Medway · TR19 inspections and grease testing
TR19 inspections and grease testing in Hempstead, Medway
For TR19 inspection in Hempstead, one call is all it takes, from survey to sign-off. Fully insured, with CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001.
- Post-clean verification after another contractor’s clean
- Extracts that have never been grease tested
- Heavy grease suspected in the plenum or ducts
About our TR19 inspection in Hempstead
If you’ve taken over a kitchen in Hempstead and do not know when the extract was last cleaned, an inspection is the place to start. We survey the system, measure the grease and tell you what needs doing, before any cleaning is booked. The work covers insurer audits, wet film thickness tests and post-clean checks, and people most often call us about heavy grease suspected in the plenum or ducts and insurers asking for TR19 evidence.
Around a smaller place like Hempstead, kitchen extracts tend to belong to pubs, cafés, takeaways and school or care home kitchens. Quieter kitchens still collect grease in the duct, just more slowly, so cleaning is planned around how much it cooks and what the readings show.
Duct Doctor has been trading since 2009, and we are a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001 are in place too, and we are fully insured.
- Location
- Hempstead (ME7, ME8)
- Wider area
- Medway
- Paperwork
- Certificate and photo report
- Quotes
- A fixed price before any work starts
- When we work
- After hours by arrangement; emergencies any time
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Reviewed
- 30 October 2026
FAQs for Hempstead
Can school kitchens in Hempstead be cleaned in the holidays?
Yes, out-of-term visits are normal for schools. Around Hempstead, the Food Standards Agency lists about 12 schools and colleges with registered kitchens within a mile and a half or so. You can call 0345 646 2711, or send details by email with the dates the site is empty.
Which council inspects kitchens in Hempstead?
In Hempstead, it’s Medway council that carries out food hygiene inspections. Have your latest TR19® certificate and photo report to hand, as an officer may ask how the extract is maintained.
What’s TR19?
TR19® is BESA’s specification for ventilation hygiene. Since 2019, TR19® Grease has been a standalone specification for grease in kitchen extract systems, while TR19® Air covers other supply and extract ductwork.
What happens to the waste?
We take it away at the end of the visit. During the work, it’s contained to keep the area clean.
Can you quote from photos?
Usually, yes. Send a few wide photos plus close-ups of panels, filters or grilles, and we normally come back within one working day. If pictures aren’t enough, we’ll survey first.
What accreditations do you have?
We’re a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. We also hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and we are fully insured.
Do you work out of hours?
Yes. Give us your opening hours with your enquiry and we will plan the visit around them.
Can one contract cover all our sites?
Yes. Our area covers London and the South East, so we can schedule a run of sites as one programme. Each site gets its own report and pictures.
How it works
There are three stages on the day: getting the area ready, doing the work and signing it off. Getting ready means protecting surfaces and switching off what needs to be off, and the sign-off is a written report with pictures. The middle part takes longest, which takes around an hour or two per canopy and duct system. We plan the journey to Hempstead and bring what the job is likely to need.
- The visit is arranged for when the kitchen isn’t busy.
- Every part of the system is examined, end to end.
- Grease thickness is measured at set points by WFTT or DTT.
- We photograph the test points and record any sections we cannot reach.
- We send a report setting out the readings, pictures and next steps.
Getting ready for the visit
- Let us know when the site is closed or quiet
- Name a contact who can let us in at the agreed time
- Have your last certificate or report to hand
Ask for a quote
For TR19 inspection in Hempstead, ring 0345 646 2711 or send us an email. Tell us what kind of premises it is and when it’s open, plus pictures or the previous report if they’re to hand. A fixed quote typically follows within one working day.
Advice
Looking after it afterwards
Simple habits between visits make a real difference. We recommend:
- Book the next test on the date in the report
- Look out for grease drips round the canopy edge
- File every inspection report with your certificates
- Share inspection reports with your insurer or broker when asked
For an insurer audit, send them the report as it is, including readings, photos and any inaccessible sections.
Revisit the cleaning interval whenever the menu or hours change. A quick grease test answers the question.
Do you need TR19 inspection in Hempstead?
Grease in a duct is flammable fuel. A flare-up on the range can be drawn into the canopy and duct, and from there a fire can spread through the ductwork. Measuring it is the first step to keeping it under control.
