Don Pfleiderer’s blog on kitchen exhaust cleaning and inspection: what proper cleaning looks like, what gets missed, code issues, and fire-inspector training.
151 posts, 2008–2026. Jump to a year:
The Type 1 Hood class is set for May 22nd at the Fed House Training center in Draper Utah. Topics will be Fire suppression, Type 1 and 2 exhaust systems, KEC…
This was cleaned by a "National" vendor who subcontracted it out to another "National" vendor. When confronted, they claimed they clearly said on their report…
Two things we have found in the field with upblast fans and to a lesser degree, utility set (Cage) fans in grease exhaust systems since the introduction of the direct…
Multiple companies said this next ductwork was impossible to clean and duct was to be replaced which would have caused weeks or months of store closure and related…
Direct Drive Fans for kitchen exhaust. With the proliferation of direct drive fans replacing belted fans, choosing the correct setup for the motors and drives becomes…
Who: Oregon Fire Marshal’s Association What: TEC Conference When: November 2, 2022 08:15-16:30 Course – Detailed overview of grease exhaust system design, construction,…
The new direct drive fans with open motors no longer have belts to maintain. Technicians no longer check under the fan motor housing which can lead to numerous other…
F2 access doors have a ceramic gasket that meets the temperature requirement for NFPA96 but does NOT need the liquid tight (non leaking) requirement. They are not listed…
Many fan manufacturers and inspector like rain caps on the discharge side of the grease exhaust fans to keep much of the rain out of the fan bowl. This can reduce the…
(As. normal, names were left out to protect the guilty) There have been numerous advertised claims by "autocleaning" system companies that their systems eliminate the…
(Crew Chief) “Don’t Clean the Filter Tracks This Time…We’ll Get Them Next Service…” I just returned from a tour in the US performing numerous inspections in various…
News story shared from Fox News, December 2018.
If you don't have this in your KEC contract, demand it. If you are a reputable KEC vendor, you should have these lines in all KEC contracts. The lines below are…
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…
Solid fuel system was cleaned regularly by a well know national vendor with their last cleaning only 2 weeks before these pictures were taken. One states a pictures says…
Here are real world leaktest results. If there was any doubt that water leak testing is needed, the actual results affirm the need. Keep in mind that many of these…
I presented to the Florida Hospital sanitarian group several years ago. The presentation had shown the group pictures of actual grease fires, the extreme speed they can…
News story shared from Richmond Times-Dispatch, August 2017.
What happens to ductwork after years of leakage? Although new systems are light tested, we know from our own records that over 95% of the new systems we test fail the…
These are excuses that we have been sent on why the system was not cleaned completely. Most can be solved simply by scheduling additional time and dates and/or making…
Save the date: August 18th, 2017, The Boston Fire Department is hosting a Seminar on Commercial Kitchen Exhaust System Cleaning & Inspecting presented by Donald…
When inspecting your grease exhaust system post cleaning, here are some tricks to make sure the systems have been properly cleaned and are indeed fire safe. The first…
During inspections in the past few years, there has been a disconcerting amount of type 2(or worse) ductwork use for wood fired smoker systems. These systems not only…
Western Slope FMAC meeting scheduled for this October: Date Friday October 14, 2016 Location Glenwood Springs Community Center, 100 Wulfsohn Road, Glenwood Springs, CO…
It is with heavy heart to inform everyone that Scott Luther, Director of Facilities Management for PF Changs and Pei Wei's passed on April 30th. Over 130 people attended…
The kitchen exhaust inspector was at this location when the KEC cleaning crew arrived. They even called their superiors to let them know the inspector was still there…
News story shared from Carla Williams, Strike First Corporation of America, May 2016.
News story shared from Buckeye Fire Equipment.
The Utah State training seminar presented by Don Pfleiderer for grease exhaust vent system Design, Maintenance, Cleaning, and Inspections has been announced for Wed.…
Don Pfleiderer will be present his grease exhaust training seminar at the Arkansas Fire Marshall's Association on April 3rd. With focus on inspections, he will also…
How dangerous is it using companies that are not certified and give excuses when they do not clean the complete jobs. Here is a synopsis of the final result. A…
You're Invited to the Kitchen Exhaust Summit Sponsored by Performance Industrial (formerly Americlean) What: A free, half-day seminar on proper installation, inspection,…
Firesafe. Below is what a kitchen exhaust system cleaner is thinking or telling their customers. What do you think? It sure explains why many systems are left is this…
One wonders what the new excuse could be for all of what we see here. Major sections of these systems were not cleaned at all. What we see here is a major lack of…
One must be very careful cleaning direct drive up blast fans. See attached picture looking behind the fan blades showing is how the motor is installed and how open it is…
It is truly amazing how many KEC companies quote jobs without actually looking inside the systems and detailing clearly to the system owner what is required to cleans…
News story shared from CBS New York, June 2014.
