“We had the hood cleaned” describes two different purchases. One polishes what the health inspector can see from the line. The other — the one NFPA 96 describes — cleans the path a fire would take. Buying the right one starts with knowing what’s in it.
We’re a local referral service for commercial kitchens. Call or send the form and we’ll connect you with a trained, insured kitchen exhaust cleaning company serving the Madison area — one that cleans the full system to NFPA 96 and leaves the documentation your fire inspector and insurer expect. No charge for the referral.
Hood and canopy: interior surfaces, plenum, grease troughs and cups, to bare metal. Filters: pulled, degreased or replaced, reinstalled correctly — missing or upside-down baffles are a classic citation. Ductwork: the entire run, horizontal and vertical, scraped and washed to bare metal — the part where duct fires live and exactly what a wipe-down skips. Rooftop fan: blades, housing, grease containment; hinged (or hinge kit recommended) so every future cleaning can reach it properly.
Long or turning duct runs can’t be reached from the ends, so the standard calls for access panels at intervals and at changes of direction. A competent company installs missing panels and explains why; a quote that never mentions the duct or panels is a quote for the reachable parts. Ask where they’ll access the run — the answer is the whole interview.
NFPA 96 requires each cleaning documented: company, date, areas cleaned, areas not cleaned and why, technician training information, signed certification — kept on your premises for the fire inspector. With before/after photos of the duct and fan and the dated sticker, that package is your compliance file, inspection answer, and insurance record in one folder.
No mention of the duct or rooftop fan. No photos offered. No written report. A price at half the field. One deserves a question; two deserve another bidder. The companies we refer quote the whole system, because that’s the job.
We’re a local referral service for commercial kitchens. Call or send the form and we’ll connect you with a trained, insured kitchen exhaust cleaning company serving the Madison area — one that cleans the full system to NFPA 96 and leaves the documentation your fire inspector and insurer expect. No charge for the referral.
Madison Hood Cleaning — Connecting Madison-area restaurants and commercial kitchens with trained, insured kitchen exhaust cleaning companies.
Serving Madison, Middleton, Fitchburg, Sun Prairie, Verona, Waunakee, Monona, Stoughton, and Dane County.
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Call: (608) 765-5600
Information on this site is general guidance on NFPA 96 and commercial kitchen exhaust maintenance, not a compliance determination for your specific kitchen — your local fire authority makes that call. Madison Hood Cleaning is a referral service and does not itself perform exhaust cleaning, inspection, or certification.