Hood Vent Cleaning in Hamilton
Hood vent cleaning is the cleaning of the three parts of a kitchen ventilation system that sit between the cook line and the duct: the canopy an operator can see, the plenum cavity hidden behind the filter bank, and the exhaust fan that pulls air through both. Hamilton Hood Cleaning degreases the canopy, cleans the plenum and grease trough, tilts or lifts the fan to reach the blades and housing interior, and photographs every surface. When a kitchen fills with smoke, a canopy lip drips, or a fan starts to rumble, the cause is almost always in one of those three places.
The three parts this service covers
The canopy. The stainless shell over the line, the lip along its leading edge, the light fixtures, and the underside staff work beneath daily. It is the part everyone sees, so it is the part everyone judges the system by.
The plenum. The cavity directly behind the filter bank, where air collects before entering the duct collar. None of it is visible until the filters come out, and it holds the grease that got past them. The trough or cup at its base needs emptying and scraping rather than a wipe.
The exhaust fan. Usually on the roof, on a curb over the top of the riser. Its blades, housing interior, and drive components sit in the dirtiest air in the building.
The filters are a separate scope, covered under hood filter cleaning. Everything past the duct collar, the horizontal run and the riser, is covered under kitchen exhaust cleaning.
Symptoms and what usually causes them
Start with what the kitchen is doing, then look in the part of the system responsible for it.
| What you notice | Usual cause | What the visit does about it |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke hangs over the line instead of clearing | Airflow has dropped. A loaded plenum, a grease-caked fan wheel, or a slack belt. | Plenum cleaned, fan blades and housing degreased, belt condition reported in writing. |
| Grease dripping at the canopy lip | The plenum and trough are full, so condensate has nowhere to drain and runs forward. | Trough emptied and scraped, plenum cleaned back to metal, drain path checked. |
| Fan rumbling or vibrating | Grease loaded unevenly on the blades, which puts the wheel out of balance. | Wheel cleaned evenly all round, bearing noise noted and reported. |
| Squeal on start-up | Belt glazed or slipping on a greasy pulley. | Pulleys degreased, belt condition photographed and flagged for your service contractor. |
| Kitchen running hot and stuffy | The system is moving less air than it was designed to move. | Full clean of the vent path, with anything outside the cleaning scope written up. |
| Grease staining the roof around the fan | Grease is leaving the fan housing and reaching the roof membrane. | Housing cleaned and containment discussed. See rooftop grease containment. |
Cleaning grease from a commercial kitchen exhaust fan
An exhaust fan is cleaned by tilting it back on its hinge or lifting it off the curb, degreasing the blades evenly on both faces, cleaning the housing interior, and seating the unit back down properly.
Blade loading is the part operators underestimate. A fan wheel is a balanced component spinning at speed, and grease does not settle evenly, so as it builds the wheel goes out of balance and vibrates. Vibration kills bearings, loosens fasteners, and cracks a curb seal. The rumble a kitchen learns to ignore is the early stage of a repair bill.
Loading costs airflow directly too. Grease thickens the blade profile, the wheel stops moving the volume it was sized for, and the hood underneath stops capturing. That is the link between a dirty roof fan and smoke sitting over a cook line below.
Access decides how the job runs. A fan on a hinge kit tilts back and the underside is reachable in minutes. A fan bolted flat to the curb has to be lifted, which is slower and rougher on the flashing every time. If yours is bolted down that gets flagged, and hinge kit installation is quoted separately.
Belts and bearings are looked at because the crew is already there with the fan open, not as a mechanical service. Condition is photographed and written into the report so your contractor can act on it.
Best hood vent cleaning in Hamilton for a low-rise strip or a village main street
Hamilton Hood Cleaning works off a ladder to roof-mounted fans on the low-rise strips where most independent kitchens sit, which is the practical constraint on Concession Street, in downtown Dundas, and through Ancaster village.
Those buildings share a shape: one or two storeys, a flat roof, and a fan reached by ladder rather than an internal stair or roof hatch. That changes how a visit is planned. Gear goes up once, weather matters, and the roof portion is scheduled with the season in mind rather than squeezed into whatever hour is left.
Converted storefronts on James Street North and King William Street run short risers straight to the roof, putting the fan almost directly above the canopy. Business park kitchens in Stoney Creek and Ancaster are the opposite: a long horizontal run means the fan is a walk from the hood, and the two ends need separate time on the schedule. The order of a visit is set out on the Hamilton hood cleaning page, and route coverage is on the areas served page.
How much does hood vent cleaning cost in Hamilton in 2026?
Hamilton Hood Cleaning prices a single-hood kitchen up to ten feet from $385 per visit and a multi-hood kitchen of two to four canopies from $725 per visit, with campus, hospital, contract-catered and multi-tenant kitchens quoted on site after a free walk-through. The written quote comes back within 24 hours, and proof of WSIB coverage and liability insurance is supplied before work begins.
On the vent side the fan does most of the pricing. A hinged fan that tilts back is quick. A bolted fan that has to be lifted, or one behind a parapet with awkward ladder access, takes longer. Canopy length and the number of plenum sections move it too, and a system left a long time takes more than one on a schedule. The full breakdown sits on the cost guide, and frequency by cooking volume is on the NFPA 96 page.
Next step: call 289-796-0840 or request a written quote. Say what you cook, how many canopies you run, and whether the roof fan is hinged or bolted down. The free walk-through settles the rest and the number is back inside 24 hours.
Hood vent cleaning in Hamilton: frequently asked questions
My canopy is dripping at the front edge. What does that mean?
A dripping lip means condensed grease has run forward instead of draining backward, usually because the plenum and the trough behind the filters are full. Act on it quickly, because grease landing on a cook line is a food safety issue as well as a fire one. Cleaning the plenum and clearing the trough normally stops it, and if it continues the drain path gets checked.
Is the plenum cleaned as part of a normal service?
Yes. The plenum sits inside the scope of every scheduled service, cleaned back to metal and photographed like every other surface. It is not somewhere kitchen staff should reach into between visits, because it is confined, sharp, and slippery, which is exactly why it gets skipped by anyone cleaning only what they can see.
Does the roof fan have to come off?
The fan has to be moved to be cleaned properly, because the blades and the housing interior hold most of the grease. A fan on a hinge kit tilts back and returns in position with no disturbance to the curb. A bolted fan has to be lifted clear and reseated, which is harder on the flashing over the years. Hamilton Hood Cleaning notes which type you have during the walk-through so the quote reflects it.
Will you tell me if the belt or bearings are going?
Yes, as an observation with a photograph, not a repair. While the fan is open the crew can see a glazed belt, a slack belt, or a bearing making noise, and that goes into the report so your mechanical contractor can act on it. Hamilton Hood Cleaning cleans and documents kitchen exhaust systems and does not service fan mechanicals.
Who checks this in Hamilton and what do they want to see?
The authority having jurisdiction in Hamilton is the Hamilton Fire Department, and the standard applied is NFPA 96, which the Ontario Fire Code adopts by reference. What they want is evidence: dated before-and-after photographs of the cleaned surfaces and a signed certificate naming the sections covered. Hamilton Hood Cleaning references the published NFPA 96 standard and is not affiliated with NFPA.