This UL listed access door was installed to inspect section below. Also the F2 doors were leaking and ordered replaced. This was an "Unaccessible area", but much of the…
News story shared from The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC), February 2014.
Note recently sent to Don(slightly edited to protect the guilty): "My current company just cancelled on me after I looked at 10 of their last jobs and ordered them…
Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Utah Winter Fire School on Saturday Jan 11th starting at 8AM. The Kitchen Exhaust Inspection, Design, Construction, and…
"To all my friends and contacts it is with a heavy heart that I let you know we lost a good friend and team member. Will Harris has passed away from a massive stroke on…
IKECA ANSI Consensus Body Chair Bernard Besal, CECS, CESI and Vice Chair Nelson Dilg, CECS, CESI are pleased to announce that the International Code Council, at its…
News story shared from Atlanta news coverage, October 2013.
Picture inspection are often difficult for staff that are unfamiliar with picture procedures and lacking baseline and complete pictures that properly show the entire…
Recently an article was written about kitchen exhaust fan maintenance and I have received comments about some issues with the article. I thought the article was fairy…
Many fan issues found show how costly improper cleanings can be in addition to grease fires. This fan was recently cleaned and they were having vibration problems.…
News story shared from Tony LaRussa, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, July 2013.
Here is what we recently found on a job site. Funny thing that this was just cleaned by a National Vendor with the Manager of that company recently visiting and…
I will be performing the kitchen exhaust seminar for the Southern MN Fire inspectors and related code officials. This program is great educational material for Building…
Thank you to everyone who attended the Grease Exhaust system seminar at the Utah Winter Fire Training School last Friday. Oliver Moore, JR from the Utah State Fire…
A contract is not worth anything if there is no follow up. This is a good example. Numerous locations of a chain of stores in one area of the country were inspected to…
Happy New Year to all. It has been a very exciting 2012 and I look forward to an even better 2013. For 2013, I have been elected to the IKECA Board of Directors. Thank…
News story shared from WIFR (Rockford, IL), November 2012.
One of the most dangerous areas in the hood system is the grease trough. The function of a properly working hood trough is to convey the grease that is draining out of…
Our Utah seminar will be an all day presentation from 8AM-4PM with a lunch break in the middle. My previous post has the incorrect date. The new date for the seminar is…
Hi All, Hope to see everyone in Indy this week. I will be arriving Tuesday night (Tonight) I will be presenting for all of the Building Code officials on Thursday from…
One needs to make sure you get complete pictures of the entire system from above AND from below including both sides of fan blades. the filter trough for the entire…
Looking into the back of the fan blades, we can clearly see where the cleaning was done and where it was not done. Looking into the steam system hood, it is very clean.…
These are my and my Blower Balancing and Repair divisional manager's opinions from our combined 72 years of experience in the field. We are against installing direct…
Here is a new one for all. While inspecting a large government facility last week, we noticed the system was only partially cleaned. While this was not surprising from…
Thanks for everyone showing up to the full day seminars in both Albany New York and Montpelier, VT. We have a full house at the Albany New York seminar and great…
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/public/@regservices/documents/webcontent/convert_286393.pdf http://www.ci.inver-grove-heights.mn.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=996…
Picture of some of the attendees taken when demonstrating camera use with Monopod Thanks you to all the area fire inspectors attending the exhaust system seminar in…
This is actually grease duct above the ceiling Cardboard boxes holding up the duct plus plastic used to cover the wall penetration to the sidewall fan. This is also…
My goal is to have hiring an IKECA member equate to hiring a fully trained professional and not just a glorified janitor. IKECA members must be more than just cleaners.…
1) We agree that all work is to be cleaned by our companies will be done to NFPA96 and IKECA C10 standards with all kitchen exhaust cleaning(KEC) jobs and KEC contracts…
How many times have restaurants had to make difficult decisions about how to get the money available for an initial remedial grease exhaust system cleanings due entirely…
News story shared from Hawaii News Now, November 2011.
