Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning in Hamilton
Kitchen exhaust cleaning is the cleaning of the full grease-carrying path that moves cooking air out of a building: the horizontal duct above the ceiling, every elbow and transition in it, the vertical riser, and the access panels that make those sections reachable. Hamilton Hood Cleaning cleans that path section by section, cuts in code-compliant panels where a run cannot be reached, and names each section on a signed certificate referencing the published NFPA 96 standard. A certificate covering only what an inspector can see from the cook line leaves the duct undocumented, and the duct is the part a fire travels through.
Where this service starts and where it stops
This page is about the duct and the system as a whole. Grease-laden air leaves the plenum through the duct collar into the horizontal run, the length travelling above the ceiling toward the shaft. It does not coat that run evenly, building fastest on the underside, on the outside radius of every elbow, and at any transition where the airstream slows. None of that shows up in a photograph unless somebody opened a panel first.
The air then turns up the vertical riser. A riser drains, so whatever condenses on the walls runs back down and collects at the base of the turn. A riser checked only from the roof can read as acceptable while the bottom few feet hold the heaviest deposit in the building.
Two scopes sit either side of this one. The filters are covered under hood filter cleaning, and the canopy, plenum and exhaust fan under hood vent cleaning. Most kitchens book all three as one visit.
Hood-only cleaning vs full system cleaning in a Hamilton kitchen
The difference most operators find out about while an inspector is standing in the kitchen.
| Section of the system | Hood-only clean | Full system clean |
|---|---|---|
| Canopy, filters, plenum | The entire scope of the visit. | The starting point, then the crew keeps moving along the duct. |
| Horizontal duct above the ceiling | Left alone. Usually never opened. | Opened at each panel and cleaned in sections, elbow radii and transitions included. |
| Vertical riser | Out of scope. | Cleaned top and bottom, including the deposit pooled at the base of the turn. |
| Access panels | Not assessed. A run with no panels stays unreachable. | Existing panels opened and resealed, new code-compliant panels quoted where a run is blind. |
| Makeup air side | Not looked at. | Checked as part of reading why a hood is not capturing, and reported in writing. |
| What the certificate covers | Names the hood. The duct is absent from the record. | Names each section cleaned, with matching before-and-after photographs. |
Not sure which scope your system needs? The free walk-through answers it. Call 289-796-0840 or read how the visit runs on the Hamilton hood cleaning page.
What happens when a Hamilton building has no duct access panels
Cutting in code-compliant access panels is part of the job, not a reason to stop and leave.
An access panel is a sealed, removable opening in the duct wall. Without enough of them a crew reaches an arm length in from the collar and no further, leaving the middle of the run uncleaned and unphotographed.
Hamilton building stock produces this two ways. Converted storefronts along James Street North and King William Street run a short riser straight to a flat roof with one panel at the collar and nothing else, because there was never much duct to panel. Business park units in Stoney Creek and Ancaster have proper panels, but a horizontal run long enough that they sit far apart and the sections between get skipped by anyone working quickly.
The sequence is priced first. The walk-through maps the route and marks the blind sections, the quote states how many panels are needed and where, and each panel is fitted so it seals now and reopens at every future service. Nothing unreachable gets certified: a section that cannot be opened is written down as not accessible, with the reason. A documented gap can be fixed. A certificate that quietly implies a clean duct cannot be defended.
Best kitchen exhaust cleaning in Hamilton for a shared riser
Hamilton Hood Cleaning issues a certificate per kitchen and quotes the shared riser separately to whoever owns it, which is what a multi-tenant downtown building needs in order to close the gap.
Downtown towers and multi-tenant buildings share duct risers between kitchens. One tenant on a heavy fried line can load a riser three other tenants also vent into, and cleaning that tenant hood does nothing for the shaft above it. The tenant holds a certificate, the riser stays dirty, and nobody finds out until an inspection or a claim.
The split is straightforward once written down. Each kitchen owns its hood, filters, and duct branch. The shared riser and the fan on top belong to the landlord or property manager. Hamilton Hood Cleaning documents the branch, states on the report where the branch ends, and quotes the riser to the building. Proof of WSIB coverage and liability insurance goes to both parties before work starts. Campus, hospital and contract-catered systems are quoted on site instead, and that scope is described on the about page.
How much does kitchen exhaust 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 systems quoted on site after a free walk-through. The written quote comes back within 24 hours and includes the photo record, the signed certificate, and proof of WSIB and liability coverage.
On a full system job the duct moves the number more than the kitchen does. Run length, the elbows and transitions in it, riser height, and how many usable panels already exist all change the hours. A forty foot run with two elbows and one panel at the collar is a different job from a compact run with panels every ten feet, and that belongs in the quote instead of on the invoice. Panels needing cutting in are itemised and approved first. The full breakdown sits on the cost guide, and the intervals are on the NFPA 96 page.
Next step: call 289-796-0840 or request a written quote. Say what you cook, roughly where the roof fan sits relative to the hood, and whether anyone has ever opened a duct panel. The walk-through handles the rest and the number is back inside 24 hours.
Kitchen exhaust cleaning in Hamilton: frequently asked questions
Is kitchen exhaust cleaning the same as hood cleaning?
No. Hood cleaning covers the assembly over the cook line. Kitchen exhaust cleaning covers that plus everything the grease-laden air passes through afterwards: the horizontal duct, the elbows and transitions, and the riser. The published NFPA 96 standard applies its grease limit to the whole path, so a system only complies when all of it has been cleaned.
Can the duct be cleaned without shutting the kitchen for a day?
Yes. Duct work is scheduled overnight or between service hours. That is the normal arrangement in Hamilton because so many kitchens sit under residential units on Locke Street South and Ottawa Street North and cannot run noisy work in the evening. The crew protects the cook line and leaves the kitchen ready for the next service.
How does makeup air affect a greasy duct?
Makeup air is the replacement air a building feeds back into the kitchen to balance what the exhaust fan pulls out. When it is short, the hood cannot capture, smoke rolls out at the canopy lip, and grease lands on surfaces instead of going up the duct. Hamilton Hood Cleaning notes the makeup air side during the walk-through and reports it in writing, because a duct that reloads unusually fast is often an airflow problem.
What proof do I get that the whole run was cleaned?
Every job ends with before-and-after photographs of every cleaned surface and a signed health and safety certificate referencing the NFPA 96 standard, with each section named. That is what an insurer or a food service director asking for records wants to see. Hamilton Hood Cleaning references the published NFPA 96 standard and is not affiliated with NFPA.
How dirty is too dirty for a duct?
NFPA 96 sets the acceptable grease depth at 0.078 inches, and that limit applies along the duct exactly as it does on the canopy. The measurement is explained on the NFPA 96 page. In practice the answer is a schedule matched to cooking volume, so the system never gets near the limit between visits.