Do I really need to sign up for flue cleaning services?

Plenty of people think they can take care of cleaning their commercial kitchen’s flue on a regular basis on their own. It’s not actually that hard of a task, when you think about it. The problem comes in when kitchen managers and staff have so much to do that taking care of the flue isn’t prioritized. Keeping your commercial kitchen’s flue clean is extremely important – in fact, you’re required to by law. Don’t pile this task on your staff’s already overflowing To Do lists – let Flue Steam take care of your flue cleaning needs so you won’t have to stress out about it anymore.

What is a flue?

Let’s back up for a moment. You may not be totally sure what a flue even is, and if that’s the case, that’s okay. We’re always happy to explain what a flue is and why it needs to be taken care of properly in all kinds of commercial kitchens. The flue is an essential part of your kitchen because it removes hot exhaust gases that are naturally created when cooking. Frying and broiling create a tremendous amount of hot exhaust gases which are trapped by the flue, though other cooking processes also make the flue dirty over time.

Up to 70% of all airborne grease generated by the cooking process is trapped by the grease filter, but the rest of it passes through the filter, attaching itself to the walls of the exhaust duct and the blades of the exhaust fan. Greasy deposits quickly become more and more greasy, and as a result, the exhaust system isn’t able to be as efficient over time. Exhaust temperatures increase and if it gets really hot, the grease deposits can liquefy. Consequently, a flash fire can occur.

If the grease fire occurs within the grease filters or the area right behind the filters, the automatic fire system will automatically dischange and put the fire out. However, if the fire occurs above the fire system’s sensors, then the local fire department will need to be alerted. The average response time in a city for the fire department to arrive is 6 minutes – and during that time, your kitchen may become severely damaged. You may have to close for weeks or months to make repairs, and your bottom line will certainly suffer.

Preventing flash fires

Flash fires are easily preventable in commercial kitchens, though – all you have to do is sign up for flue cleaning services from Flue Steam. We offer both hand scraping and steam cleaning services. We recommend signing up for hand scraping services on a monthly basis and supplementing that with steam cleaning services 2-4 times per year. This will ensure your exhaust system stays clean and safe, and dramatically reduce your commercial kitchen’s risk of flash fires. After each cleaning service, we’ll provide a “Certificate of Performance” on your exhaust system that shows the date of service to keep code inspectors satisfied that you’re doing your part to comply with your code obligations.

Sign up for flue cleaning services from Flue Steam now! Call 800-700-FLUE today.