Looking up from the hood at one location, you can see where the unscrupulous cleaning companies clean only what can be seen. But placing the camera around the corner we…
Attendees at the AHJ training seminar. Good to see everyone at the Milwaukee Technical Meetings. We have 40 Code officials (AHJ's) from Milwaukee, Madison, MN, and…
Looking up from the hood, the KEC company "certified" this as clean We look closer and see the areas you can see from below do not look too bad and might have passed if…
This job has just been completed the previous week..... The only part of the system that was actually cleaned was this outside of the exhaust fan Looking at the intake…
Looking into a horizontal past what has been getting cleaned previously, we see where the KEC was avoiding cleaning and careful avoided taking pictures of this area…
The latest tale is one of a well know local KEC vendor with that was well thought of previous to this episode. So desperate for work were they they they lost their…
Thanks to everyone who attended the IKECA Annual meeting in Naples Florida at the Hilton Hotel. It was sure hot down there especially going back to snow in MN…
Many side wall fans have access issues where the ductwork is tucked above a chase way or permanent ceiling that is difficult if not almost impossible to get to. Also,…
I am so proud that I had to post at least one personal blog. Here is a picture of my new (and first) granddaughter Brianna who was born last week to son Brandon and his…
I consider this to be fraud. The KEC company took over 40 pictures of their cleaning of this system last week. They submitted them to the facilities manager as complete…
Inspection last week inside of the ductwork between the hood and the Electronic Precipitator. (Taken from the hood) While Electronic Precipitators work very well when…
You can see the air vents in the motor for this fan starting to plug up with dirt and dust. This needs to be cleaned off during the normal fan service when doing belts,…
Looking above the hoods with rags and plastic covering the grease Removing the cardboard shows the pooled old grease throughout the top of this hood The access plates do…
A KEC company had an exhaust system on a newer facility where the fans and make up air would not turn back on in the morning after cleaning and kept tripping the 110…
The first 3 pictures are actual pictures sent to a facilities manager and posted on their web site on a cleaning job claiming that everything looks great and it should…
Looking up the hood we can see the scrape marks where someone tried to clean. And when we look around the corner above the hood, we can see where the cleanings stopped!!…
Looking up the stack from the hood you can see grease in the distance. It looks fairly clean but when we look around the corner Here is the horizontal past what we could…
Hi Y'all, It's National Fire Safety Month. After a 2 and 1/2 weeks world wind tour across the country I am back home for a few days until the IKECA technical seminars in…
This was an actual letter sent by a Fire Inspector in Kansas after they had a grease exhaust fire at the Red Robin there. It had just been cleaned by a company less than…
I have been seeing many F2 sandwich access plates being installed in type 1 grease ducts. These are NOT UL approved for grease duct installation as they are known to…
During a routine inspection, a system was found with years of buildup throughout. The vendor was ordered to clean it up by the location. This vendor actually sent the…
A cleaning company claiming to clean to NFPA96 standards actually has this in their contract and also on their web site. Make sure to read the entire contract when…
Here is system all others have failed to clean claiming they cannot effectively remove wok style grease. Here are pictures of section of a system just cleaned 2 weeks…
News story shared from KMSP-TV (Minneapolis), February 2010.
Looking up stack above fryers Same looking farther up Jog above Fryers just past previous pictures Horizontal above fryers Looking down vertical on 2nd fryer system Back…
Above are pictures from several jobs that had just been cleaned by licensed companies in the city of Mpls in 2009 before they started their inspection program. The…
The Minneapolis Fire Department has instituted a new permit program for all kitchen grease exhaust vent cleaning effective 1/1/2010. The permits start at $130 per…
Here are pictures showing carbon grease easily catching fire when ignited with a flame. An executive of a national KEC cleaning company told a Facilities manager for a…
The old saying always states- In confusion lies profit!! A new term called system segregation better know as Program cleaning is a perfect example of this. Years ago,…
This goes to prove the point "All Grease Exhaust Systems are self-cleaning at some point". If all of the grease is not removed, a fire will remove it when the buildup is…
This grease exhaust vent system was just cleaned in the past couple weeks in Ohio. These areas in the horizontal were hidden but easily accessible. (These are not close…
This is the area above the hood the cleaning company did not take picture of. This was just cleaned the morning before. You can see clearly where the cleaning stopped.…
Hi folks, Back from several seminars the past month plus a west coast inspection tour. I will be catching up on posts the next week or so with lots of info and pictures.…
I am in Vegas for the IKECA annual meeting. Hope to see you all there. I will post on the goings on later in the week when I get all caught up with everyone. Hope to see…
National KEC company had just been warned about their cleaning work at a sister store (see previous post about looking at pictures of jobs)and were given one last…
Here are pictures from a job just started and these pictures are new from 2 days ago. This job has been getting done on a regular basis every 3 months by a National…
4 "after" pictures sent to a restaurant facilities manager for a cleaning job that was just done(by the KEC vendor that did the work!!). There is a closeup of the clean…
News story shared from WMBD/WYZZ-TV (Peoria, IL), February 2009.
