Kent · TR19 inspections and grease testing
TR19 Inspection in Folkestone
We cover Folkestone for TR19 inspections and grease testing. Fixed quotes, work around your opening hours and photo reports as standard.
- Insurance renewals needing proof of TR19 cleaning
- Cleaning intervals that may not suit the kitchen
- Sites with gaps in their extract records
About our TR19 inspection in Folkestone
BESA’s minimum cleaning frequencies depend on how long the kitchen cooks each day: every 3 months for heavy use of 12 to 16 hours a day, every 6 months for moderate use of 6 to 12 hours, and every 12 months for light use of 2 to 6 hours. Those are minimums, and grease readings help set the real interval. The work covers post-clean checks, access surveys and pre-clean surveys, and common reasons people get in touch are uncertainty over how often to clean and surveys needed before quoting a full clean.
Many kitchens in a town like Folkestone were fitted into buildings built for something else, so duct runs can be awkward, with bends, long horizontal sections and too few access panels. Where the duct cannot be reached, new panels can be fitted, and anything left uncleaned is recorded on the report.
Nothing is signed off by word of mouth: a written report, dated and illustrated with photos, plus a certificate through the BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite portal when the work is a TR19® Grease clean. It shows what was done and what, if anything, couldn’t be reached.
- Location
- Folkestone (CT20, CT19, CT21)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Records
- Certificate plus before-and-after pictures
- Price
- Fixed quote, typically within a working day
- Working hours
- After hours by arrangement; emergencies any time
- Call
- 0345 646 2711
- Updated
- 30 October 2026
What a clean will not put right
We’ll always give you a straight diagnosis, so here’s what TR19 inspection will not do:
- Removing the grease, which is a separate clean
- Design faults in the extract system
- The responsible person’s own fire risk assessment
If in doubt, give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or drop us a line and we will say what we think before booking.
What we work on in Folkestone
- Insurer audits
- Pre-clean surveys
- Deposit thickness tests
- Post-clean checks
- Access surveys
- Wet film thickness tests
More services for Folkestone
How the visit works
The first job on site is protection: sheeting goes over floors and surfaces close to the work. After that, the system is made safe and the work begins. The work on site takes around an hour or two per canopy and duct system, and we clear up before we go. Work in Folkestone is typically booked after closing, early in the morning or on a closed day.
- First we look at the system’s cleaning history, if there is one.
- The layout is traced from the canopy to the discharge.
- Access panels are located and any missing ones noted.
- We measure the grease and photograph each point.
- We report back with readings and a fixed quote.
Before we arrive
- Tell us about site rules, permits or sign-in
- Tell us about access, such as roof hatches, plant rooms, ceilings or locked areas
- Agree a time when the area can be out of use
Ask for a quote
Every quote begins with a look at the system, from your photos and details or, where that is not enough, a survey on site. After that, you get a fixed price for the work so you know the cost before any work starts.
Read more
Between visits
So the system stays in good health:
- Book the next test on the date in the report
- Clean grease off the canopy between professional cleans
- Store grease readings where your insurer can see them
- Clean or swap grease filters as often as the kitchen needs
Readings of 500 microns or more are highlighted as needing immediate spot cleaning, and we can quote to do it.
Keep filters clean and in place. Gaps around filters let grease get past them.
Common problems we fix in Folkestone
Insurers, fire officers and environmental health officers look to TR19® as the benchmark. It is not legislation; the legal duty comes from the Fire Safety Order 2005, under which the responsible person must reduce fire risk, and in a kitchen that means keeping grease under control.
Look out for any of the following:
- Kitchens taken over with no cleaning records
- An insurer’s request for a TR19 audit
- Cleaning intervals that may not suit the kitchen
- Missing access panels found on survey
A kitchen near Folkestone Central station that serves breakfast and dinner can run its extract twelve hours or more, which shortens the cleaning interval.
Before booking anyone
- Whether a survey comes first
- If the quote is a fixed price or an estimate
- What’s included in the scope, part by part
- When they can work, and whether that is outside your opening hours
Your questions about TR19 inspection in Folkestone
Do you work at weekends in Folkestone?
Yes, nights and weekends are routine for us. That way a site in Folkestone does not have to lose a day’s trading. Tell us your opening hours when you ask for a quote.
Is TR19 inspection any different in a coastal place like Folkestone?