Clients usually contact us after spotting something like this:
- Kitchens taken over with no cleaning records
- Ductwork where grease may be over the TR19 limits
- Systems that need surveying before cleaning
- Uncertainty over how often to clean
A hall kitchen that only cooks for events, whether near All Saints Church or elsewhere in Hempstead, still needs its extract cleaned, just less often.
Comparing quotes
- Whether the work can be done while the site is closed
- What insurance they carry
- Proof of accreditation you can verify
- If the quote is a fixed price or an estimate
Multi-site and managed buildings
Managing agents often deal with us directly. Send the address, what’s needed and how access works and we will come back with a fixed quote.
The Fire Safety Order 2005 puts the duty to manage fire risk on the responsible person, and that can be the employer, the owner, a landlord, a facilities manager or a managing agent. With shared responsibility, good records help everyone.
More services for Hempstead
What staff can safely do
A few tasks are always specialist work: entering ducts, working on fans, testing dampers and taking grease readings call for the right kit, training and safe access. That is our job.
Staff cleaning does not replace a specialist visit; it supports it. Clean filters and tidy surfaces slow the build-up, but the parts you can’t see still need a specialist at the right interval.
When something else is needed
It’s worth knowing the limits before booking:
- Parts of the duct nobody can reach yet
- The legal duty, which stays with the responsible person
- Installation problems, which fall under design guidance such as DW172
If you’re not sure, just give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or drop us a line and we’ll give you a straight answer.
Where we work
- Insurer audits
- Pre-clean surveys
- Access surveys
- Wet film thickness tests
- Post-clean checks
- Deposit thickness tests
TR19 inspection around Hempstead
Hempstead lies within about 3 miles of the sea. Salt air speeds up corrosion of roof-level fans, discharge cowls and their fixings. Food Standards Agency records list about 24 restaurants, cafés and canteens and about 13 takeaways within roughly a mile and a half of the centre of Hempstead. For any of them with a canopy, measuring grease is better than guessing when to clean. It’s Medway council that sends environmental health officers to food businesses in Hempstead. A greasy canopy or dripping filters are the sort of thing an inspection can pick up. Before-and-after photos from each clean are a simple way to show the extract is in hand.
If your kitchen is in a listed or historic building, like the houses around Hempstead (Restoration House is about 3.8 miles north-west), fitting access panels needs care. Healthcare kitchens, like those at hospitals such as Medway Maritime Hospital (about 2.4 miles north-west), often cook for long hours, which puts them in BESA’s heavier-use bands.
Hempstead is about 2 miles south of Gillingham, in Medway. Whether your site is in the middle of Hempstead or further out, we cover TR19 inspection for every kind of premises, from small sites to large estates. Hempstead is one of 68 towns, villages and districts in Medway where we work for commercial clients. Our Maidstone page covers sites nearby (6 miles or so).
We work across the ME7 and ME8 postcode area for TR19 inspection and the streets around it. If you need TR19 inspection at premises on Harrow Road, Spekes Road and Capstone Road or anywhere close by, our technicians can take on the work. Being close to the A278, Hempstead is easy for our technicians to reach for TR19 inspection. Other places close to Hempstead include Capstone (1 mile north-west), Darland (1 mile north-west), Wigmore (1 mile east), Hale (1 mile north-west) and Park Wood (1 mile east). Further out, we also cover Rochester (4 miles north-west), Strood (5 miles north-west), Hoo St Werburgh (5 miles north), Chatham Waterfront (3 miles north-west), Rochester Riverside (4 miles north-west) and Peters Village (5 miles west).
What’s near Hempstead
Typical jobs here are in premises near Rainham School for Girls, Howard School and South Wood, among other places. Hempstead’s nearest station is Rainham (Kent) station, roughly 2.1 miles north-east. A little further out are Pentagon Shopping Centre (3 miles north-west) and Medway megaliths (3.8 miles south-west). Green spaces nearby include Burham Down and Boxley Hills.
What affects the quote in Hempstead
The price is fixed before any work begins. It takes into account:
- What state the system is in
- The size of the system
- Where the site is and how we reach it
- When the work can happen, such as evenings, overnight or weekends
When the work has to happen, how we reach it and how big the site is can all change the price. We take each of them into account and give you a fixed price before we start.
What to send for a quote
There’s no need for technical detail. Just send:
- The roof, plant room or outside wall the system runs to
- When the site is open and when it’s quiet
- Your last certificate, test record or report
- Any symptoms, from odd noises to smells or leaks
Quoting starts with a diagnosis, either from pictures and details you send or from a site visit. Then we send a fixed price, before work begins.