Did you know that in 2023, 43% of 642 fire incidents in NSW occurred in the kitchen? Also, commercial kitchen fires can occur at any time, as illustrated by the Cranbourne food processing plant fire incident on 3rd August, 2025. Leaving the kitchen canopies, also known as exhaust hoods or range hoods, uncleaned, can be one of the reasons for fire hazards.
So, you must clean the kitchen canopies regularly to ensure the health and safety of the occupants of the building. Kitchen canopy cleaning includes:
- Cleaning the filters, hood interior, and plenum, ductwork, and fan of grease-capturing hoods.
- Inspecting the fire suppression system, and
- Cleaning condensation plates, gutter & drain of type II (condensate hood) hoods.
In this guide, we will discuss why you should clean your kitchen canopies– either residential or commercial- and how to clean them with step-by-step instructions.
Common Canopy Issues and Why You Should Clean It
Kitchen hood cleaning is one of the most important but often overlooked parts of kitchen maintenance — both at home and in commercial setups. Here’s why it matters:
1. Cleaning Ensures Fire Safety
Over time, grease and oil vapours collect inside the hood and ducts. These residues are highly flammable. According to Fire and Rescue NSW, around half (50%) of residential fires start in the kitchen, and an uncleaned kitchen hood is one of the reasons.
Kitchen exhaust cleaning ensures fire safety in your commercial kitchen.
2. Kitchen Canopy Cleaning Ensures Better Air Quality and Improved Ventilation
A clean kitchen canopy keeps your air fresh and your system efficient. Grease buildup blocks filters, trapping smoke and odours while making your exhaust work harder.
This reduces ventilation, raises energy use, and adds noise. Regular commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning allows smooth airflow, better temperature control, and healthier air quality — essential for comfort in busy kitchens.
3. Compliance with Health and Safety Standards
For restaurants, cafes, and catering businesses, regular exhaust hood cleaning isn’t optional. It’s required by Australian Standards AS 1851-2012 and local council regulations in all states, such as Fire Safety Legislation in QLD.
Non-compliance can lead to fines, insurance issues, or even closure notices after inspections.
4. Longer Equipment Lifespan
Due to uncleaned kitchen hoods, grease buildup corrodes metal parts, clogs the filter, and degrades other components. Over time, this causes expensive damage to fans, ducts, and filters. Routine cleaning keeps the system in good working order and helps avoid costly replacements.
5. Reduced Odours
Built-up grease traps strong cooking smells that can linger even when you’re not cooking. Cleaning the canopy removes those residues, keeping your kitchen smelling fresh and hygienic.
6. Ensures Better Overall Hygiene
A greasy exhaust system attracts dust, insects, and even bacteria. These contaminants can fall back into your cooking area, affecting food safety.
Clean hoods support a more sanitary cooking environment and help you maintain food hygiene standards.
Understanding the Category of Kitchen Canopy for Efficient Cleaning
Kitchen canopies are categorised into 2 categories. To clean your kitchen hood effectively, you need to understand the type correctly.
#1 Grease Hoods or Type I Hoods
These are the primary kitchen exhaust systems designed to manage high-risk cooking operations.
| Feature | Description |
| Typical Appliances | Used over any appliance that produces grease or smoke, including: fryers, broilers, ranges, grills, tilt skillets, and charbroilers. |
| Primary Contaminants | Grease-laden vapour, smoke, and heat. Grease is highly flammable and poses a severe fire hazard. |
| Maintenance Implication | In a commercial setup, they require professional deep cleaning of the entire system (hood, plenum, ductwork, and fan) to comply with fire codes and insurance requirements (such as AS 1851-2012 in Australia). |
| Examples | Extraction Canopy (Commercial hood)Range Hood Inserts (Liners) (Residential/Commercial Style)Pro-Style or Chimney Hood (Residential/Commercial Style)Wall-Mounted Canopy Hood (Residential/Commercial Style)Island Canopy Hood (Residential/Commercial Style)Downdraft Hood (Residential Style) |
| Parts to clean | Filters (Baffle/Mesh)Hood Interior & PlenumDuctwork and FanFire Suppression |
#2 Condensate Hoods or Type II Hoods
These hoods are designed for appliances that primarily produce moisture and heat, but no grease. This is a kitchen hood mainly used in commercial kitchens.
