Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning in Whitby
Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning in Whitby is the degreasing of the duct that carries cooking exhaust from the hood collar to the rooftop fan: the horizontal run above the ceiling, the riser through the building, and the access panels a crew opens to reach each section. Whitby Hood Cleaning opens every panel on the run, scrapes and degreases each section, checks the NFPA 96 limit of 0.078 inches at four points along the path, and lists every section on the signed certificate. Kitchens in the Thickson Road, Taunton Road and Dundas Street plazas often share one riser with their neighbours, and the quote says who owns which section.
Horizontal run, riser and access panels: the duct after the hood
The horizontal run starts at the duct collar on top of the plenum and travels above the ceiling toward the shaft. Grease settles on the floor of the duct, packs into the outside wall of every elbow where the airstream is flung sideways, and drops out at any transition that slows the air. Two elbows can hold more deposit than the rest of the run combined.
The riser climbs from the end of the run to the fan curb. As the air cools on the way up, grease condenses, slides back down the walls and collects at the turn. A riser inspected only from the roof can read clean at the top while its base is loaded.
Access panels are gasketed, removable openings cut into the duct wall. With no panel, the crew can clean as far into the run as an arm will reach and no further. Fitting a compliant panel wherever the run is blind is part of the scope, priced before the visit. Everything above the collar is on the hood cleaning services page; the fan unit is on the exhaust fan repair page.
Hood-only cleaning vs full-system cleaning in Whitby
The two scopes look identical from the kitchen floor the next morning. Inside the duct they are different jobs.
| Section of the system | Hood-only vs full-system: what a hood-only visit does | What a full-system visit does |
|---|---|---|
| Duct collar above the plenum | Wiped from underneath as far as an arm reaches. | Degreased through the first panel and measured against 0.078 inches. |
| First elbow in the horizontal run | Untouched. Nobody opens the ceiling. | Opened at its panel, scraped, degreased and photographed inside. |
| Straight sections between elbows | Untouched. | Cleaned from each panel to the next, with a missing panel quoted and fitted. |
| Base of the riser | Not reached from either end. | Scraped out at the turn, with the depth written down. |
| Fan inlet on the roof | Looked at if the fan is hinged, skipped if it is bolted down. | Fan tipped, inlet cleaned and measured as the last surface before discharge. |
| The certificate | Names the hood. The duct is not mentioned. | Lists every section by name, marks any section left unreached, and states which panel would fix that. |
The inspection intervals NFPA 96 publishes by cooking volume are set out on the NFPA 96 page.
Kitchen exhaust cleaning services for Thickson Road, Taunton Road and Dundas Street plazas with a shared riser
Whitby Hood Cleaning quotes the tenant for the branch as far as the junction and quotes the landlord for the shared riser above it.
The plazas along Thickson Road and Taunton Road, and the strips on Dundas Street, were built with three or four food units venting into a single riser. Every tenant looks after its own hood and files its own certificate. The shaft above loads from every line at once, and the lease is usually silent on who cleans it.
The split is settled in writing before the crew arrives. The tenant is responsible for the hood and for the branch duct up to the junction. The shaft above the junction and the fan on top of it are the landlord's. On the tenant's certificate the branch endpoint and the condition found at the junction are both recorded. The property manager receives the riser quote, and both parties receive proof of WSIB coverage and liability insurance.
Where the 0.078 inch limit is checked along a Whitby duct run
NFPA 96 sets the acceptable grease depth at 0.078 inches, and the figure applies wherever the cooking air goes, so the reading is taken where grease builds up.
Four points are measured on every full-system visit. The collar, where the air first slows after leaving the plenum. The outer wall of every elbow, where the turn flings grease against the metal. The bottom of the riser, which collects whatever drains from above. And the fan inlet, the final surface before discharge.
Any section the crew cannot reach is written up as not accessible, never as cleaned, and the record names the panel that would open it. That line is what Whitby Fire and Emergency Services, Scugog Fire and Emergency Services or the Uxbridge Fire Department can act on.
Top-rated commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning in Whitby: what to look for
Commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning in Whitby should be judged on whether the contractor can show you the inside of the duct.
Dated photographs inside the run. Before and after, through each panel.
A panel count on the quote. Anyone who has walked the run can tell you the number of panels in place and the number still needed.
A certificate that names sections. Collar, run, each elbow, riser base and fan inlet on their own lines, plus any unreached section.
A plan for the riser in a shared building. Ask who receives the quote for the shaft. If nobody does, the shaft stays as it is.
Whitby Hood Cleaning works to that standard across Whitby, Brooklin, Port Perry, Scugog and Uxbridge. Coverage and the fire service for each area are on the areas served page.
How much does kitchen exhaust cleaning cost in Whitby in 2026?
Kitchen exhaust cleaning in Whitby costs from $385 per visit for a single-hood kitchen up to ten feet, and from $725 per visit for a multi-hood kitchen of two to four canopies, with shared-riser and larger systems quoted on site after a free walk-through. A written quote follows within 24 hours.
The duct, not the hood, sets the hours on a full-system job. Run length, elbow count, riser height and the number of usable panels all move the figure, and each new panel is its own line on the quote. Overnight and between-service scheduling is included.
Next step: call 289-274-0423 or request a written quote. Mention whether the neighbours cook too, and whether anyone has ever opened a panel on the run. All four scopes are listed on the services page.
Kitchen exhaust cleaning in Whitby: frequently asked questions
Who pays for the shared riser in a Whitby plaza?
The building pays in nearly every lease, because the riser and the fan are common elements the landlord owns. Whitby Hood Cleaning writes two quotes and marks the tenant's certificate at the point where the tenant's duct ends.
How many access panels does a duct run need?
A duct run needs enough panels to reach every section: one close to the collar, one wherever the duct turns, and one at the foot of the riser. A Whitby run that has never been cleaned usually has a single panel, or none.
Does cutting a new access panel weaken the duct?
A compliant panel is a framed, gasketed opening that seals under the fan suction and opens again at every visit, so the duct is no weaker for it. The section that never gets a panel is the weak point, because it stays loaded.
Can the duct be cleaned without opening the dining room ceiling?
The duct can usually be cleaned from the kitchen side, because the run is over the kitchen and the panels open from there. Where a run crosses above a dining room, as it does in some older buildings on Brock Street and on Queen Street in Port Perry, the tiles are lifted and put back the same night.
Is the 0.078 inch limit the same on the duct as on the hood?
NFPA 96 applies the same 0.078 inch limit to every surface on the path. A reading that fails the plenum fails the elbow and the riser foot too. Both the limit and the frequency table are on the NFPA 96 page.