Hood Cleaning Questions

NFPA 96 sets the frequency by cooking type and volume: monthly for solid-fuel cooking, quarterly for high-volume operations such as 24-hour and charbroiling kitchens, semi-annually for moderate-volume kitchens, and annually for low-volume ones. A free inspection of your system settles which band your kitchen is in — and we put the recommendation in writing.

Every visit produces the same package: a cleaning certificate naming the system, scope and date; a dated service sticker placed on the hood; before-and-after photographs of the hood, duct access points and fan; and scope notes with your recommended next-service date. That is the record fire marshals and insurers ask for.

Yes — night and between-service scheduling is our default. The crew protects and drapes your cooking line, completes the work while the kitchen is dark, and hands it back ready for the morning. 24-hour operations are handled with split visits and off-peak windows.

We open the system up: hood and filters, duct access points, the rooftop fan and containment. You get photographs of what we find, an honest assessment of the system's condition, a written scope and price for the cleaning, and a frequency recommendation matched to your cooking volume. No obligation, no pressure.

Yes. Multi-location and franchise operators get one schedule, one documentation standard and a consolidated service history across every store — the format area managers and insurance underwriters actually want to read.

NFPA 96 ties frequency to cooking type and volume: monthly for solid-fuel cooking, quarterly for high-volume operations such as 24-hour and charbroiler kitchens, semi-annually for moderate-volume kitchens, and annually for low-volume ones. We recommend the right interval for your kitchen after inspecting the system — and put it in writing.

Yes. Our cleaning scope follows NFPA 96 — the standard your fire marshal inspects against — covering the hood, filters, plenum, duct access points and fan. After each visit you receive a certificate and a dated service sticker documenting the service.

No. Hood cleaning is scheduled around your hours — typically at night or between services — and the line is protected while we work. Most kitchens open normally the next morning.

The canopy, filters, plenum and grease troughs are part of every hood cleaning. The ductwork and rooftop fan are separate scopes we recommend on the same visit — see our exhaust duct and fan cleaning service — because a clean hood over a loaded duct is only half a job.

Yes — neglected systems are a large part of our work. Heavily built-up systems may need a first deep restoration clean before they can go onto a normal maintenance interval, and we will tell you that honestly after the inspection, with photos.

Because grease travels. The vapour that passes the filters condenses inside the duct and around the fan, and a duct fire can spread through the building above the kitchen. NFPA 96 treats the hood, duct and fan as one system — and so do we.

Then parts of it have probably never been cleaned. We install access panels at the points needed to reach the full run — they are a one-time fix that makes every future cleaning and inspection possible.

Yes. The exhaust fan, its housing and the curb it sits on are degreased as part of the duct service, and the fan is run-tested before we leave.

You see it. Your documentation package includes photographs of the duct interior before and after cleaning, taken through the access points — the same views an inspector would check.

Cooking grease degrades most single-ply roofing membranes — it softens and swells the material, breaks down seams and shortens the roof's life. It is one of the most common causes of tenant roof-damage disputes in restaurant leases.

It depends on your cooking volume. High-volume fry and charbroiler kitchens can saturate media in weeks; moderate kitchens run months. We check the media at every scheduled visit and replace it before it overflows.

In almost all cases, yes. Containment systems are fitted at the existing fan curb without modifying the fan itself. If your discharge setup is unusual, the inspection will identify the right configuration.

Yes. Grease that washes off a roof enters storm drains, and several DMV jurisdictions treat it as an illicit discharge. Containment keeps the grease captured and disposed of with your service waste instead.

Typically: a current service sticker on the hood showing the cleaning company's name and the date of service, and a certificate or report showing the system was cleaned to NFPA 96 expectations. Requirements vary by jurisdiction — your package covers the common elements of all of them.

Yes — tell us the date when you call. We prioritise kitchens working to an inspection deadline, clean the system and issue the full documentation package at the visit, so you meet the inspector with a current sticker and certificate in hand.

For services we performed, yes — your service history is on file and certificates can be re-issued. For cleanings done by previous providers, we cannot certify their work; a fresh Eagle service starts your documented record from a verified-clean system.

Increasingly, yes. Commercial kitchen policies commonly require NFPA 96-compliant cleaning at the prescribed frequency, and underwriters may request certificates at renewal or after any kitchen fire claim. A continuous documented history is the strongest position you can be in.

Yes. Franchise and multi-unit operators receive a consolidated service history across locations — every store's dates, scopes and next-due dates in one view — which is exactly what area managers and insurers ask for.

By NFPA 96's volume bands: solid-fuel cooking monthly; high-volume operations (24-hour kitchens, charbroilers, wok lines) quarterly; moderate-volume kitchens semi-annually; low-volume annually. We assess your line honestly — over-cleaning wastes your money, under-cleaning fails inspections.

Yes — multi-unit and franchise operators are a core part of our program work. One schedule, one documentation standard, and a consolidated history across every location.

Tell us and we re-band the frequency. A kitchen that adds a charbroiler or extends to late-night service loads its system faster, and the program should move with it.

Programs run on a service schedule we agree together; the value is the rhythm and the record, not a lock-in. If the schedule stops suiting your kitchen, we adjust it — the documentation history remains yours either way.

None — this is a long-standing page on our site, kept at its original address. It describes the same complete hood cleaning service, performed to NFPA 96 standards and documented the same way.

Restaurants of every size, fast-food and franchise units, hotel and hospital kitchens, school and institutional cafeterias, catering kitchens and food trucks working from commissaries — anywhere in the DMV with a commercial exhaust system.

Yes — a takeover assessment is one of the smartest calls you can make. We inspect and photograph the hood, duct and fan, tell you honestly what condition the system is in, and quote the cleaning or repair needed to bring it to a documented, inspectable standard.

Yes, canopy installation is scoped per project for new build-outs and replacements. Send us the kitchen details through the quote form and we will come back with an assessment and a written quote.

It is scheduled as part of a hood-cleaning or deep-cleaning visit — one crew, one night, the whole line reset. Mention your equipment list when you request the quote and we will scope it in.

Fryers are drained and detailed as part of the clean; used-oil collection stays with your regular oil provider, whose schedule we work around.

Rattling, vibration, weak draw at the hood and grease patterns changing around the line are the early signs. Our assessment checks the fan's condition and tells you honestly whether a repair restores it or replacement is the economical call.

NFPA 96 expects the fan to tip back safely so the duct and fan can be cleaned and inspected. Fans bolted flat cannot be serviced properly — a hinge kit is a one-time fix that every future cleaning depends on.

An exhaust system removes air; if the building cannot replace it, the hood draws poorly, doors pull hard and smoke spills into the dining room. Balanced make-up air is part of a system that performs the way the inspector expects.

When the grease has spread beyond the exhaust system — floors slippery at the line, walls filmed behind equipment, a space being taken over or an inspection approaching. If you are not sure, the free inspection will scope it honestly.

Yes — many program kitchens start with a deep clean to reset the space, then stay on schedule with hood-system visits. It is the cleanest possible starting point for a documented record.