Why You Have To Have Your Grease Extractor Fan Regularly Cleaned

Kitchen extractor fans are essential pieces of kitchen equipment in both a domestic and commercial setting. They have a vital role, and to stay safe and efficient they require regular cleaning.

Is it something that you forget to do? Do you struggle to remember the last time you cleaned your extractor fan?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone, but it is essential that you start a regular grease extractor fan cleaning regime. Let’s take a closer look:

What Is A Kitchen Grease Extractor Fan?

A kitchen grease extractor fan is a piece of equipment that tends to be fitted over the hob. They can be digital, or work with manual buttons, and they come in a huge range of designs.

The way they work is to suck up any odors, grease, smoke, and steam away from the kitchen as you cook.

In a professional setting, you may find industrial extractor fans across a cooking space, designed to take up large amounts of grease, smoke, and steam across multiple hours of cooking.

Why You Need To Have Your Kitchen Grease Extractor Fan Regularly Cleaned

Just like an oven, or other regularly used kitchen equipment, the grease extractor fan needs to be cleaned regularly. The reasons are roughly the same for domestic and professional extractor fans, with some slight differences, which we will discuss below:

Domestic Grease Extractor Fan Cleaning

A domestic grease extractor fan requires a good clean every six months or more depending on how often you cook. There are a few important reasons for this, which are:

Fire: High temperatures, fire, and other things can cause the grease caught in an extractor fan to set on fire, which can then spread at speed across the kitchen and inside the duct.

Hygiene: A big grease buildup can lead to a bad smell, the potential for pests, and even leakage of contaminated air in the cooking space. Grease can also find its way into other areas of a duct system, further impacting and compromising the hygiene of your home.

Efficiency: Grease extractor fans are unable to run as efficiently as they could when they are blocked up with grease.

This means that you get a less efficient system, potentially causing the cooking smells, smoke, and steam to spread across the home compromising air quality and leeching smells into furniture and soft furnishings.

Of course, extractor fans aren’t exactly cheap to replace either, and so if the filter is left to become so dirty and blocked up it is no longer viable, this issue can spread further into different parts of the machinery, potentially causing the whole system to require replacement.

Professional Grease Extractor Fan Cleaning

70% of fires in commercial kitchens are caused by faulty extract ventilation systems because of grease building up in them. A wide range of pests can also be attracted to any grease buildup on commercial premises.

For both of these reasons, as well as everything we mentioned in the domestic section above, commercial kitchens must have regular extractor fan cleaning done by a professional, sometimes once a month, or even once a week depending on your usage.

This not only maintains the hygiene, health, and safety of this particular piece of equipment but helps you to stay compliant with health and safety legislation, as well as provides a paper trail for any inspections you have.

Speak To A Professional Cleaning Company For Grease Extractor Fan Cleaning

To reduce fire risk, maintain the equipment, maintain health, safety, and hygiene, and protect your insurance, hire a professional cleaning company to clean your extractor fan.

They can provide you with a full cleanliness report and evidence of the clean, as well as getting the job done efficiently and thoroughly at a competitive price.

Whether you have a domestic or commercial kitchen, your cooking space can only benefit from a fresh, clean, and safe grease extractor fan to use daily.