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Our IKECA membership continues to bring benefits for our business and our clients.

Members of the Flue Steam team will be attending the International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association’s 2015 Annual Membership Meeting in April. These meetings enable us to learn the newest, latest and best ways to “clean to the highest standard” along with the best of the best companies in the industry.

The focus of this year’s meeting will be our employees: employee retention, employee management, motivation, and incentives. In other words, we will be learning how to help our employees do an even better job performing their duties to the highest possible level of excellence, with the end result of providing even better service to our clients.

Superior client service is always a priority here at Flue Steam. Our membership in IKECA, the International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association, is a key part of what enable us to assure our clients that they will always be receiving service according to the latest industry best standards and practices.

IKECA provides many resources to both exhaust cleaning companies and individual cleaners. For example, IKECA issues certification credentials to individual cleaners that prove they have the expertise necessary to clean exhaust hoods and ducts to the standards required by local fire codes. IKECA is the only such certifying organization that requires cleaners to complete ongoing continuing education credits in order to maintain their certifications, so you know our certified staff is always up to date.

IKECA also offers tools like the IKECA comb, which can be used to measure grease deposits on exhaust hoods and duct walls. Because we make sure our employees have access to these combs and are trained in their proper use, we are able to assist commercial kitchen owners in determining the ideal cleaning frequency for their properties. This enables our clients to avoid the inconvenience and expense of overly frequent cleanings as well as the risk of waiting so long between cleanings that unsafe levels of grease can accumulate.

Count on Flue Steam for all Your Fire Prevention Needs

At Flue Steam, we have over 43 years of experience providing vital kitchen air control and fire prevention services to all kinds of commercial kitchens in the greater LA area. Whether you have a fine restaurant or a fast food joint, we can help you protect it from undue risk of fire and ensure fire code compliance with services like:

• Exhaust hood hand scraping
• Exhaust duct steam cleaning
• Swamp cooler service
• Emergency exhaust fan repair
• Grease filter exchange service
• Portable fire extinguisher sales & service
• Automatic fire suppression system service

Next time you need help with your commercial kitchen, please call 800-700-FLUE to make an appointment with Flue Steam. We look forward to bringing the benefits of what we’ve learned at the IKECA annual meeting to your business.

Learn about the two important functions of clean grease filters in the commercial kitchen.

In the world of commercial kitchen exhaust system cleaning, a lot of attention is given to keeping exhaust hoods and ductwork clean. But grease filters are actually another very important piece of the puzzle.

Grease filters perform two very important functions in the commercial kitchen:

Fire Prevention: The first function of a clean grease filter is to help reduce fire hazards in the commercial kitchen. As grease-laden air passes through the filter, the grease particles are captured. The end result is less grease getting into the ducts, where it could pose a serious fire hazard. Some types of grease filters also include a spark arrestor feature, which provides even more fire protection by preventing sparks generated by cooking with solid fuels like wood or charcoal from entering the ductwork.

Proper Airflow: The second function of a clean grease filter is to help promote proper airflow in your kitchen. Without a grease filter, the extra grease that would accumulate on the walls of your ductwork could actually increase drag inside the ducts. This would cause your exhaust fan to work overtime, potentially increasing wear and tear on the system. The reduced airflow would also lead to issues with smoke and odors in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, the dirtier a grease filter gets the worse it performs. A dirty grease filter can be a fire hazard in and of itself, and it can also restrict airflow even more severely than dirty ducts would.

How to Keep Your Grease Filters Clean

Grease filters for commercial kitchens may get dirty quickly, but the good news is they are designed to be cleaned and reused. As a first step, you should have your staff inspect the grease filters at the end of each day. If the filters appear greasy, they should be removed and cleaned. Most types of grease filters can be cleaned easily by applying a degreaser, letting them sit a while, and then running them through your commercial dishwasher.

But what if your staff doesn’t have time for these tasks? Or what if your kitchen runs 24 hours and you can never leave your appliances without grease filters for any amount of time? You can use Flue Steam’s grease filter exchange service to guarantee yourself clean filters.

We will come out every week or so to remove your old, dirty filters and replace them with clean ones. This doesn’t mean you have to purchase new filters every time—instead we will clean your old filters for you and bring them back on the next visit. So you really only need two sets of filters to take advantage of this service.

To learn more about getting grease filter exchange service on a schedule that works for your business, please call 800-700-FLUE now.

Flue Steam cleans your exhaust ducts without leaving a mess in the kitchen.

As a commercial kitchen owner or operator, you are no doubt familiar with the fire code requirements that mandate frequent kitchen exhaust system cleanings. But have you found a company that can clean your exhaust system without messing up the rest of your kitchen? Look no further than Flue Steam. We can efficiently and effectively clean every inch of your exhaust system overnight without leaving a mess your employees will have to deal with in the morning.

Complete Range of Cleaning Services

At Flue Steam, we’ve been specializing in kitchen air control and fire prevention since 1971. Our company understands exactly what must be done in order to ensure code compliance and also help reduce the risk of fire, odor, and temperature problems in your kitchen. We make sure each and every employee is fully trained up to our high standard to perform all the kitchen exhaust cleaning services we offer:

• Exhaust hood scraping: We remove grease from heavy buildup areas like cooking appliance exhaust hoods by hand. This is typically recommended every month.
• Steam cleaning: Our steam cleaning service can be used two to four times per year to reach every nook and cranny of your ductwork.
• Grease filter exchange: We can also replace your dirty grease filters with clean ones.
• Certificates: After cleaning, we provide certificates showing the date of cleaning to help satisfy NFPA code inspectors.