It can. Folkestone is within about 1 mile of the coast, and salt air speeds up corrosion. Corroded fixings and housings are noted on the report so they can be dealt with.
Do you offer maintenance contracts?
Yes. Tell us what you have and how it’s used and we’ll propose a schedule with a fixed quote.
Is TR19 cleaning the law?
No. It’s the benchmark rather than the law. Without TR19 records, an insurance claim can be reduced or refused, so it matters in practice.
Can you come out in an emergency?
Yes. For anything urgent, such as a fan failure or damage after a fire, ring the 24/7 line, and we’ll advise on what to do next.
What do the grease readings need to be?
Between cleans, the mean should stay at 200 microns or below, and anywhere at 500 microns or more needs spot cleaning straight away.
What is TR19?
It’s the industry benchmark for cleaning ventilation and kitchen extract systems, written by BESA. It sets out inspection, cleaning and record keeping and expects a risk-based approach.
When should we have our next grease test?
Each report recommends when to test and clean next, taking the readings and the kitchen’s hours into account. A risk assessment based on measured grease should set the interval.
What happens if it’s left?
Catching heavy deposits early keeps the fix small. Ignored, the layer only gets thicker. Booking now keeps it a routine visit to Folkestone rather than an urgent one.
A single site or a whole portfolio, we price it on the same basis: what needs doing, how we get to it and when. The price is fixed before we start.
Why choose Duct Doctor in Folkestone
- Member of BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease
- A fixed price before any work starts
- Work around your opening hours, with 24/7 emergency cover
- Every visit written up, with photos
Read how cleaning jobs are priced or how to check a contractor.
Part by part
Schools, hospitals and care homes
We fit testing around service times and school holidays so meals aren’t affected.
Vertical risers
Risers in multi-storey buildings can pass through other areas, so we arrange access ahead of time.
Folkestone kitchens: local notes
Folkestone is within about 1 mile of the coast. Metal on the roof weathers faster close to the coast, and the extract fan and cowl are no exception. The FSA’s data shows about 48 pubs and bars and about 12 hotels, B&Bs and guest houses registered within 1.5 miles or so of the middle of Folkestone. Wherever they cook, the canopy, duct and fan collect grease just as a restaurant’s do. Folkestone sits within the area of Kent Fire and Rescue Service. The Fire Safety Order puts the duty on whoever runs a kitchen to control its fire risk, and a greasy duct is fuel.
Bursars and site managers at schools such as Stella Maris Catholic Primary School tend to book extract cleaning for when the kitchen is empty. A hospital like Royal Victoria Hospital, about less than half a mile north-east, is the kind of site where a kitchen may cook for patients, staff and visitors all day.
Folkestone is in Kent. Sites in Folkestone get the same service as everywhere we cover: diagnosis first, a fixed price, out-of-hours working where needed and a written report with pictures. Across Kent, we cover 922 places, Folkestone among them. You can also see our page for Maidstone, about 30 miles away.
Our technicians cover all of the CT20, CT19 and CT21 postcode area for TR19 inspection and the roads nearby. That includes premises on Christ Church Road, Middelburg Square and Station Road and the roads around them. Main roads around Folkestone include the A259 and A260, which makes travel easy for evening and night visits. Neighbouring places we cover for TR19 inspection include Cheriton (1 mile west), Sandgate (1 mile south-west), Hawkinge (2 miles north), Arpinge (2 miles north-west) and Seabrook (2 miles west). Within a short drive, we also cover Ashford (14 miles west), Canterbury (14 miles north), Dover (7 miles north-east), Deal (13 miles north-east), Hythe (4 miles west) and Tower Hamlets (7 miles north-east). Folkestone is one of the larger places we cover in Kent for TR19 inspection.
What’s near Folkestone
In Folkestone, that means kitchens and buildings near The Park Inn Hotel, Lower Leas Coastal Park and The Harvey Grammar School and the streets around them. There’s a railway station in Folkestone itself: Folkestone Central station. Other landmarks nearby include Folkestone Museum (0.7 miles south-east) and Folkestone Castle (1 mile north). The countryside around Folkestone includes Sugar Loaf Hill.
What staff can safely do
Good housekeeping makes our visits easier, not unnecessary. Clean filters and tidy surfaces slow the build-up, but hidden parts of the system still need specialist attention.
For ventilation and air handling systems, in-house care is mostly about checks: keeping grilles clear, noting unusual noise or smells and logging filter changes. The inside of ducts and units needs a specialist.