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Worried about Code Violations for your Commercial Kitchen? Let Flue Steam Inc. Help

October 14, 2016

Worried about Code Violations for your Commercial Kitchen? Let Flue Steam Inc. HelpIf you manage a commercial kitchen, there are so many codes that you need to be aware of and on top of 24/7. If an inspector shows up unexpectedly and you’re caught with a dirty flue or another code-breaking situation, you could be slapped with serious fines. This could absolutely ruin not only your reputation in the community, but your bottom line. You’ll have to close for a certain period of time, losing valuable income each day, and you’ll have to pay a steep fine in order to reopen for business.

Don’t risk it! Make sure you’re always following each code to the letter every day in your commercial kitchen. You’ll be so glad you did because you won’t have to deal with the enormous hassle of dealing with violation repurcussions.

But how are you supposed to stay on top of every single code and ensure your commercial kitchen complies with them all the time? You already have enough to deal with on a day-to-day basis – adding more items to your To Do list just isn’t feasible. You don’t have enough hours in the day as-is!

That’s where Flue Steam comes in. Begin your partnership with Flue Steam and you won’t have to worry about key violations in your commercial kitchen ever again. We offer a plethora of services to make your job as a kitchen manager so much easier. Services we provide include:

  • Kitchen exhaust system cleaning (including hand scraping and steam cleaning)
  • 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

Complete kitchen exhaust system cleaning

When you partner with Flue Steam, you’ll enjoy much cleaner and safer cooking every day in your commercial kitchen. We’ll keep your exhaust system clean and up-to-code so you can focus on other essential operations. Let us take this cumbersome, gross – though absolutely necessary – task off your plate permanently. We provide “Certificates of Performance” stickers after each job that serve as proof that you’ve fulfilled your NFPA code obligations. Partnering with Flue Steam may even help you save on your insurance bills!

When we clean your kitchen exhaust system, we’ll also inspect your exhaust fan for free. We’ll check the fan, belts, as well as grease your fan bearings. If your belts are worn out and you have a replacement readily available, we’ll be glad to install it for you at no charge. It’s just one extra way we say that we care about making sure your exhaust system works properly and stays cleaner longer.

Grease filter exchange service

Clean grease filters trap 70-80% of the grease that passes through them. If yours gets too full, it won’t be able do function properly, which results in a dangerous accumulation of grease right above your cooking appliances. Enlist the expertise of Flue Steam to exchange your grease filters at regular intervals so you’ll always have clean, effective grease filters readily available to you and your staff. 

Begin your partnership with Flue Steam today by calling 800-700-FLUE. Many local commercial kitchen managers have already discovered the enormous benefits of partnering with Flue Steam – why don’t you?

 

How to Protect Your Commercial Kitchen from Flash Fires

September 30, 2016

How to Protect Your Commercial Kitchen from Flash Fires

Flash fires are a real danger in commercial kitchens in restaurants and hotels. Flash fires can be absolutely devastating because they can cause harm to people and damage equipment. Plus commercial kitchens have to close to make the necessary repairs, resulting in lots of lost income.

Flash fires used to be much more frequent – but now because of modern tools and techniques, thankfully, flash fires don’t occur very often. There are various essential steps you need to take to ensure your commercial kitchen is protected from the dangers posed by flash fires.

Most causes of flash fires are cause by grease, which is a natural byproduct of many cooking processes. When food is regularly grilled or fried food in your commercial kitchen, grease naturally builds up over time. When fats are heated, they change from solid to liquid as oil.

Low temperature cooking creates more liquid grease, while high temperature cooking produces more grease-laden vapor. When that vapor is sucked into the exhaust hood, it cools and settles on surfaces inside the exhaust system. As the grease settles on the exhaust system parts, the possibility of a flash fire increases.

That’s why it’s absolutely essential to have your kitchen exhaust system cleaned regularly. Not only will it prevent flash fires from becoming possible, but it’ll make your entire kitchen much cleaner and more sanitary. 

Call Flue Steam at 800-700-FLUE to sign up for kitchen exhaust system cleaning services today.

We offer complete hand scraping and steam cleaning service for commercial kitchen exhaust systems. Hand scraping is a simple and affordable way to remove grease deposits from accessible areas. We recommend you sign up for hand scraping services at least once a month. Steam cleaning services involve using hot, high-pressure water to remove even the most inaccessible grease hidden in your commercial kitchen exhaust system. Many businesses elect to have steam cleaning done 2-4 times per year, in addition to hand scraping services.

