Blog

Sponsoring employees to attend IKECA events is part of Flue Steam’s commitment to excellence

IKECA, or the International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association, is a very important organization in our field. Every year, IKECA puts on a convention and technical seminar event where industry professionals can gather to keep abreast of the latest developments in kitchen exhaust cleaning techniques & protocols. As a professional kitchen exhaust cleaning company and IKECA member, Flue Steam was proud to send staff members to the 2013 IKECA seminar in Phoenix AZ.

Why We Attended

IKECA conventions and seminars offer valuable opportunities for everyone involved in kitchen exhaust cleaning to learn more about advances in the industry. Everyone from field technicians to crew supervisors and owner-operators can benefit from the hands on training and educational seminars offered at an IKECA event, and certification exams are available at IKECA events as well. Flue Steam made a point of sending representatives to the IKECA technical seminar in Phoenix AZ this year in order to make sure we are taking advantage of all possible opportunities for continuing education that will help us serve our clients better.

What We Learned

This year’s IKECA technical seminar focused on workplace safety and compliance. The Flue Steam representatives who attended learned about key safety measures that they can take during kitchen exhaust cleaning and how complying with these measures in the field benefits workers and clients alike. We also had a chance to view presentations from companies that manufacture various products related to kitchen exhaust systems. For example, we saw a booth from Ductmate, a company that manufactures observation access doors that can be installed in kitchen exhaust ducts to facilitate thorough cleaning. Our representatives returned from the seminar able to share their new knowledge with the entire company.

Why It Matters

IKECA membership is a mark of pride and professionalism for kitchen exhaust cleaning companies. When clients see that Flue Steam is not only an IKECA member but also an active participant in IKECA training and events, they’ll know for certain that we are truly dedicated to providing the best possible kitchen exhaust cleaning and fire suppression services.

A comprehensive kitchen exhaust system cleaning in Los Angeles CA from Flue Steam provides maximum protection

As a restaurant owner and/or operator, you know that you need professional kitchen exhaust system cleaning in order to reduce the risk of fire in your commercial kitchen and comply with relevant California fire code statutes. But do you know how to tell if you’re getting truly effective cleaning? Here are the key components of complete professional kitchen exhaust system cleaning in Los Angeles CA to look for:

Hand Scraping

Hand scraping is the simplest and most common type of kitchen exhaust system cleaning in Los Angeles CA. It basically consists of a technician scraping layers of grease off of your exhaust hood in order to reduce the risk of fire. While hand scraping does help prevent fires, it is by no means the only service you need. A true professional will offer additional services.

Steam Cleaning

Steam cleaning is the best way to remove grease from your entire kitchen exhaust system, because the hot water can reach every nook and cranny of the ductwork to wash away grease. A professional company will offer steam cleaning by certified technicians, and they will clean from both ends of your system—the exhaust hood and the rooftop exhaust fan.

Drip Cup and Grease Filter Service

In addition to cleaning your ductwork, a professional kitchen exhaust system cleaning in Los Angeles CA will include emptying the drip cup and changing or cleaning your grease filter. These are both important activities for fire prevention in your commercial kitchen.

Exhaust Fan Inspection & Maintenance

Exhaust fan inspection and maintenance may not be offered by every exhaust cleaning company, but it is a vital service. Without a working exhaust fan, your system won’t draw air properly, resulting in problems for your kitchen and staff. A complete professional kitchen exhaust system cleaning in Los Angeles CA will include checking the exhaust fan for worn belts and other parts, greasing its bearings, and cleaning any grease buildup from the fan blades

At Flue Steam, we are proud to offer all of the above services for truly comprehensive and effective duct cleaning and fire prevention. Though it is not necessary to get a complete steam cleaning every month, when complete cleaning is needed we can provide professional service and certification stickers you can rely on.

Avoid fires and shutdowns at your restaurant with regular duct cleaning

Last month, a fire at Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa restaurant in central London caused over 150 people to be evacuated from the area. The blaze took over 20 firefighters with four fire engines about 90 minutes to put out. The London Fire Brigade confirmed that the fire originated in the restaurants first-floor ductwork, though the precise cause of the fire is still being investigated.

Considering that the restaurant bills itself as a “celebration of fire-based cooking,” and as a barbecue restaurant cooks plenty of meat, it is highly likely that the cause of the fire could have been excessive grease buildup in the ductwork. Such greasy buildup could easily ignite and cause a flash fire within the ductwork.

In the aftermath of the fire, Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa restaurant is being forced to address some potentially costly consequences of perhaps not getting their ducts cleaned as often as they should:

Fire Damage: Because a fire can spread quickly through the ductwork, significant costs may be associated with repairing the damage. Additional steps will have to be taken to remove the smell of smoke from the premises as well.

