With restaurant jobs up nearly 40% in recent years due to more businesses being opened, there is a greater demand for service on equipment. Business owners with a commercial exhaust fan know that this equipment is vital to restaurant operations.
Unfortunately, many restaurants don’t take the proper steps to ensure the cleaning of their commercial exhaust fan. With restaurants typically running on a 5% margin owners often try and cut costs.
But proper fan cleaning allows for passing inspections and also decreases the costs of repairing equipment.
Make sure you get the most from your commercial fans by following these tips for cleaning:
Perform Regularly
In order to maintain your commercial exhaust fan properly, it is important to clean on a regular basis. While each manufacturer will offer different recommendations a good guideline is quarterly or semi-annually.
Part of the preventative maintenance tasks for fans should be these regular cleaning tasks. This does not always need to include other maintenance duties but should involve removing dust and debris.
If you wait until there is an issue in the kitchen the mess will be harder to mitigate. Regular cleaning also has the benefit of making tasks easier. Without messy clogs and grease buildup, you will find that your service provider or trusted staff can handle this cleaning in a short amount of time.
Stay Safe With Your Commercial Exhaust Fan
Many businesses aren’t aware of all the regulations required for performing work safely. This is especially true for restaurants sometimes.
They often use non-technical resources to perform specialized tasks. But this is a mistake because the workers are not trained in safe work processes.
OSHA offers guidelines for the safe work processes of nearly every work task. A quality service provider will be trained in these processes and stay safe.
Don’t risk the safety of your employees and customers. Instead, make sure electrical guidelines and safe work processes are followed.
Working on a commercial exhaust fan without the right safety equipment and training can lead to injury. Make sure you stay safe.
Change the Filter
A big part of maintaining a commercial exhaust fan is keeping the filter clean. As with cleaning schedules, this should be done regularly.
A clean filter will catch debris and dust and work to improve the operations of the fan. While you may find that a quarterly cleaning of fans doesn’t always require a new filter it is wise to keep one on hand.
You can perform a routine clean of the filter if there isn’t too much accumulation. However, when in doubt it is better to not risk it.
A clean filter will help your fan run better and keep the kitchen operating correctly.
Watch for Smells
If you don’t clean your commercial exhaust fan regularly you might be in for quite a stink. The clogs of grease and debris can cause high heats and unbearable working conditions for your kitchen staff.
But this lack of proper ventilation can also trap odors in your kitchen. These might linger and spread throughout the restaurant.
Unless you perform regular maintenance of your kitchen fans your employees and guests may go elsewhere.
There is nothing worse than being greeted with bad odors when opening the front door to a restaurant. Make sure you keep your customers coming back for more with regular fan cleaning.
Ports and Outlets
Many restaurant owners see a commercial exhaust fan as simply a fan. But with commercial and industrial fans there are quite a few components to check during a cleaning project.
Routine maintenance and cleaning involve the fan blades, ports, outlets, and other machinery of the fan. Taking proper care to clean and inspect all of these elements will keep the fan running properly.
Without a regular cleaning grease and debris can accumulate and clog the fan motor. When cleaning the fan it is essential to disconnect power to perform the tasks safely.
Keep Your Eyes Open
Another benefit of regular cleaning is it helps perform an inspection of your equipment. What could be worse than a fan grinding to a halt during your busiest day of the year?
Regular cleaning doesn’t just let you keep the fan clean. You will also need to keep an eye out for electrical and mechanical issues as you perform the work.
This type of preventative maintenance will head off issues before they become major problems. Check for frayed wires, other mechanical issues, and repairs that have been left undone.
The cost you will save by performing inspections will be a greater value than the minimal expense for cleaning tasks. You may even avoid the major cost of purchasing an entirely new fan!
Trust the Experts
For many businesses, the best practice is to hire an expert for commercial fan cleaning. Depending on if you own or lease space this service may be included in your property management agreement.
It’s often a mistake to trust your kitchen staff and restaurant staff with the tasks required for commercial cleaning of equipment. Even if they can handle the job it is a safety risk and will likely not be as effective as trusting a professional.
One of the best ways to retain the value of your industrial equipment is for regular preventative maintenance and technical service. Trusting the experts rather than doing the work on your own is a great way to save money down the road.
Get the Best
Once you know the benefits of cleaning your commercial exhaust fan it’s important to know who to trust. Unfortunately, there are a lot of service companies who offer service that isn’t the best for your business.
For businesses in the New York metro area, there is a clear choice in exhaust fan service. Brooklyn Fan & Blower services virtually every made and model of commercial fans.
Our customers love us because we offer expert technical service and get the job done right the first time.
Don’t risk the health of your business and commercial kitchen by using a service provider with a less than stellar track record.
Contact us today for all the service you need.