Restaurants — Kitchen Extract Cleaning in Hertfordshire

Restaurant kitchens load an extract system faster than most. Long services, chargrills, woks and tandoor ovens all push fat into the airstream, and the filters only stop part of it. We arrange TR19 extract cleaning quotes for restaurants across Hertfordshire, North London, Luton, Bedford and Harlow. Each enquiry goes to an independent specialist provider, who carries out the work and issues the certificate.

What you get is a clean that covers the whole system, paperwork your insurer and fire risk assessor will recognise, and a date that does not cost you a service.

Which TR19 frequency band restaurants fall into

TR19 Grease is the BESA specification for kitchen extract, and it sets minimum intervals by daily cooking hours. Heavy use of 12 to 16 hours a day means a clean every three months, moderate use of 6 to 12 hours means every six months, and light use of 2 to 6 hours means every twelve months. A restaurant serving lunch and dinner is usually in the six-monthly band, and a kitchen open from breakfast until late is in the quarterly band. London Fire Brigade guidance adds that fried and chargrilled food leaves far more grease than baking or boiling, so a grill-led menu can justify a shorter interval than hours alone suggest. The provider's grease readings settle it. Our TR19 compliance guide explains the bands in more detail.

Insurance and your fire risk assessment

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person to assess and reduce fire risk in non-domestic premises, and grease in the ductwork is a hazard your assessment should name. BESA notes that insurers can turn down a fire damage claim when poor maintenance played a part. Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service guidance says 70% of fires in commercial kitchens start in extract ventilation where fat and grease have been allowed to build up.

Which fire and rescue service covers you depends on the address. Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service covers the county, the London Fire Brigade covers Enfield, Barnet and Haringey, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service covers Luton and Bedford, and Harlow, which is in Essex, falls to Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.

What a full clean covers

A TR19 clean goes well beyond the filters. The provider cleans the canopy and filters, the full ductwork run from canopy to discharge and the extract fan, fitting access panels where a section cannot otherwise be reached. Grease-depth readings (wet film thickness tests) are taken before and after, and TR19 Grease sets 200 microns as the limit for deposits between cleans. You receive a certificate with before-and-after photographs taken from matching positions.

Scheduling around service

Cleans can be booked after close or before opening, so you lose no covers. Tell us your quietest night and any fixed bookings, and the provider will plan roof or riser access around them. If nobody is sure what state the system is in, start with an inspection report.

Restaurant groups with several sites

If you run more than one restaurant, we can arrange a single quote covering every site. Each kitchen gets its own interval and its own certificate, and dates are staggered so two kitchens are never down on the same night. In a shopping centre or mixed-use block, part of the duct may run through space the landlord controls. Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service points out that Article 22 of the Order requires responsible persons who share duties to cooperate and coordinate. The cost guide shows what drives the price.

Restaurants we arrange quotes for across the patch

Hertford, the county town, has seen its food and drink trade grow considerably since the 1980s, and it draws visitors from nearby towns and the North London suburbs. In the cathedral city of St Albans, the street market founded by Abbot Ulsinus is still held every Wednesday and Saturday. Watford High Street holds many of the town's bars, clubs and restaurants and is busiest at night, and Bury Park in Luton has a large number of restaurants, many of them serving halal food. In Haringey, Green Lanes through Harringay has a large number of Turkish bakeries and cafés and an expanding choice of restaurants. We also cover Wood Green, Palmers Green, Muswell Hill, Harpenden, Berkhamsted, Welwyn Garden City and Bedford.

Where we see these kitchens most

Services: TR19 extract cleaning · canopy cleaning · ductwork · filters · what it costs

Frequently Asked Questions