Kitchen odour control maintenance

What odour control does

Many kitchens, especially in town centres, mixed-use buildings and next to homes, have odour control fitted in the extract. It treats the air before it leaves the building, so cooking smells and smoke don’t bother neighbours. The usual types are carbon filters, which absorb odours; ultraviolet (UV) units, which treat grease and odour in the air stream; and electrostatic precipitators (ESP), which charge particles of grease and smoke and collect them on plates. Many systems use more than one, with pre-filters in front to protect them.

Some premises have odour control as a condition of their planning permission, so it has to keep working.

Odour control doesn’t remove the need to clean the rest of the extract. Grease still settles in the canopy, plenum, ductwork and fan, and the odour control unit itself sits in the middle of that route. Looking after both together keeps the system safe and the smells in check.

Why it stops working

• Carbon filters become saturated. Once they’re full, they stop absorbing odour, however clean they look.
• Pre-filters clog with grease and dust, which slows the airflow and lets grease reach the carbon or ESP.
• ESP cells build up a layer of collected grease and smoke. Coated plates collect less and the unit loses performance.
• UV units get lamps and housings coated in grease, which cuts their effect.

The first sign is often a complaint about smells. By then the unit has been under-performing for a while.

A unit that isn’t maintained can also become a fire risk of its own. Grease collected on ESP plates, in pre-filters or on the inside of the housing is still grease, sitting in the extract route. Cleaning it out removes that fuel as well as restoring performance.

What we do

1. We look at your odour control equipment and agree what it needs: filter changes, cleaning or both.
2. The extract is switched off and the unit is opened up and photographed.
3. Pre-filters are changed and carbon filters are replaced when they’re due.
4. ESP cells are removed and cleaned, and UV housings and lamp sleeves are cleaned of grease.
5. The unit is closed up and the extract restarted, and you get a record of the work with photos.

Odour control units sit in the extract system, so it makes sense to service them on the same visit as your TR19® Grease extract clean.

Grease and odour control

Odour control equipment works best on air that is already as clean of grease as possible. Clean, well-fitted canopy filters and a clean duct reduce how fast pre-filters, carbon and ESP cells foul. If your odour control needs attention more often than it used to, it may be a sign that the canopy filters or the duct need cleaning. A grease filter exchange can help.

How often

It depends on the equipment, how many hours the kitchen cooks and what it cooks. Pre-filters usually need changing far more often than carbon. ESP cells need cleaning regularly to keep collecting. Where the equipment maker sets intervals, follow them. We’ll recommend a schedule based on what we find and adjust it as we go, and a maintenance contract keeps it on track. Our article on odour control maintenance has more.

Working around your kitchen

The extract has to be off while we work on the unit, so we visit when the kitchen is closed: early, late, overnight or at weekends. Many odour control units are on roofs or in plant rooms, so tell us about access when you ask for a quote.

If the unit has a maker’s maintenance schedule or manual, have it ready for the visit. It helps us confirm the right filters and the right cleaning method. If you don’t have it, we’ll work from what we find and record the details for next time.

What it costs

We don’t publish prices. It depends on the type and size of the equipment, which filters need replacing, how heavily it is coated and how easy it is to reach. Send us photos or details of the unit and we’ll give you a fixed quote, usually within one working day.

Where odour control is serviced on the same visit as an extract clean, we set out each part on one quote, so you can see what you’re paying for and plan one closure rather than two.