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This blog will answer all your burning questions about exhaust system hand scraping and steam cleaning services. We hope it’s helpful! If you have any further questions about our services, or to request an estimate, simply call us at 800-700-FLUE or contact us online here. Our staff is ready and willing to assist you in English or Spanish when you contact us today.

First – a helpful definition

Let’s start with first things first. What is a flue? It’s an integral part of your commercial kitchen that removes the hot exhaust gases that are naturally created during cooking.

What’s involved in hand scraping?

Hand scraping your commercial kitchen exhaust system is really important because a clean system will be able to work efficiently. It’s accomplished by a person simply scraping the accumulation of grease from the walls of the exhaust system. This is an effective method for removing grease from your exhaust system, but it’s not the most thorough method, because there are certain areas of your exhaust system that are unreachable. Our technicians always strive to thoroughly remove grease from all areas of your exhaust system, but that ability is naturally limited.

How about steam cleaning?

That’s where steam cleaning comes in. Steam cleaning your exhaust system is a much more meticulous process. During steam cleaning, our technician will set up the specialized equipment in your kitchen and then utilize high-pressure hot water to reach every nook and cranny of your exhaust system. This delivers impressive results and provides an absolutely thorough cleaning of every inch of your exhaust system.

Do I need hand scraping and steam cleaning services?

We recommend that commercial kitchen exhaust systems be hand scraped and steam cleaned at regular intervals to maintain maximum efficiency and prevent grease buildup (and resulting flash fires). A good general rule is that the average restaurant needs to have a flue cleaning every 3 months (4 times a year). Fast food restaurants and kitchens that do a lot of charbroiling or frying should be cleaned monthly. We recommend having your exhaust system hand scraped on a monthly basis and steam cleaned quarterly.

Begin your partnership with Flue Steam Inc. today

Let us handle all your exhaust system cleaning needs. You’ll find that our technicians are always diligent and thorough, plus our prices are reasonable. The peace of mind you get from knowing that your exhaust system is always cleaned at regular intervals is fantastic. Sign up today by calling Flue Steam at 800-700-FLUE.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently issued a helpful guide for food truck owners and operators. Food trucks are becoming more and more popular throughout the US, especially here in Southern California. Do you have one, or are you considering acquiring one in the near future? There are some important safety considerations to keep in mind to make sure your food truck keeps being able to deliver quality food for a long time to come.

Check out this fact sheet about food trucks for plenty of pertinent information. It includes essential info in terms of your workers’, guests’, and your own safety, plus a fuel and power sources checklist. It also includes a propane system integrity checklist, operational safety checklist, and solid fuel safety checklist (where wood, charcoal, or other solid fuel is used).

You’ll find these lists to be an incredibly useful, straight-forward guide to attaining and maintaining the absolute safety of your food truck. This fact sheet includes plenty of specific tips and recommendations for ensuring maximum safety and security in and around your food truck.

Another way to make sure your food truck stays absolutely safe and secure, aside from following these directives from the National Fire Protection Association, is by partnering with Flue Steam.

Plenty of experience

We have helped thousands of commercial kitchens in hotels, restaurants, and yes, in food trucks, with all their commercial kitchen air control and fire prevention needs. Our expert services can improve the safety, air quality, and energy efficiency of your commercial kitchen, wherever it may be. We provide a whole range of services for food truck owners and operators, including:

• Complete kitchen exhaust system cleaning (hand scraping and steam cleaning of fans, hoods, and ducts)
• Grease filter exchange services
• Swamp cooler maintenance
• Exhaust fan maintenance
• Automatic fire suppression system services
• Portable fire extinguisher sales and services

Kitchen exhaust system cleaning

We’re here to make sure your food truck’s kitchen exhaust system is always in ideal shape with our regular cleaning services. Your exhaust system is one of the most essential parts of your food truck because it removes hot air, odors, and vaporized grease from the truck. It’s super important to make sure grease doesn’t build up your exhaust system, which makes it less efficient and could even lead to flash fires. Thankfully that’s easy to take care of when you partner with Flue Steam. We’ll gladly handle all your kitchen exhaust system cleaning needs including hand scraping and steam cleaning services.

We pride ourselves on providing thorough, fire-code-compliant cleaning for each and every customer. We provide “Certificates of Performance” stickers after each job as proof that you have fulfilled your NFPA code obligations. These stickers keep code inspectors satisfied, plus they can help you save money on your insurance bills.

Want more info?

Contact us today for more information about our services and establish your partnership with Flue Steam today.

The exhaust system is one of the most important elements of any commercial kitchen. The purpose of a kitchen exhaust system is to remove hot air and odors as well as safely eliminating vaporized grease, which is a natural byproduct of cooking. Naturally, cooking foods with oil results in more vaporized grease, so if your commercial kitchen fries or sautees frequently, properly maintaining your kitchen’s exhaust system is especially essential. Failing to keep your commercial kitchen exhaust system clean and in good working condition will compromise its ability to do its job properly.

