Commercial Kitchen & Appliance Cleaning

Why should a commercial kitchen be professionally cleaned?
With current standards of hygiene in the catering industry more rigorously checked and controlled than ever before it is vital to keep your kitchen spotless 365 days a year. By having your kitchen professionally cleaned you will not only be keeping within new health and safety laws and terms of your insurance, but you will also be creating a better working environment. This leads to increased productivity from your staff and catering equipment, drastically reducing the risk of vermin .

‘Catering premises continue to attract the highest rate of visits from local enforcement officers’

‘If you are instructed to close by an Inspector, you must do so immediately and you cannot re-open until you have been given permission to do so (after re-inspection).’

Fire Regulations: With new fire regulations following the regulatory reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 No. 1541, it is now the responsibility of an organisation to nominate a ‘responsible person or persons’ (e.g. the employer, owner, manager or any other person who exercises control over all or a part of the premises) to carry out a full fire risk assessment. Action must then be taken to eliminate or minimise potential risks. The change in the law means that failure to have systems thoroughly cleaned and checked could result in prosecution of the responsible person if a fire were to cause damage to property and/or injury to building occupants.

Should the 'responsible person' fail to carry out these duties they will be held personally liable for injury or death to building occupants in the event of a fire.

Insurance: Those who fail to take note of the new fire regulations will find property insurance impossible to obtain, difficult to renew, or invalid in the event of a fire.

Our certificate of hygiene and regular service schedule is of real importance and can be shown to your insurer, customers and health and safety inspectors.

 Restaurant after a fire started in the Kitchen

The Insurers' Loss Prevention Council recommend that at least annual cleaning of entire systems by specialists is carried out, the exact frequency to be determined by a reasoned risk assessment (see recommended cleaning frequencies).

Examples of policy:

  ‘All ducting and flues of said apparatus are inspected by a competent specialist at least once every six months and all greasy deposits are removed and not allowed to accumulate. Copy of certificates of inspection must be retained.’

"Part f). grease traps filters and other grease removal devices are cleaned every week.
Part g). the grease extract ducting is cleaned every 6 months.
 (v) all extraction hoods canopies filters and grease traps are cleaned at least once every seven days.
Failure to comply with the terms of a policy could mean invalidation of the entire contract, leaving the insured to carry a total loss."

Why choose Mr Gleam Ltd?

• We can work on a same-day-quote next-day-clean basis.
• Cleaners are available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
• All cleaning adheres to TR/19 HVCA guide to good practice.
• Comprehensive insurance.
• Free quotations.
• Lower insurance premiums.
• Staff are fully trained, uniformed, CRB checked (where necessary) and are employed by Mr Gleam Ltd.
• 100% satisfaction guarantee on all work undertaken.
• Hygiene certificate included free of charge.
• Full reports made available throughout the clean.
• Photo confirmation of problem areas and completed work.
• Full risk assessments, method statements and COSHH assessments carried out on all work.
• Up to date with all the latest equipment, technology and legislations.
• All aspects of cleaning available. 

Ducting Cleaning

Accumulation of grease within the extract system forms a hidden combustion load. High temperatures and flames can ignite this grease causing fire to spread rapidly throughout the ducting system which in turn will spread to the rest of the kitchen as the ductwork distorts under the intense heat.

Poorly designed and installed or damaged ductwork can leak grease, thus extending the fire risk. Vermin, poor hygiene and odour are also side effects of having a dirty kitchen extract system.

For all restaurants and canteens the duct work must be cleaned on a regular basis to ensure that they comply with the terms stipulated by their insurance company. With the average kitchen fire causing £133,000 of damage it is imperative that the cleaning regime is compliant with the terms of the specific warranty or the policy is voided.

Testing should be carried out at least every twelve months although monitoring of grease deposits may need to be carried out more frequently to establish precise cleaning frequencies. This testing should be carried out by a specialist service provider such as Mr Gleam and is based on the mean testing of fat and grease deposits throughout the ducting to ascertain the risks. Tests are carried out :

• Canopy/Extract behind filters
• Duct 1 metre from canopy
• Duct 3 metres from canopy
• Duct midway between canopy and fan
• Duct upstream of fan
• Discharge duct downstream of fan

 The TR/19 HVCA Guide to Good Practice has a rough guide to the frequency of cleaning based on the amount of hours the kitchen is in use.

