Essex · CO4
Kitchen extract cleaning in CO4
Our technicians cover all of the CO4 postcode district, including Colchester, Greenstead and Mile End. You get a certificate and photo report after every clean.
Places in CO4
What we do in CO4
- Extract fan repair and replacement
- Ductwork cleaning
- Ventilation duct cleaning
- Kitchen extract cleaning
- Extract fan cleaning
- Grease trap cleaning
- Fire damper testing
- Commercial kitchen deep cleaning
- Grease filter exchange
- Air handling unit cleaning
- Canopy and hood cleaning
- TR19 inspections and grease testing
- All services
Let us know the job and your postcode and we’ll give you a clear price: ring 0345 646 2711, or email photos.
Nearby postcode districts
Elsewhere in Essex
All places in Essex
Every area we cover
Our kitchen extract cleaning service in CO4
Duct Doctor has been cleaning kitchen extract systems since 2009. We are a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, and we’re fully insured, with CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001. The work covers plenums and filters, canopies and hoods and horizontal duct runs, and the jobs we see most are cleaning needed before an insurance renewal or survey and an extract that no longer clears the smoke.
Our technicians bring everything the work needs, including protection sheets, the right tools and access kit. You only need to give us clear access and switch off what needs to be off. On site, the work takes anything from a few hours to a full night, depending on the size of the system.
- 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.
- Heavy deposits are scraped by hand and the system degreased to TR19® Grease.
- Then the clean bill of health: readings, a TR19 certificate and a photo report with the next date.
What you will pay
Several systems or sites on one quote often makes better use of the time. Mention every system or site you need covered, and you will get one fixed quote.
What you get with us
- Fully insured
- A written report with photos after each visit
- Every job surveyed first
- A single point of contact for sites across the South East and London
How to get a quote
There’s no standard price list, because every site is different. Instead, we look at your site first, from photos or a survey, then send a fixed quote. To start, give us a ring on 0345 646 2711, or email photos.
Local landmarks in Colchester
We work in commercial kitchens and buildings around Church of St Peter, Bull Meadow and The Bay And Say Public House. Other local landmarks include Colchester Sixth Form College (within half a mile north-west) and St John's Green Primary School (under half a mile south). There’s a railway station in Colchester itself: Colchester Town station. A little further out are Lion Walk (under half a mile south-east) and Essex County Hospital (less than half a mile south-west). For a walk, there’s Westhouse Wood.
Kitchen extracts across CO4
Our kitchen extract cleaning work across CO4 takes in places such as Colchester, Greenstead and Mile End and the villages in between. We cover every place we list for CO4, 10 in all, and kitchens are cleaned around their opening hours, overnight and at weekends included.
Across London and the South East, we work evenings, overnight and weekends, so sites across CO4 don’t have to lose a day.
Colchester: For kitchens close to Colchester Town station, where the day often starts early and ends late, the extract can be cleaned overnight. A hall kitchen that only cooks for events, whether near Church of St Peter or elsewhere in Colchester, still needs its extract cleaned, just less often.
What the work involves, part by part
Restaurant and pub kitchens
Busy restaurant and pub kitchens often cook for long hours, frying and grilling, which can put them in BESA’s 3 or 6-monthly bands. We clean after close or before opening.
Ductwork and risers
Long flat runs of duct are where grease collects. We open access panels along the route and clean each section, recording any that cannot be reached.
What staff can safely do
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. Leave those to us.
Staff cleaning and specialist work are not the same thing. A daily filter wipe and a weekly filter wash keep grease down at the front of the system, but grease that has passed the filters is out of reach. That part needs specialist access and equipment.
What happens if it’s left?
Every week without a clean adds another layer. Under BESA guidance, grease shouldn’t exceed a mean of 200 microns between cleans, and 500 microns or more at any point needs immediate spot cleaning. The longer it’s left, the bigger the job becomes.
Questions to ask before booking
- Exactly which parts of the system are covered
- When the next visit should be, and why
- Whether inaccessible sections are listed on the report
- What insurance they carry
Why it fails
Grease filters are the first line of defence, and they’re often the weak point. Damaged, missing or overloaded filters let grease straight past, and it does not stop until it reaches the fan.
The symptoms we are asked about most are:
- A kitchen taken over without any extract records
- Years of baked-on grease in the ducts
- Proof of cleaning requested by an insurer
- Extraction mentioned at an environmental health visit
Between visits
So the system stays in good health:
- Switch the fan on before cooking starts
- Don’t let the canopy gutters overflow
- Flag any change in how the extract sounds or works
- Diarise the next clean as soon as you get the certificate
We hand the kitchen back clean, with the sheeting removed and waste taken away. Grease and dirty water are collected and taken off site, and equipment can be switched back on once we have gone.
Report drips, smells or a noisy fan early. Grease dripping from the canopy, a burning smell or a fan that sounds rough are all signs of build-up, and a grease thickness test can confirm it.
Questions from CO4
Will my insurer ask for a TR19 certificate?
Grease in an extract is a known fire risk, which is why many insurers require TR19 cleaning. Our certificate and photo report give you that evidence.
What happens if you can’t reach some of it?
The report shows them clearly. Often the fix is extra access, such as new panels in ductwork, which we can install.
How do you keep the site clean during the work?
Floors and surfaces near the work are sheeted before we start, and anything we remove is contained. Before we leave, we tidy up and clean down.
What does TR19 mean?
It’s BESA’s specification and the benchmark insurers, fire officers and EHOs look to. It covers how systems are inspected, cleaned and checked and expects a risk-based approach.
Is CO4 in your area?
Yes. CO4 is part of the area we cover, within the South East and London area we cover.
Do you look at the system first?
Yes, always. We diagnose before we treat: the survey shows what needs doing and what access we need, and the quote is based on that.
Which sectors do you work in?
Any site with a kitchen or a ventilation system to look after, from a small pub to a hospital. We work with hotels, schools, care homes, offices, retail and leisure sites.