Kent · TR19 inspections and grease testing
TR19 inspections and grease testing in Southborough, Kent
TR19 inspections and grease testing for businesses, landlords and public buildings in Southborough. CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and fully insured.
- Insurers asking for TR19 evidence
- Surveys needed before quoting a full clean
- Missing TR19 certificates or history
Why it’s worth doing now in Southborough
If there’s a fire or a claim, your insurer may ask for TR19 records. Missing records can put a claim at risk. An up-to-date inspection report is a good place to start. It’s easy to lose track of when the work was last done on a quieter site.
Every site is different, so we price each one individually. Size, access, the condition of the system and when we can work all make a difference.
Why choose Duct Doctor in Southborough
- Survey first, then a fixed quote
- Every visit written up, with photos
- Member of BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease
- Fixed quotes, usually within one working day
Take a look at what affects the cost and our accreditations.
TR19 inspection in Southborough, done properly
Insurance policies often require evidence of TR19® cleaning and inspection. Without it, a claim can be refused or reduced. A TR19 audit sets out the system’s condition, with readings and photos, for sites in Southborough and the rest of Kent. Typical jobs include missing TR19 certificates or history and pre-clean surveys before a first TR19 clean, on access surveys, insurer audits and wet film thickness tests.
In a smaller place like Southborough, the kitchens with extract systems are more likely to be a pub, a café, a takeaway or a school or care home kitchen than a big restaurant. A kitchen that cooks fewer hours still builds up grease, so the interval is set by hours of use and grease readings.
Nothing is signed off by word of mouth: a dated report with pictures of the work, plus a certificate through the BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite portal when the work is a TR19® Grease clean. Any parts we couldn’t reach are recorded on it too.
- Where
- Southborough (TN4, TN2)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Paperwork
- TR19® certificate and photo report
- Price
- A fixed price before any work starts
- Hours
- Out of hours as standard, 24/7 emergency line
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Updated
- 30 October 2026
Also near Southborough
More services for Southborough
The process
Every visit runs to the same pattern: protect the area, make the system safe, do the work, clear away and hand over the paperwork. The visit itself takes around an hour or two per canopy and duct system. Evenings, weekends or a closed day all work for a site in a place like Southborough.
- We agree a time when the kitchen is closed or quiet.
- Every part of the system is examined, end to end.
- Grease thickness is measured at set points by WFTT or DTT.
- Each test point and any access problems are photographed.
- You get a report with readings, pictures and recommendations.
Before we arrive
- Let us know about permits to work or site inductions
- Tell us about access, such as roof hatches, plant rooms, ceilings or locked areas
- Tell us where we can park and unload
Ask for a quote
The quickest way to a quote is to send pictures: wide shots of the system, close-ups of anything that worries you and how we’d get to it. Add the site type and your opening hours, and many jobs can be priced from that alone.
Read more
Honest limits
We will not sell you work that does not address the problem, so these are the things it won’t cover:
- Design faults in the extract system
- Sections with no access, until panels are fitted
- Fire safety duties beyond the extract system
Not sure which it is? You can call us on 0345 646 2711 or email us and we’ll tell you honestly.
What the work covers
- Access surveys
- Post-clean checks
- Deposit thickness tests
- Wet film thickness tests
- Pre-clean surveys
- Insurer audits
Managing agents and facilities teams in Southborough
Running several sites is easier with one contractor. We work across London and the South East, so visits at different addresses can be planned together and kept to a regular schedule.
We also work for facilities teams across offices, schools and healthcare across Kent. Larger estates can be phased building by building around the people who use them.
Different parts, different methods
Horizontal duct runs
Bends and long runs can hold heavy deposits, well away from where anyone looks.
Canopy and plenum
Behind the filters, the plenum catches plenty of grease. Readings and photos are taken in the plenum as part of every survey.
Questions from Southborough
Do you work at weekends in Southborough?
Yes, we can come after you close and finish before you open. It means the site in Southborough keeps running as normal. When you call us on 0345 646 2711, or send details by email, mention when the site is quiet.
Who is the fire and rescue service for Southborough?
That’s Kent Fire and Rescue Service. TR19® is not law, but it’s the benchmark many fire officers and insurers look to when they ask how often the extract is cleaned.