All of the above were all just cleaned(and they had hood stickers)!!?? I was off touring the Midwest inspecting grease exhaust once again. These stores were just cleaned…
Before cleaning, after someone cleaned, and after we stick the camera up the stack further and further up still! Outside of the Type 2 system and Up another Bakery stack…
Well, here we are at a new year. I just received the following e-mail from a cleaning company. I don't think he gets it completely. I have posted my reply. He is…
Here are some of the fun quotes we received just this past month or so. Feel free to e-mail me your favorite quotes from restaurant staff and cleaning companies. 1)…
There has been a string of National and Regional directives for Malls and other buildings banning all roof access before 7am in the morning. Some are city directives in…
A customer received the following letter and I almost fell out of my chair laughing until I realized these guys were serious. My on staff welders even read it in…
I received a call a week ago from a new company trying to clean nationally. They wanted us to do some work for them, but they did not want our hood stickers used, only…
1st three show the bad areas and the last picture show they actually tried to clean something. This store was getting cleaning regularly by a National Cleaning company.…
This is one of the "AFTER" pictures sent by a cleaning company to their customer!! The following e-mail was actually sent to the facilities manager at a large chain…
We were called into a job that was having major leakage issues yesterday morning. Turns out the system was just cleaned Sunday night(the night before) by a company with…
Hi to everyone, Back from St Louis and the IKECA Technical Conferences. I want to thank all of you who stuck it out through Saturday to hear my presentation on "CLEANING…
Here is an e-mail train from a leak testing job getting done on the west coast the past week. Imagine life before we started doing the high pressure water leak testing!…
Hi all, It is Thursday night and my staff and I have all arrived in St Louis for the IKECA technical seminars. I plan of presenting one on personal responsibility for…
HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL!! I was going to dress as a greaser after crawling though a 100 foot run scraping out a system full of wok style grease last night, but ran into…
I was out inspecting another system from a janitorial company stating they were IKECA certified. IKECA has never heard of them and here are pictures from the job. Make…
1st pic: Water leak testing in progress with a welder on top of hood doing the repairs. 2nd pic: Heavy buildup of grease from leaking ductwork above a hood is a huge…
A major Mall owner/management group has just preliminarily approved implementing the Enviromatic National Inspection Program for all of their properties. This will…
ABOVE: Pictures from 10/14/08 inspection in Mid South above char broiler system Hey out there to all restaurant folk and greasers. On the inspection and speaking trail…
Western Commercial Services invited me to present our quality control seminar Friday, September 26th. It was very well attended by almost all senior supervisory staff…
BIG NEWS!! A major midwest city has starting planning a comprehensive inspection program following both NFPA96 and the Enviromatic National Inspection Program…
News story shared from The Washington Post, October 2008.
I had 2 interesting calls a few weeks ago, both are subcontractors for a company doing national contracts. There are several companies that sub out work, but this was…
This is some after pictures from a quality cleaning company of the same job the national company could not get clean. This is also the same type of grease that was…
This job in question was just done by a cleaning company. A different company pulled out the grease shown in the pans above 2 weeks after the supposed cleaning. Out of…
I received this letter from another company who I have personally seen their work. They are one of the few companies that I know do consistantly good work and follow up…
Another day. another ripper: We just finished cleaning up a job in the Midwest earlier this week that was done the first week in August by a national company that we all…
Hi all, Back from Vacation on in Sturgis and the Tetons! Perfect weather and great riding in the Mountains and the Black Hills. This week, I just got back from Dallas.…
This letter is from the same person as a previous post(see Excuses.....) on why they could not get the systems cleaned. Some of the pictures this person is referring…
(ABOVE) 3 pictures of what was left in the duct from the company that sent in the letter below. Obviously this was not inaccessible as the new cleaning company was able…
It's not the heat that gets you in Texas, It's the darn humidity. Just spent the last week in Houston at the SW Food Expo. Diet time again!! If you remember the…
Things are looking up in greaser land!! Several additional jurisdictions in a couple of states have just requested grease exhaust vent system…
Another job, another failed inspection. I had to send a comment to a cleaning company submitting pictures for inspection that we do all FOUR sides of the duct, not just…
I received the following from a new company bidding on a cleaning job and followed it up with the customers reply comments. They had to raise the bid price once they…
Hi to all those in grease land!! Welcome to my blog and my (sometimes feeble) attempts to change the world of grease duct cleanings! My motto is to do what I do then and…
Talk to the team that has set the standard for kitchen exhaust cleaning since 1971.