The filters weekly to fortnightly, the hood monthly, the duct and fan at least once a year. AS 1851-2012 has the hood, canopy body, plenum, filters and accessible duct inspected monthly for excessive grease accumulation and the exhaust system cleaned at least every twelve months. The real interval is risk-based: the AIRAH kitchen exhaust guideline sets it from measured grease thickness, and a fryer, char-grill or wok line gets its filters degreased weekly and its duct cleaned quarterly. The exhaust fan is serviced six-monthly, and the fire suppression system over the hood is re-commissioned whenever the cooking line changes.
The intervals
| Interval | What happens | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly to fortnightly | Grease filters removed and degreased; weekly for fryers, char-grills and woks. | Kitchen staff |
| Monthly | Hood, canopy body, plenum, filters and accessible duct inspected for excessive grease accumulation; canopy interior and collection trough degreased. | Kitchen staff or the cleaning contractor |
| At least annually, risk-based | Duct and fan cleaned: the standard's minimum is once every twelve months; the AIRAH guideline sets the interval from measured grease thickness, so a heavy cooking line is cleaned quarterly or six-monthly. | Kitchen exhaust cleaning contractor |
| Six-monthly | Exhaust fan service: blades, bearings, belts and airflow. | Mechanical contractor |
| On any change to the cooking line | The fire suppression system over the hood re-commissioned; see the AS 1851 guide for the suppression intervals. | Fire services contractor |
Who does it and what to keep
Kitchen staff do the filters and the monthly look; a specialist hood cleaning contractor does the duct and fan, with access panels opened along the run and photographs before and after. The record is the cleaning certificate with the photographs and the grease measurement, the monthly inspection log and the fan service reports. Insurers commonly make a current cleaning certificate a condition of the policy for a commercial kitchen, and the fire suppression contractor asks for it at the six-monthly suppression service.
The rule behind the interval
AS 1851-2012 Routine service of fire protection systems and equipment covers the kitchen fire suppression system and the hood and duct it protects, with the monthly inspection and annual minimum clean. AIRAH's kitchen exhaust hygiene guideline sets the risk-based cleaning interval from grease deposit thickness. AS 1668.1 and AS 1668.2 are the design standards for the exhaust system itself.
Common questions
Is an annual clean enough for a busy kitchen?
Rarely. Twelve months is the standard's minimum, not the target. A kitchen running fryers, char-grills or woks through lunch and dinner will show a grease film past the guideline threshold within three to six months, and the cleaning contractor sets the interval from what is measured.
Does the suppression system need attention when the exhaust is cleaned?
The suppression nozzles above the hood are not touched during a duct clean, but the six-monthly suppression service checks them, and any change to the cooking equipment or layout means the suppression system is re-commissioned, because its nozzles are aimed at specific appliances.
Put it in the register
An interval only holds when the asset is listed with its tasks, its contractor and where the record lives. Standara's library carries this asset with the tasks above attached, so adding it to a site's register produces the year's schedule, the monthly to-do list and the completion record the auditor or insurer asks for. The fuller picture, with the neighbouring assets and the rule behind each interval, is in the HVAC maintenance schedule.
More how-often answers
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- A worked example: one club's register, planner and records for a year
- All guides and answers