| Feature | Description |
| Primary Contaminants | Steam, water vapour, and heat. The risk is condensation, mould, and humidity, not fire. |
| Filtration | Does not require grease filters. Instead, they use sloped condensation plates or passive collectors to turn steam into water, which is then directed to a drain. |
| Typical Appliances | Used over equipment that generates high moisture, such as dishwashers, steam tables, steamers, pasta cookers, and rice cookers. |
| Maintenance Implication | Requires frequent in-house cleaning to prevent mineral scale buildup and biological growth, and to ensure the drain remains unclogged. They do not require specialised fire-safety duct cleaning. |
| Parts to clean | Exterior and interiorBaffle/filtersThe drainage system |
How to Do Kitchen Canopy Cleaning– Step-by-Step Process
To maintain compliance with regulations, it is recommended that you get commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning services. However, here we have discussed the cleaning process of both Type I and Type II kitchen hoods for DIY at home, or in a commercial kitchen, for learning purposes.
1. Type I Hood (Grease Hood) Cleaning Steps
The following steps apply to all the examples of grease hoods. The primary goal of grease exhaust cleaning is to remove built-up grease to ensure proper airflow and prevent fire hazards.
At the very first step, disconnect the power to the range hood at the circuit breaker or unplug it from the socket. Now, go through the following steps for every component separately.
A. Steps for Cleaning Filters (Baffle/Mesh) (In-House, Weekly)
- Step 1: Remove the metal filters. Most have a latch or handle that allows them to slide or pop out easily.
- Step 2: Fill a sink or tub with hot water, a generous amount of degreasing dish soap, and about 1/4 cup of baking soda. For commercial hoods, soak the filters in a large commercial sink with hot water and a strong, commercial-grade degreaser.
Alternatively, run them through a commercial dishwasher on a heavy cycle. (Many metal filters are also dishwasher-safe; check your user manual.)
- Step 3: Submerge the filters and let them soak for 15-30 minutes until all visible grease is dissolved.
- Step 4: Use a non-abrasive scrub brush to remove any remaining grease.
- Step 5: Rinse the filter thoroughly with hot water and let it air dry completely before reinstalling.
B. Steps for Cleaning Hood Interior & Plenum (Professional Service Recommended, Quarterly to Annually)
For these commercial range hood cleaning steps, you need to hire a certified contractor and schedule deep cleaning services. The cleaning service contractor will affix a certification sticker with the cleaning date to the hood to comply with fire codes.
However, for DIY cleaning, follow the steps below.
- Step 1: Use access panels to enter the interior hood chamber (plenum) above where the filters sit.
- Step 2: Apply caustic chemicals, use pressure washing, and/or specialised scraping tools to break down and remove solidified grease within the plenum.
- Step 3: Direct the liquefied grease and wash water into specialised collection containers placed below the hood.
- Step 4: Rinse all internal surfaces to neutralise chemicals and remove residual grease.
C. Steps for Cleaning Ductwork and Fan (Professional Service Recommended, Quarterly to Annually)
For a residential or commercial kitchen hood, you need to hire a professional cleaning contractor. They have all required advanced tools to reach and clean ductwork and fans.
- Step 1: Access the ductwork (internal exhaust pipes) via installed access panels both inside the building and on the roof.
- Step 2: Use mechanical brushes, chemical degreaser, scrapers, and high-pressure steam/chemicals to clean grease from the entire length of the duct system.
- Step 3: Shut down the exhaust fan unit (typically located on the roof), open it, and thoroughly clean the motor and fan blades of any accumulated grease with chemical degreaser and then pressure washing.
