Sooner or later, a time will come when any professional kitchen will have little choice but to call on the services of an industrial duct cleaning team to carry out a thorough inspecting and cleaning job. Over time, the amount of dust, dirt and grime that collects in these essential air systems is somewhat alarming to say the least. Even over the course of a single working week, the busiest kitchens may find their extraction systems and ducts becoming rather on the grubby side and perhaps even slightly clogged – all of which can have an impact on performance, safety and the health of those around.
The simple fact of the matter is that any extraction system in place for a professional kitchen cannot work with maximum efficiency and effectiveness unless it is properly cleaned and maintained. For the sake of the environment, all workers within the premises and even the company’s finances as a whole, it’s more than worth ensuring that commercial kitchen duct cleaning is carried out as often as necessary.
That being said, in the meantime there are various ways and means by which a proactive stance can be taken against the slowly-building problems, in the form of a little DIY duct care. It’s not like most business owners will have the time, tools or inclination to get deep-down and dirty with the whole thing, but with the interests of the business and its employees at heart, it’s necessary to take something of a semi-involved role at least.
For example:
Look For Mould and Fungus
In an instance where an extraction system is in any way blocked or for some reason isn’t allowing air to circulate properly, there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself with a mould or fungus problem. Not only can mould and fungus add to the problem significantly by causing blockages and spreading extremely fast, but in certain instances can also pose a serious health danger to those around. It’s often impossible to detect such problem in the air until it becomes too late and those affected are taken ill – something no business would ideally like to deal with. So, even if it’s a problem that you yourself cannot tackle manually, you need to be on the lookout for fungus and mould at all times.
Watch For Blockages and Debris
When and where an extraction system cannot for any reason perform its job properly, there’s a chance that the air it should be transferring to the outside of the premises will instead be leaked back inside. In lesser instances this may not necessarily be the end of the world, but at the same time could lead to unclean and overly-recycled air being pumped back into the building over and over again. Should the air have been contaminated by mould, fungus, animal droppings, dead animals, rotting debris or really anything else in the process, it really isn’t the kind of air you should be breathing.
Control Filter Cleanliness
These days, the vast majority of ultra-modern kitchen extraction duct systems are created in such a way as to allow for their filters to be cleaned without having to call in the professionals. Unfortunately, it remains one of the most commonly overlooked areas in the whole of the kitchen cleaning process and filters are often left to fall into a state of disrepair, rather than being cleaned on a regular basis. The simple point here is that if you have filters that you can take down and clean, you should be doing so as often as necessary. Not only will clean filters improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the filtration and extraction systems as a whole, they’ll also prolong the life of the system and save a great deal of money long-term.
Don’t Forget the Filters
The cleanliness of the air in your ducts will be determined by how clean and appropriately maintained any filters in place are. Filter the air sufficiently before it gets pumped into your ducts and there won’t be any dirt or grime left to accumulate. What’s more, do a full check to make sure there are no gaping holes or points of entry through which vermin and all manner of bugs can find their way in.
Call In the Professionals
Last but not least, as mentioned earlier there’s bound to be a time and a place when the system as a whole requires the professional touch in order to keep working as it should be. In terms of knowing when exactly the pros are needed, if you identify any obvious problems with performance or cleanliness, then you should of course make the call. But at the same time, the problems can manifest in an invisible way and it’s therefore a good idea to book a consultation periodically, even if there isn’t anything obviously wrong.