- Whether it’s a one-off visit or part of a schedule
- Where the site is and how we reach it
A single site or a whole portfolio, the quote is built the same way: the work involved, the access and the timing. You will have a fixed price before we start.
What to send for a quote
The more you tell us, the more accurate the quote. When you get in touch, it helps to send:
- Photos showing the whole system and its surroundings
- Your opening hours and when the area is out of use
- The roof, plant room or outside wall the system runs to
- Any previous report or certificate
There’s no standard price list, because no two systems are the same. Instead, we look at your site first, from photos or a survey, and then send you a fixed quote. To start, phone us on 0345 646 2711 or use the quote form.
What happens on the day
Your trading hours come first. We book the visit for a time the area is closed, whether that is an evening, overnight or a weekend. Once we are in, the area is sheeted and anything that has to be off is turned off and cooled, and the work takes a single shift for most kitchens, with long duct runs and tall risers needing more time. Rural roads and tight entrances are worth telling us about before a visit to Little Almshoe.
- 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.
Before we arrive
- Allow time for equipment near the work to be turned off and cool down
- Mention any sign-in, permit or induction we need
- Make sure someone can let us in and lock up afterwards
Get a fixed quote
Quoting starts with a diagnosis, from your photos and details or, where that isn’t enough, a survey on site. Then we send a fixed price so you know the cost before work begins.
Advice
Little Almshoe questions
Can school kitchens in Little Almshoe be cleaned in the holidays?
Yes, and it’s the easiest time to do it. With about 6 schools and colleges on the FSA’s register within roughly a mile and a half of Little Almshoe, it pays to plan holiday dates ahead. Tell us your holiday dates and we’ll book the visit for when the site is empty.
Which council inspects kitchens in Little Almshoe?
That’s North Hertfordshire council, whose environmental health officers carry out food hygiene inspections in Little Almshoe. Ratings are published by the Food Standards Agency, so a clean extract and good records are worth keeping up.
Do you offer emergency callouts?
Yes, 24/7. Our office is open from 8am to 6pm on weekdays, and the emergency line covers the rest.
Do you offer maintenance contracts?
Yes. We run scheduled maintenance contracts, with visits at the interval your system needs. Each report recommends when the next visit should be.
How long will the clean take?
Length of duct, grease levels and access all affect it. As a guide, it takes a few hours for a small kitchen, longer for a large system.
What is TR19?
It’s BESA’s specification and the benchmark insurers, fire officers and EHOs look to. It sets out inspection, cleaning and record keeping, and it takes a risk-based approach.
Is a quote from pictures possible?
Yes, if we can see what we need. If not, a site survey comes first, then a fixed quote.
Will the clean disrupt our service?
Cleans are timed to avoid service. Most kitchens book us overnight or at weekends, so you don’t lose a service.
When it’s something else
We won’t sell you work that doesn’t address the problem, so here are the limits:
- A fan motor or bearings that have failed (that needs a fan repair or replacement)
- Fat blocking the kitchen drains
- Extraction that can’t cope with the cooking because of its design
Not sure which it is? You can give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or use the quote form and we’ll tell you honestly before you book.
Parts of the system we cover
- Plenums and filters
- Extract fans
- Vertical risers
- Canopies and hoods
- Horizontal duct runs
- Discharge points
Grease, kitchens and Little Almshoe
Look up Little Almshoe on the FSA’s food hygiene register and you will find about 3 takeaways across Little Almshoe and its immediate surroundings (about a mile and a half). Every kitchen in that count with a canopy has a full extract system, canopy to discharge, to keep clear of grease. Environmental health officers from North Hertfordshire council inspect food businesses in Little Almshoe. The cleanliness of the kitchen and its equipment, extraction included, is part of what they check. Before-and-after photos from each clean are a simple way to show the extract is in hand. Fire safety in Little Almshoe falls to Hertfordshire 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.
Where a hall near Church of St Ippolyts (church of England), or anywhere in Little Almshoe, hosts lunch clubs or events, its extract gathers grease just as a café’s does. Term dates shape school work: for a school like St Ippolyts Church of England Aided Primary School, an extract clean fits neatly into a half-term or summer break.
Little Almshoe is about 2 miles south of Hitchin, in Hertfordshire. Sites in Little Almshoe get the same service as everywhere we cover: a survey first, a fixed quote, work timed around your hours and a report with photos. 381 places in Hertfordshire are on our list, large and small. There’s also a page for Milton Keynes, roughly 23 miles from Little Almshoe.
Kitchen extract cleaning in SG4 follows the same survey, fixed quote and written report as everywhere else we cover. Close by, we work in St Ibbs (1 mile north), Sperberry Hill (1 mile north), St Ippolyts (1 mile north), Gosmore (1 mile north-west) and Poynders End (1 mile south-west). Larger places within reach include Hemel Hempstead (14 miles south-west), Stevenage (3 miles east), St Albans (12 miles south), Welwyn Garden City (9 miles south), Harpenden (8 miles south-west) and Hoddesdon (15 miles south-east).
Local landmarks in Little Almshoe
We work in commercial kitchens and buildings around The Rusty Gun pub, Hitchin Girls' School and Kingshott School and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is Hitchin station, about 2.2 miles north of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Lister Hospital (2.1 miles east) and Wymondley Castle (1.9 miles north-east). Open spaces near Little Almshoe include Purwell Ninesprings and Markham's Hill.
Why it’s worth doing now in Little Almshoe
There’s no law that names TR19, but the Fire Safety Order 2005 still applies. The responsible person must 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. If the system at a site near Little Almshoe fails, there may be nowhere nearby to move to.
We don’t list prices on the website, because the cost depends on the site in front of us. Call for a fixed quote, and we will talk you through it.
Why choose Duct Doctor in Little Almshoe
- Trading since 2009
- Member of BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease
- Fixed quotes, typically within one working day
- Each visit written up, with photos
Take a look at our cost guide and our accreditations.