How much does restaurant hood cleaning cost?

• Number of hoods and fans. Each hood and each exhaust fan adds work. This is the biggest single factor.
• Length and layout of the ductwork. Long runs, bends, and several floors take longer to clean, and every section needs to be reached through an access panel.
• Access. An easy roof hatch and well-placed access panels make the job faster. A roof that needs a tall ladder, or ducts without enough panels, add time.
• How much grease has built up. A system cleaned on schedule comes clean faster than one that has gone a long time. Heavy buildup means more scraping and more labor.
• Type of cooking. Charbroilers, woks, fryers, and wood-fired ovens load the system with grease much faster than ovens and steamers.
• Timing. Hood cleaning is usually done after closing. Urgent or same-day requests depend on crew availability.

It is tempting to stretch the time between cleanings. In practice, a system that has gone too long takes longer to clean, so each visit costs more. It also puts you out of step with the fire code schedule for your kitchen. Our guide on how often a restaurant hood should be cleaned explains the intervals.

When you compare companies, make sure each quote covers the same work. A good quote says:

• Which parts will be cleaned: the hood, the plenum behind the filters, the ductwork, and the rooftop fan.
• How grease and wastewater will be contained and the kitchen cleaned up afterward.
• Whether you get before-and-after photos and a written service record.
• That any areas the crew cannot reach will be noted in the record, not quietly skipped.

A low price is not a problem on its own. The risk is a low price that comes from doing less. The most common shortcut is cleaning only the parts you can see, the hood and filters, while leaving grease in the ducts and the fan on the roof. The kitchen looks clean, but most of the fuel for a duct fire is still there.

Before-and-after photos of the ducts and fan, and a record that lists anything that could not be reached, are the easiest ways to know you got the full job. Our guide on what a professional hood cleaning includes shows what to look for.

AFS quotes each kitchen after learning about the equipment: how many hoods and fans, the type of cooking, roof access, and when the work needs to happen. Tell us about your kitchen on the quote form or call 916-549-6476, and you will get a quote before any work is booked.