Do you carry out TR19 audits for insurers?
Yes, anywhere in the area we cover. Share the insurer’s request so the report addresses it.
How do you keep the site clean during the work?
With sheeting and covers, before anything else happens. We keep the work contained and clean down when we finish.
Do you offer maintenance contracts?
Yes, of course. Send details of the systems and how they’re used and we will propose a schedule with a fixed quote.
How much time does an inspection need?
Testing takes a couple of hours for a typical kitchen extract system. Sites with several canopies take longer, so call us on 0345 646 2711 or email us and we’ll plan it.
Which accreditations do you hold?
We are a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. We also hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and we carry full insurance.
What is post-clean verification?
Post-clean verification is a check after a clean, with fresh grease readings and photos. It works whoever carried out the clean.
What we’re called out for in Southborough
Menus, opening hours and cooking styles change over time, and more frying or longer hours mean more grease. The old cleaning schedule may not match the kitchen any more.
Most sites get in touch after spotting one of these:
- Pre-clean surveys before a first TR19 clean
- Kitchens taken over with no cleaning records
- An insurer’s request for a TR19 audit
- Ductwork where grease may be over the TR19 limits
A hall kitchen that only cooks for events, whether near Christ Church or elsewhere in Southborough, still needs its extract cleaned, just less often.
What to look for in a quote
- How areas they can’t reach will be recorded
- What paperwork you get at the end
- Exactly which parts of the system are covered
- Whether the work can be done while the site is closed
Kitchen extracts in Southborough
There are about 59 restaurants, cafés and canteens and about 33 takeaways and sandwich shops across Southborough and its immediate surroundings (about a mile and a half), according to the Food Standards Agency’s register. Each kitchen extract among them can be measured for grease to set the right cleaning interval. Environmental health officers from Tunbridge Wells council inspect food businesses in Southborough. An officer looking round a kitchen will see the canopy, and grease there is hard to miss. Keeping each certificate and photo report on file helps show the extract is looked after. The fire and rescue service for Southborough is Kent Fire and Rescue Service. In most workplaces, including commercial kitchens, it’s the fire and rescue authority that enforces the Fire Safety Order.
For schools such as Southborough CofE Primary School, kitchen extract cleaning is usually booked for the holidays, when the canteen is closed. Penshurst Place, about 3.5 miles west, is one of the historic houses near Southborough; if you run event catering at a venue like that, cleans can be booked between functions.
Southborough is about 1 mile north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, in Kent. Whether your site is in the middle of Southborough or further out, TR19 inspection is available to all kinds of commercial premises, from a single unit to a large public building. Our area takes in 922 places across Kent, large and small. Maidstone is in our area too, about 14 miles from Southborough.
Here we cover the TN4 and TN2 postcode area for TR19 inspection. Whether your site is on London Road, Church Road and Norton Road or anywhere close by, we can help. With the A26 close by, Southborough is simple for us to get to for TR19 inspection. Neighbouring places we cover for TR19 inspection include High Brooms (1 mile south-east), Stockland Green (1 mile west), Bidborough (1 mile north-west), Royal Tunbridge Wells (1 mile south) and Speldhurst (2 miles west). Further out, we also cover Maidstone (14 miles north-east), Sevenoaks (9 miles north), Tonbridge (3 miles north), Kings Hill (10 miles north-east), Foley Park (15 miles north-east) and Paddock Wood (6 miles east).
Near you in Southborough
In Southborough, that means kitchens and buildings near Barnett's Wood, St Gregory's Catholic School and Flying Dutchman pub. The nearest railway station is High Brooms station, roughly 1 mile south-east of the centre. A little further out are Kent and Sussex Hospital (1.4 miles south) and Tonbridge Castle (2.8 miles north). Not far away are Tudeley Woods RSPB reserve and Barden Lake.
In-house cleaning or a specialist?
Logging matters as much as cleaning. A simple log of filter washes, wipe-downs and checks helps show that the system is managed between specialist visits, next to our reports.
Some jobs should never be done in-house: entering ducts, working on fans, testing dampers and taking grease readings call for the right kit, training and safe access. Leave those to us.