- Step 4: Re-seal and secure all fan housing and duct components after cleaning.
D. Steps for Fire Suppression System Inspection (Professional Service Must, Semi-Annually, Mandatory by Code)
This step is a thoroughly professional approach. So, you must not avoid this after cleaning your kitchen’s grease hood.
- Step 1: You must hire a licensed and certified fire protection company to perform the inspection.
- Step 2: The technician checks the chemical agent tank for proper charge and verifies the expiration date of the chemical.
- Step 3: They will inspect all detection links and fusible links (which melt to trigger the system) and replace them as required by the system’s design and local code.
- Step 4: The technician visually inspects all discharge nozzles to ensure they are clean, properly aimed over the appliances, and free from grease clogs.
- Step 5: They will test the remote manual pull station to ensure it activates the system correctly.
- Step 6: The contractor will verify the gas and/or electric appliance shut-offs connected to the system to confirm they activate when the system is discharged.
- Step 7: A date-stamped certification tag is placed on the system to certify it is compliant with local fire code and AS 1851-2012 standards.
2. Cleaning Steps for Condensate Hoods
- Step 1– Safety First: Turn off the power to the hood unit. Turn off the appliance(s) under the hood (e.g., dishwasher) and the exhaust fan.
- Step 2– Wipe the Exterior and Interior: Use a mild cleaner and a damp cloth to wipe down all accessible surfaces. Since you are dealing with water vapour, the main concern is preventing water spots and potential mould growth in crevices.
- Step 3– Clean the Baffle Plates/Filters:
- Remove the internal stainless steel baffle plates. These are designed to make the warm, moist air condense into water droplets.
- Wash them in a sink with soap and water to remove any dust, mineral deposits (from hard water), or light grime.
- Rinse and dry them completely before putting them back.
- Remove any light-duty filters (if present) and clean them with soap and water, or replace carbon filters.
- Step 3– Check and Clear the Drainage System: This is the key difference.
- Condensate hoods have a collection trough or tray and a drain line to get rid of the collected water.
- Wipe out the collection tray to remove any slime or buildup.
- Ensure the drain line is clear and not clogged. If it’s slow-draining, it may need to be flushed out according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Step 4– Reassemble: Put the dry baffle plates back in place and restore power.
FAQs
It usually takes 2 to 4 hours for a full professional clean, depending on the hood size, grease buildup, and accessibility. However, your commercial kitchen canopies may take longer based on the complexities of the parts.
You can use vinegar and baking soda for light surface cleaning at home — they help remove mild grease and odours. But for deep cleaning or heavy grease buildup, especially in commercial systems, you’ll need professional-grade degreasers and hot-water pressure cleaning to meet safety standards.
If you neglect canopy cleaning for a year, this can cause severe grease buildup, leading to fire risks, poor ventilation, bad odours, and system damage.
In commercial spaces, such as restaurants, it can also result in fines or closure for breaching health and fire regulations.
If you notice signs such as visible grease buildup, reduced suction, loud fan noise, smoke lingering after cooking, or strong odours even when the fan is running, it’s a signal that you need to clean your kitchen canopy immediately.
For busy commercial kitchens, deep cleaning your kitchen hood every 3 months is recommended; for home use, every 6 months works best.
Final Thoughts
Kitchen canopy cleaning is essential to ensure health and fire safety, as well as compliance with local regulations. While you may clean your residential canopy yourself, it is always recommended to hire a professional cleaning service to ensure effective and safe cleaning for both residential and commercial kitchen exhaust hoods.
For the best professional cleaning of your commercial or residential kitchen canopy, you can rely on Eco Cleaning Brisbane. We have been providing professional cleaning services across Brisbane for over 20 years, and we know the local regulations well. We will ensure your commercial kitchen remains compliant and that everyone stays safe in the area. Contact us today at +61 7 3189 2759 or info@ecobrisbane.com.au to book our service at the most reasonable costs.