Convenient After Hours Appointments

The whole point of kitchen exhaust cleaning is to keep your kitchen in safe operating condition. Therefore we don’t want the cleaning to ever interfere with your operations. That’s why rather than providing cleanings only during business hours, we provide cleanings at the times that are most convenient for each individual client.

No Mess in Your Kitchen

It can be very frustrating for kitchen staff to find that their cooking appliances and prep surfaces have gotten dirty during a kitchen exhaust cleaning and now need to be re-cleaned before the day’s food prep work can begin. Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about this problem when you trust Flue Steam with your kitchen exhaust cleaning. We respect your kitchen and your staff, so we take care to protect all surfaces with plastic before beginning work. This is especially important with steam cleaning, as this service involves spraying warm water through the ductwork. In the hands of an amateur this can leave a huge mess, but in our capable hands you simply get clean ducts and a clean kitchen.

Please call 800-700-FLUE now to learn more about our services.

Flue Steam provides expert exhaust fan cleaning and inspections.

In any commercial kitchen, a properly designed exhaust system is essential for drawing hot, smelly, greasy air out of the kitchen. This prevents kitchen workers from becoming uncomfortable and also helps keep kitchen smells from overpowering the dining area. Plus, by removing greasy air it reduces your risk of fire. The powerhouse behind your exhaust system is of course the exhaust fan. It is obviously very important to get care and maintenance for your exhaust fan! As your kitchen air control expert, Flue Steam is the perfect company to care for your exhaust fan. Here are our suggestions for the best possible care.

Get Frequent Cleanings

While the portions of the exhaust system nearest your cooking surfaces (such as exhaust hoods) accumulate grease the fastest and need the most frequent cleanings, duct walls and fan blades will also accumulate grease over time and also need regular cleanings. At Flue Steam, we can help you determine the proper frequency for your exhaust fan cleanings.

Install a Hinge Kit

If you have a rooftop fan, installing a hinge kit will help make it easier to clean the fan. The hinge kit allows the entire fan mechanism to be tilted back off of the duct opening so that the fan cleaning can be tackled from multiple angles. It also helps ensure that the fan is replaced correctly after each cleaning.

Limit Grease Buildup

Just because you know you have scheduled frequent exhaust fan cleanings doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also take steps to limit grease buildup on the fan between cleanings. After all, grease buildup can increase wear and tear on your exhaust fan in two ways. First, grease adhering to the mechanism of the fan itself can cause wear and tear on the system. Secondly, grease adhering to the duct walls can also stress the fan, because the fan has to work harder to draw air past the increased resistance presented by greasy duct walls. To help prevent grease buildup from making your fan fail faster, you should consider installing quality grease filters. This will help reduce the amount of grease that gets in the ducts in the first place. Try our grease filter exchange service for a convenient and reliable source of clean filters.

Have Your Exhaust Fan Inspected Regularly

One final way Flue Steam can help you care for your fan is by providing a free exhaust fan inspection on every cleaning visit. We will grease the fan bearings and check the belts and other vital parts. If we see a worn belt that needs replacing and you have a new belt on hand, we will put in the new belt at no extra charge.

Overcome the obstacles that are preventing your business from getting thorough cleaning with help from Flue Steam.

Keeping your kitchen exhaust system clean isn’t just the law—it also provides many important benefits for your business. Unfortunately, some commercial kitchens don’t get the thorough cleaning they actually need. There may be many different reasons for this, but here are 4 common possibilities.

Not Ordering Service

First of all, some commercial kitchen owners or operators may simply fail to order the thorough cleaning service needed to remove grease from every inch of the exhaust system. This is more likely to happen in kitchens that don’t cook a large volume of greasy food. Grease then builds up very slowly on visible areas of the exhaust system such as the exhaust hoods, and owners may assume it is building up even slower further inside the system. Because they can’t see this buildup, they may not realize that a problem is indeed growing.

Using the Wrong Company

Another very common problem is using the wrong exhaust system cleaning company. Many companies are content to just clean the visible parts of the system. They may reach up into the plenum and ducts as well, but they won’t go further than their arms and equipment can reach. Relying on a company that promises your ducts are “clean” without actually providing complete steam cleaning of the entire system is naturally a huge impediment to keeping your ducts grease-free.

Lack of Access Points

A lack of sufficient access to the ductwork is another serious obstacle to proper cleaning. NFPA codes require that approved access doors be installed in the system at specific intervals. Depending on the design of the ductwork this may mean you need a door that a person can enter through or smaller access panels at pre-set intervals. You should also have a hinge kit on your rooftop exhaust fan to facilitate proper cleaning of that important piece of equipment.

Budget Concerns

Sometimes, kitchen owners may hesitate to order service as frequently as they really need to out of concern about the cost. In reality, the cost of service is very small compared to the possible costs of a fire breaking out in the ductwork. Clean ducts also draw air better, contributing to lower cooling bills and lower gas bills (propane flames on cooking appliances will burn higher with better air flow). Remember, the longer you wait between duct cleanings the more grease will build up and the more difficult—and costly—it will be to remove.

At Flue Steam, we can help you overcome all of these obstacles and get the thorough cleanings your business needs. We provide extremely thorough steam cleaning services to reach every corner of your ductwork, even the parts you can’t see. We can measure grease deposits throughout the system to determine the proper frequency of hand scraping and steam cleaning to help you understand when to order service, and we can install code compliant access panels for you. And of course, our services are very cost-effective. Please call now to schedule your service at a time that is convenient for your business.