Easily meet NFPA code obligations

You won’t have to worry about meeting NFPA code obligations when you partner with Flue Steam for all your exhaust system cleaning needs. Flue Steam provides “Certificate of Performance” stickers after each job as proof that your commercial kitchen meets all NFPA code obligations. Code inspectors will always be glad to see the stickers, plus you may even save money on your insurance bills as a result. 

Call Flue Steam at 800-700-FLUE to schedule your first commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning service.

The safety of your commercial kitchen is extremely important to all of us at Flue Steam. That’s why we also provide automatic fire suppression system and portable fire extinguisher services. We’ll gladly install and maintain these essential fire prevention and safety tools so you can focus on other key operational tasks for your commercial kitchen. 

Begin your partnership with Flue Steam today! We look forward to hearing from you when you call 800-700-FLUE.

 

Get an Excellent Automatic Fire Suppression System from Flue Steam Inc.

September 16, 2016

Get an Excellent Automatic Fire Suppression System from Flue Steam Inc.Flue Steam is well-known throughout Southern California for its commercial kitchen air control and fire prevention services, which have been offered since the company’s inception since 1971. So many Southern California commercial kitchen managers have relied on Flue Steam to handle their commercial kitchen air control and fire prevention needs over the years.

One of the most essential systems every commercial kitchen needs is an automatic fire suppression system. California law requires that every commercial kitchen have one in optimal working order 24/7. This is incredibly important to ensure the safety of kitchen staff, diners, and everyone else in the vicinity of your commercial kitchen. 

However, like any safety feature, it will only work well if you maintain it properly. Automatic fire suppression systems don’t do an ounce of good if they’re not kept in prime condition.

At Flue Steam, our mission is to ensure commercial kitchens are as safe as possible at all times. That’s why we offer a whole range of commercial kitchen air control and fire prevention products and services, including everything you need to install and maintain your automatic fire suppression system in peak condition. 

Flue Steam offers complete automatic fire suppression system services, including sales, installation, maintenance, and repair.

We’ll gladly help you select the ideal automatic fire suppression system for your exact needs. Then we’ll assist you with installing it perfectly for optimal effectiveness. We’ll also provide regular scheduled maintenance to keep your system in excellent condition.

The best case scenario, for any commercial kitchen, is that the automatic fire suppression system will never be utilized. That’s the best possible outcome. Hopefully, your commercial kitchen will have an impeccable automatic fire suppression system for decades, and it’ll never actually be used to suppress a fire. 

But as anyone who’s worked in or around a commercial kitchen knows, the unexpected happens, and it’s always a good ideal to prepare for the worse case scenario.

How an automatic fire suppression system works

If a fire occurs in your commercial kitchen, the automatic fire suppression system will activate when the sensor detects a certain preset temperature – usually 450 degrees. At that point, the system releases an extinguishing agent to douse any flames on your appliance and in the plenum. In that same moment, the automatic shut-off valve cuts off your gas supply, which further reduces the chance of injury and serious damage to your kitchen. The automatic feature of of fire suppression systems is the main reason commercial kitchens need them, all systems are also equipped with a manual pull trigger as well.

No need to go it alone

Don’t try to select, install, and maintain your automatic fire suppression system on your own. Flue Steam will make sure your system works optimally, complies with all relevant codes (including the UL 300 standard), and perform any maintenance tasks that are required by law every 6 months. There’s no need to deal with your automatic fire suppression system any longer – let Flue Steam handle it so you can focus on other pressing matters. You’ll be so glad you did. 

Contact us today by calling 800-700-FLUE. We look forward to making your commercial kitchen a safer, cleaner place to work every day.

7 Things You May Not Know About Flue Steam Inc.

August 29, 2016

7 Things You May Not Know About Flue Steam Inc.

Here are 7 interesting facts about Flue Steam that you may not be aware of. Read on – you might learn something!