Although major cleaning may only be required up to 4 times a year this should not replace the need for staff to clean all equipment daily.  Regular cleaning will reduce the cost of cleaning as deposits are not allowed to bake and harden. Mr Gleam are happy to give your staff cleaning tips on the best cleaning products to use to keep your commercial kitchen equipment in peak condition.

On completion of the work we will provide you with a report which will outline

• The level of grease deposits  in the extraction system do not exceed 50μm
• The systems that have been cleaned
• Pre-clean measurements of grease deposits
• Post-clean measurements of grease deposits
• Photographic records of pre-clean and post-clean
• Any additional work carried out
• COSHH data on any chemicals used
• Recommendations for future cleaning equipment and frequency
• Observations on the condition of the ductwork system
• A schematic of the system indicating access panels and testing locations

 Severe Build-Up of Grease Deposits within Extract System

Access Panel Supply & Installation:

It is important that extraction ducting is easily accessible for servicing and cleaning and therefore the need for access panels is sometimes required. Mr Gleam Ltd will ensure all access panels supplied and fitted are unobtrusive throughout your duct system, professionally fitted with no leakage, are of the highest quality and are in line with all necessary standards.

Filter Cleaning and Replacement:

Dirty filters dramatically affect the performance of your kitchen extraction unit and need to be deep-cleaned on a regular basis. As the build up of grease accumulates the filters become less effective, which in turn reduces the air circulation and increases the heat of the kitchen. Cleaning the filters in house can be time consuming, ultimately expensive and is normally unachievable due to the need for deep cleaning.

For a small charge Mr Gleam Ltd can arrange a suitable time table for collecting the filters, deep cleaning at one of our off-site locations in specialist dipping tanks then returning and fitting the filters clean and ready for use (it is recommended to have two sets of filters so a rotation policy can be implemented).

Even when properly maintained, filters do need to be regularly replaced. We can supply and fit new mesh and baffle type grease filters for your kitchen canopy at competitive prices.

• Other Kitchen Cleaning Services:
• Extraction Fan Cleaning
• Fridge/Freezer Deep Cleans
• Heavy Lime Scale Removal
• High Pressure Washing
• Steam Cleaning
• Hob & Oven Deep Cleaning
• Cutlery & Stainless Steel Deep Cleaning
• Total Deep Clean of Entire Kitchen at Discounted Rate

Kitchen  Appliances - Commercial Kitchen Equipment Cleaning

All major commercial kitchen appliances and equipment should be maintained to the same high standards as the rest of the kitchen and therefore it is essential that your kitchen appliances are professionally cleaned at least once per year depending on the amount of use.

Commercial kitchen appliances that should be carefully monitored are fryers, grills, oven ranges, steamers, fridges and combination ovens.  In order to get these appliances clean they must be fully dismantled, then treated in special cleaning solutions  to remove the grease and carbon build up.

Once the internal/removable parts are soaking in the solution we can set to work on the structure of the appliance using degreasers and steam to remove any burned-on grease and carbon.  Once this process has been completed the appliance can be re-assembled and polished before being put back to use in the kitchen.

Although deep cleaning of commercial kitchen appliances and equipment does restore them back to their best, it is advised that in order to reduce the need for several deep cleans per year, staff should maintain a daily cleaning routine with their appliances so that the grease and carbon does not have a chance to get burned on. Maintaining a daily cleaning routine will reduce the need to get specialist deep cleans done so frequently.

On completion of the work we can provide you with any recommendations we feel are needed in order to maximize the lifespan of your appliances. We have no affiliation with kitchen appliance manufacturers or retailers and therefore you can count on our advice to be impartial and honest.

All work carried out will be accompanied by

• Risk assessment
• Method Statement
• COSHH assessment on any chemicals used