Shutdown Time: On the day of the fire, staff at Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa restaurant were telling guests who called for lunch reservations that the restaurant would be closed for 24 hours for “operational reasons.” 24 hours may have been a conservative estimate. Depending on the nature and extent of the damage, a restaurant that has suffered a duct fire may have to close for days or weeks.

Loss of Revenue: The fire at Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa restaurant occurred during lunchtime, and none of those evacuated diners will be paying for their food. Add that to the lost revenue during the period the restaurant is closed for repairs and costs can really start to add up.

Bad PR: As a restaurateur, you don’t want your eatery’s name in the news in connection with a fire or other safety issue. Time and money will have to be spent in order to counteract the effects of this bad PR and convince the public that your restaurant is safe when it reopens after a fire.

By getting your kitchen exhaust hoods and ductwork cleaned on a regular basis, you can help reduce the risk of grease fires and the negative repercussions that they bring. Flue Steam offers both hand scraping and steam cleaning for your commercial kitchen’s exhaust system to help keep your facility safe and compliant.

Flue Steam will make sure your automatic fire suppression system is code-compliant.

Automatic fire suppression systems are a must-have safety feature for all commercial kitchens. They are easy to use in an emergency, but they’re not so easy to install. Many different state and federal codes apply to these systems, and it can be challenging to keep all the details straight. Fortunately, when you trust Flue Steam as your automatic fire suppression system installation company, we make sure your system is UL-300 compliant.

Why You Need an Automatic Fire Suppression System

Automatic fire suppression systems are designed to automatically detect and extinguish grease fires that ignite on your cooking equipment or inside your exhaust hood. This prevents the fire from spreading deep into the exhaust system and causing serious damage and danger.

System Requirements

Automatic fire suppression systems are required to meet certain system requirements in order to be code-compliant. For example, they have to have key parts like a temperature sensor, an extinguishing agent, an automatic gas shut off valve, and a manual trigger. Each commercial cooking appliance that may produce vaporized grease and hence pose a fire hazard must have its own separate nozzle for dispensing the extinguishing agent. This extinguishing agent should be a wet chemical agent that is approved for use in fighting grease fires. Additionally, the system is required to have one alarm that will notify employees of fire and another alarm that will tell employees that the system is discharging. As a highly experienced automatic fire suppression system installation company, Flue Steam can make sure your system meets all these necessary requirements.

Installation Requirements

When it comes to installing your system, there are still more code regulations to follow. For example, the manual trigger for the system has to be installed near an exit but no more than 20 feet from the exhaust system. Because Flue Steam has the C-16 license required by the state of California to work on automatic fire suppression systems, you can count on us to make sure every aspect of the installation is done perfectly.

Future Service

After installation, your automatic fire suppression system will require bi-annual inspections. You’ll also need an extra inspection after every discharge of the system in order to ensure that it has been reset properly and is ready for the next emergency. Who better to provide these inspections than your original automatic fire suppression installation company? We know exactly how the system is supposed to be set up and we can correct any issues that may be discovered during an inspection.

Make sure you choose a professional company like Flue Steam

Just because a company puts up a website and starts advertising kitchen exhaust hood cleaning services doesn’t mean they are qualified or professional. Here are some of the hallmarks of a professional kitchen exhaust hood cleaning company that you can actually trust to get the job done right every time.

IKECA Membership

IKECA stands for International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association. This organization provides certifications and continuing education resources for professional exhaust system cleaning technicians. When a company has IKECA membership, this signifies that they hold their technicians to a high standard and expect them to not only complete their individual IKECA certifications, but also keep those certifications active through continuing education. Therefore, an IKECA member company is able to provide truly professional kitchen exhaust hood cleaning to their clients.

Multiple Cleaning Methods

Many cheap exhaust hood cleaning companies focus exclusively on hand scraping. This is the easiest way to clean a kitchen exhaust hood, and it’s possible to do a passable job of hand scraping with very little training and no certifications. However, a professional kitchen exhaust hood cleaning company will not only do a better job of hand scraping, they will also offer other cleaning methods. For example, Flue Steam offers professional hand scraping as well as steam cleaning for kitchen exhaust hoods and exhaust ducts. Plus, we prove the effectiveness of our work by using a special IKECA comb to measure the depth of grease deposits before and after cleaning.

Service for Your Entire Air Control System

One final hallmark of a professional kitchen exhaust hood cleaning company is the availability of comprehensive service for your entire air control system. This shows that the company truly understands how the cleaning they’re performing affects the rest of your system. For example, at every exhaust system cleaning visit, the pros from Flue Steam also check your exhaust fan to make sure it is clean and in good condition. This is important because without a fan drawing hot, greasy air out of the kitchen, grease deposits will accumulate faster on your exhaust hood and in your duct work and increase your risk of a fire. We can also provide grease filter exchange service, as well as maintenance and repairs for your swamp cooler and your emergency fire suppression system.