Anatomy of a "$395" wok system cleaning job only days after completion

November 7, 2018 · Don Pfleiderer

Below is the report sent to the landlord who requested the inspection. The restaurant owner stated he just had the system cleaned a week ago and he received a "good deal for $395" and that it always had cost him that. He also said they clean out their hood themselves at least once a week. The actual kitchen and hood were very clean. As we can see in the pictures, the owner basically paid someone to perform the same work as he was already doing daily and the restaurant owner paid for a $395 hood polishing job. He did have a receipt for the cleaning for this insurance company and the landlord. He had paid COD so it is unknown if he will be able to recover the money. We were called in after there was a complaint about some water leakage above the ceiling and the landlord had seen how bad of shape the fan was in immediately after cleaning. Imagine if this amount of grease caught fire after we have previously seen and know what as little as 2 millimeters of grease can fuel and sustain a grease fire. 

Report: System has extensive horizontal ductwork(approx. 20-25’ in length) above the hood with a vertical riser in the middle righthand side to the fan on the roof that does not appear to have ever been previously cleaned. Owner on site claimed it was just cleaned 1 week ago. As we can see in the pictures, there appears to be years of grease buildup that is an extreme fire hazard and it needs to be properly cleaned immediately. The fan appears to be fairly new and is definitely newer than the rest of the system. It was not properly installed and does not fit the roof curb. The fan blades were only partially cleaned and the old buildup that was left is causing vibration issues. The fan is leaking grease all over the roof and if left unchecked and not contained, it will lead to additional un- suppressed fire hazard along with the acids in the grease compromising the roof over time.  
Major deficiencies found: (See report and drawings for complete details)
1) No current hood cleaning certification sticker(no sticker at all)
2) No hinges on fan
3) Extreme buildup of grease throughout then system. Over 10 times the threshold for cleaning(NFPA96 threshold is 2000 microns or 2 millimeters)  throughout the system.  
4) No access to horizontal plenum above hood. 2-3 additional access plates needed. 
6) Incorrect fan on roof does not fit properly onto the curb, It his just sitting on top. 
7) No rooftop grease containment, fan Grease leaking out of fan onto roof. 
8) There are currently multiple roof leaks around the fan area. Need to investigate ig the grease has already compromised the roof. 

Originally published November 7, 2018 on Tales of the Greaser.

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