Commercial kitchen exhausts a huge risk for residential tower residents

Australians are fast embracing the new, city-living lifestyle of apartment living. Many new developments incorporate luxury apartments above restaurants and retail outlets, providing modern conveniences to suit a fast paced lifestyle.

An inherent danger for residents lies within the commercial kitchens below.

“Grease build up in kitchen canopies and deep inside exhausts presents a huge fire risk to the hundreds of residents sleeping in their apartments above,” explains Jason Mittenzwei, Airgene’s Operations Manager.

“As we’ve seen in a number of commercial kitchen fires, it doesn’t take much for grease to ignite and fire to quickly take hold.”

By law, restaurant and fast food outlets are required to clean their kitchen canopies and exhausts annually. However, depending on the size of the kitchen and cooking methods, some need cleaning half yearly, quarterly and even monthly.

Importantly, it takes more than a visual inspection to make sure the grease is not trapped further up the exhaust.

“Most restauranteurs are pretty good at making sure the surfaces of canopies and easy to reach parts of the exhausts and filters are clean, because they are easy for their guests to see,” said Jason.  “The real problem lies just that little bit further inside the exhaust where you can’t see.”

Airgene goes further than general cleaning, ensuring those out of sight and sometimes restricted areas are cleaned and disinfected to help owners pass health inspections and insurance requirements.

“We provide inspection frequency and cleaning compliance with AS 1851 that covers: grease arresting filter check, cleaning and replacement; exhaust hood and plenum assessment and remediation; duct cleaning and grease remediation; full kitchen hygiene, higher/lower surface and appliance cleaning; and post-clean reports and certification.

For more information about how Airgene can minimise risk in your commercial kitchen, contact Jason Mittenzwei on 1300 728 310.