Do I have to clean my hoods?

YES - National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Code 96 requires that all commercial cooking establishments clean their entire exhaust system on a regular rotation usually quarterly.

Most kitchen fires originate from the cooking area so it is for his reason that it is vital to keep the system grease-free and fire safe.

Why can't my kitchen staff clean the hoods for me?

​National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Code 96 states:

"The entire exhaust system shall be cleaned by a properly trained, qualified and certified person(s)."

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Work of this nature takes specialized tools, equipment, and experience to properly and thoroughly clean the 'entire' hood exhaust system.

It is required to have a certificate of compliance indicating the name of a certified company, the cleaning date and the expiration date. It is also required to indicate if any inaccessible areas exist.

What areas are cleaned?

As per the standards laid out in NFPA 96 fire code: The entire system needs to be cleaned to bare metal. Most Kitchen Exhaust Cleaners only clean the hood itself, however, the most important part of the cleaning is in fact the rest of the system, especially the parts that can not be seen.

These areas include:

• The fan bowl, fan blades, checking the condition of the fan belt.

• The duct system all the way down to the hood, both vertical and  horizontal areas if any. Fire code requires that there be access points installed at all bends or every 8 ft. If insufficient access exists, we will notify the customer during the initial inspection.

• The hood (plenum area), filter tracks, grease cups, light globes, and the hood filters are all steam cleaned​. Finally the entire hood inside and out is polished.

How do I know my system has been cleaned correctly?

 It is difficult to check the crucial areas of the system one's self (duct-work & fan) we provide our clients with before & after photos of the entire system.

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The report is in a digital, easy to read format that can be viewed on any computer or mobile device. ​We take this a step further and provide our customers with Geo-tagged pictures that record GPS co-ordinates, the date and the time. This offers utmost piece of mind, that the pictures you are seeing are yours, and that they are from that specific cleaning.

How often does my system need to be cleaned?

The hood cleaning frequency is based on the type and volume of cooking performed. Certain sections of the system, like char broilers may be required to be cleaned monthly, where most hoods systems are cleaned quarterly.

Upon the initial inspection, we would determine the appropriate cleaning rotation based on the needs of each location.

What is NFPA Code 96?

It is the standard for Ventilation control and Fire Protection of commercial cooking operations.
NFPA 96 details the minimum fire safety requirements (preventative and operative) related to the design, installation, operation, inspection and maintenance of all public and private cooking operations. These requirements include, but are not limited to all manner of cooking equipment, exhaust hoods, grease removal devices, exhaust ductwork, exhaust fans, dampers, fire extinguishing equipment, and all other auxiliary or ancillary components or systems that are involved in the capture, containment and control of grease laden cooking effluent.
The provisions of this standard are considered necessary to provide a reasonable level of protection from loss of life and property from fire and explosion. The standard is intended to be applied as a united whole. It cannot provide safe design and operation if parts of it are not enforced or are arbitrarily deleted in any applications. The authorities having jurisdiction shall determine compliance with this standard and authorize equivalent derivations from it in all applications.

Does Grexen offer 24/7 emergency service?

YES. The Grexen Toll-free number is linked directly to one of the owners, so that at any time of day, a key decision maker can put actions in motion to get your system back up and running as soon as possible.

 Simply dial 1-855-GREXEN1 ext 3 (emergency extension)