If your commercial kitchen exhaust system isn’t able to pull hot air, odors, and vaporized grease from your kitchen effectively, too much grease will build up in the system. Then you’ll run the risk of dangerous flash fires within your exhaust system ducts. If that happens, the fire department will have to be called, and you’ll have to shut down your business for repairs, resulting is plenty of lost income. Avoid a huge interruption to your business by proactively maintaining your commercial kitchen exhaust system.

But what happens if you failed to maintain your exhaust system regularly, and it has stopped working well? Then you need to address the problem ASAP. But how?

Just call Flue Steam at 800-700-FLUE for prompt emergency commercial kitchen exhaust system repair services. Our 24 hour emergency services include the repair of:

• Exhaust fan motors, bearings, pulleys, and belts
• Swamp cooler motors, belts, pads, pumps, and float valves
• Automatic fire suppression systems
• Automatic gas shutoff valves

Anytime you have an emergency with your exhaust system, you can count on Flue Steam to help you out. Simply call us at 800-700-FLUE and we’ll send a technician over to make any and all necessary repairs ASAP. It doesn’t matter what day or time it is – we’ll provide impeccable emergency repair services for your exhaust system anytime. We hope you never have an emergency situation arise with your exhaust system, but if you do, count on Flue Steam for all your commercial kitchen exhaust system repair needs.

Preventative exhaust system care measures

There are many ways in which you can prevent an emergency situation from arising. Invest in regular equipment inspections and cleanings. Sign up for regular exhaust system cleaning services with Flue Steam and you’ll never have to wonder whether your system is clean enough again. Our technicians strive to reach every inch of your exhaust system to clean it thoroughly. Plus we provide various bonus services at every cleaning visit. Our technicians will grease your fan bearings, check the belts, and replace worn belts with new, customer-supplied ones whenever needed, all at no extra charge to you. We recommend booking commercial kitchen exhaust system cleaning appointments at least one week in advance, but we can perform the cleanings at any time that’s convenient for your busy schedule.

Sign up today

Begin your partnership with Flue Steam today by calling 800-700-FLUE. Sign up for regular commercial kitchen exhaust system cleaning services and any of our other helpful services.

Flue Steam has been serving Southern California since 1971 – for over 40 years! Since the very beginning, we’ve been committed to making commercial kitchens safer and more efficient with our various services. You can really trust your commercial kitchen to our capable hands. Begin your partnership with Flue Steam and enjoy immediate peace of mind. We look forward to forging a lasting relationship with you. Call us at 800-700-FLUE to discuss your unique needs and to sign up for our awesome services for commercial kitchens.

Services we currently offer include:

• Kitchen exhaust system cleaning (including hand scraping and steam cleaning of fans, hoods, and ducts)
• Grease filter exchange service
• Swamp cooler maintenance
• Exhaust fan maintenance
• Automatic fire suppression system service
• Portable fire extinguisher sales and service

Commercial kitchen exhaust system cleaning

For over 40 years, commercial kitchen owners and managers have relied on the impeccable exhaust system cleaning services provided by Flue Steam. The purpose of kitchen exhaust systems is to safely remove hot air, odors, and vaporized grease, which are the natural byproducts of cooking, from your kitchen. If you fail to keep your kitchen exhaust system clean and in good repair, your exhaust system won’t be able to do its job effectively, and a flash fire could occur as grease builds up in the exhaust system ducts. No one wants to see a flash fire erupt in their commercial kitchen because of the dangers it poses to staff and customers, the resulting damage to expensive commercial kitchen equipment, and the loss of revenue when businesses must close for repairs.

Dramatically reduce the risk of flash fires in your commercial kitchen by signing up for regular kitchen exhaust system cleaning from Flue Steam. Our technicians are always thorough and strive to reach every nook and cranny of your commercial kitchen exhaust system at every cleaning service. We provide complete exhaust system cleaning services so you won’t have to worry whether your kitchen complies with fire codes or is at risk of a flash fire.

Hand scraping and steam cleaning services

We highly recommend signing up for both hand scraping and steam cleaning services from Flue Steam. Both are effective ways of cleaning your kitchen exhaust system. Most kitchens require hand scraping about once a month, and we recommend that steam cleaning be done 2-4 times per year. These frequencies can vary depending on how much grease your kitchen utilizes on a regular basis. A sushi restaurant, for example, many not use much grease, but a fast food restaurant definitely needs to have its exhaust system cleaned more frequently.

After each exhaust system cleaning service, we provide “Certificate of Performance” stickers. These serve as proof that you’ve fulfilled your NFPA code obligations to keep code inspectors satisfied. They can even help you safe money on your insurance bills.

Bonus services

At each kitchen exhaust system cleaning visit, our technician will also perform an exhaust fan inspection. He or she will check the belts and other parts, plus grease your fan bearings. If your belts happen to be worn out and you have a replacement handy, you’ll install the new belt for you at no additional charge. It’s just one more example of how committed we are to making sure your exhaust system is functioning correctly so your kitchen runs efficiently and is 100% safe for your staff and customers.

Begin your partnership with Flue Steam by calling 800-700-FLUE today.