  1. Flue Steam has been serving Southern California for over 40 years! That’s right – since 1971, we’ve been offering high quality commercial kitchen air control and fire prevention services to commercial kitchens throughout Southern California.
  2. Our services help your kitchen in 3 key ways:
    • Improved safety (dramatically decrease the likelihood of fires in your kitchen)
    • Better air quality (your staff will be exposed to much clearer air while working in your kitchen when you partner with Flue Steam)
    • More effective energy efficiency
  3. We are always available to help you out anytime 24/7. We offer emergency services 24 hours a day, so if you have an urgent need, feel free to call us at 800-700-FLUE anytime of day or night. We’ll get your system back up and running as soon as possible so you won’t lose much (if any) business. Emergency services we provide include:
    • 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
    • Emergency cleaning
  4. We provide both hand scraping and steam cleaning services. We recommend you schedule regular equipment inspections and cleanings so your commercial kitchen is always in tip-top shape. Exhaust cleaning system services are typically booked one week in advance. We can schedule these cleanings at dates and times that are most convenient for your busy schedule. We recommend exhaust system hand scraping services be scheduled once a month, and steam cleaning be done quarterly. We’re always happy to discuss your needs and adjust our recommendations to ensure your commercial kitchen is always safe for your staff and patrons.
  5. All our services meet NFPA and CMC requirements. We verify this by placing a “Certificate of Performance” sticker that shows the exact date of service, service frequency, and whether any inaccessible areas exist in the system on the hood of your exhaust system. This serves as proof that you have diligently fulfilled your code obligations and your commercial kitchen is safe.
  6. Our popular exhaust system cleaning services often get most of the attention, but we also offer full portable fire extinguisher service, too! Since we are committed to keeping everyone in and around your commercial kitchen safe from fire, we have started offering high quality portable fire extinguishers that will add an extra layer of protection to your commercial kitchen. We sell many types of portable fire extinguishers, and we’ll gladly give you expert recommendations as you decide which ones will be best for your exact commercial kitchen. You can really trust our licensed technicians to steer you in the right direction so you get the ideal fire extinguisher for your commercial kitchen.
  7. We strive to meet and often even exceed our customers’ expectations. As a long-term industry player, we have reached a comfortable level of success by building lasting professional relationships with our clients. We look forward to making your life a bit easier when you begin counting on Flue Steam for all your commercial kitchen air control and fire prevention needs. Call us today at 800-700-FLUE.

Why You should Sign Up for Our Grease Filter Exchange Service Today

August 20, 2016

 Why You should Sign Up for Our Grease Filter Exchange Service Today

Flue Steam offers a wide range of excellent services that can make your commercial kitchen run more smoothly every day. One of our most popular services is grease filter exchange service. Now, you may be thinking to yourself – “what’s the point of that? Sounds like a luxury service I can’t afford to sign up for.”

OK, we hear you. We’ve heard that many times before, but hear us out.

So many of the commercial kitchen managers we’ve worked with over the years have told us that our grease filter exchange service was incredibly beneficial to them. And here’s why:

The first reason is safety. Commercial kitchens are very dangerous places, and one of the most dangerous parts of commercial kitchens is the grease filter. The filters act within your kitchen exhaust system to reduce the amount of vaporized grease that ends up within your exhaust system ducts. When grease gets trapped in your commercial kitchen’s exhaust system ducts, a flash fire can result. It’s incredibly dangerous for your staff, and it can cause restaurants and hotel kitchens to lose lots of money in terms of lost revenue during repairs.

Clean filters can trap up to 70-80% of the grease that passes through them, but if your commercial kitchen’s factors are absolutely saturated with grease, they can’t do their job properly. As a result, your commercial kitchen will have a inefficient exhaust system and a dangerous accumulation of grease accumulation right above your cooking appliances – which is right where your kitchen staff stands the majority of the time.

Dramatically reduce your risk of fire and increase in the efficiency of your commercial kitchen exhaust system by signing up for regular grease filter exchange service, as well as our regular exhaust system cleaning services. Your commercial kitchen will be safe and clean for your staff to work in and your customers to benefit from every day.

Sign up for grease filter exchange service as well as commercial kitchen exhaust system cleaning and you’ll soon begin enjoying the benefits of our convenient, affordable services. Let us make life easier (and safer!) for you.

Take the hassle out of maintaining your grease filter and exhaust system – enlist the experts at Flue Steam to take care of it instead. You’ll be so glad you did. We’ve been partnering with commercial kitchen managers throughout Southern California for over 55 years, and we look forward to helping you take care of these essential tasks without a single worry.

Simply call 800-700-FLUE or email contact@fluesteam.com to initiate the service. We’ll set up a regular schedule for you. At regular intervals, a qualified technician from Flue Steam will deliver fresh, clean filters right to your kitchen at the preset intervals of your choice. Not only that – our technician will also install the new filters for you and haul away the old filters for cleaning.