Grease is the number one risk factor that causes fire incidents in kitchens, especially where lots of fried meals are prepared. Due to its consistence, grease is highly flammable and thus has to be taken under serious consideration, as may become the reason of a possible disaster.

However, kitchen owners have difficulties in realizing/ visualizing how dangerous is the grease built-up within the extraction ducts and that a maintenance program, for keeping those ducts clean, has to be set.

The Problem
Evaporized fried oil, during cooking, is sucked by the extraction system to the atmosphere through ducts that most of the times can be of several meters. However, during this procedure, the vapours are getting back to the liquid face, due to the change of temperature along the ducts, and thus deposited/ remain in the bottom surface of the ducts. Grease filters that are usually used in kitchen hoods, so that to capture the vapour oil, are not enough to eliminate the continues deposition of oil, which after some time (depending on cooking frequency) becomes enough to start leaking from duct joints and be able to inflame.

A lot of such incidents, such us the Heathrow Airport disaster few years ago, had been put under the microscope of the insurance society, which had come in the conclusion that grease cleaning have to be achieved frequently, by any means, in kitchen extract systems, in an attempt to eliminate to the maximum the possibilities of a fire incident, as grease is the major risk factor present.

View video with grease duct inspection

The Solution
MONIMAX can offer a complete solution to the above need, using Lifa’s new dry removal method, suitable for all types of grease, soft or hard-burned. The unique capability of the equipment used, one cleaning machine capable of doing brushing, spraying chemicals and adsorbent granules all at the same time, enables the efficient and thorough cleaning of the extraction ducts. Also, the fact that Lifa machines are the only ones powerful and durable enough to be able to rotate a brush in grease duct, is a decisive factor.

Moreover, the variety of brushes, in size, as well as in material/ construction, gives the capability of cleaning any kind of duct, rectangular or circular, horizontal or vertical.

The cleaning process is similar to the one used for the ventilation & HVAC air ducts; however, in this case is a bit more time consuming. The accumulated grease particles produced by the scrubbing effect of the brushes during cleaning, are sucked by the suction unit away from the duct. All heavy-greasy dirt is collected into a special pre-separator unit with a plastic sack, located before the vacuum unit, in order to protect the filters.
Grease cleaning equipment

Another major benefit is that there are no leaks or drops from joints during and after cleaning!

Restaurant kitchen extract rectangular duct before and after a few minutesof brushing with Tynex brush only!!!

Industrial extract duct before and after a few minutes cleaning with the Grease Chopper metal brush!!

Comprehensive guidelines for kitchen extract systems cleaning are given in TR/19 guide to good practice where detailed instructions are given concerning positioning of access panels, grease limits above which cleaning is required, measurement methods, validation - testing and post clean reporting procedures.