Benefits of Properly Maintaining Your Kitchen Exhaust System

Beyond safety concerns, there are other benefits to properly maintaining your exhaust system.  Here are some of those benefits.

1. The exhaust hood system helps to maintain proper airflow in your kitchen. Odors and excess smoke caused by grease and oils are not what you want your customers experiencing. When the fan becomes heavily grease laden, it slows down, affecting the air balance in the kitchen by reducing the amount of air being exhausted. This can cause kitchen odors to easily leak into the dining area.

2. To run optimally, the system must be cleaned and not burdened by excess grease. When the system is dirty, more wear occurs and the sooner you will need replacement parts and service calls that will cost you more than the maintenance would. Also, a well cleaned exhaust system (down to bare metal) will reduce the redeposit of grease on to the metal surfaces. Grease has a much harder time adhering to smooth clean metal surfaces then rough, grease laden surfaces. With proper maintenance, the maintenance itself is easier and therefore less costly. New clients who have not properly maintained their exhaust system typically spend much more to do a deep cleaning and bring their system into compliance.

3. Third, since the exhaust system circulates air by removing hot, smoky and greasy air and pulling clean air in, the resulting environment for your staff will be improved. An exhaust system that is safely working at peak performance will provide a cooler, cleaner and more productive environment for your staff. Decreased energy costs from reduced cooling and increased staff productivity are the result.

Properly maintaining your exhaust hood system is required to comply with fire code. But beyond safety, the above benefits help to offset the maintenance costs and improve the overall functionality of your restaurant.