Maintaining Your Kitchen Ventilation System

Here are some quick and easy tips on how to keep your Trivent Ltd kitchen ventilation system running the best it can!

How often should I clean my canopy?

Your canopy should be cleaned on a weekly basis to prevent the build up of grease and to keep it looking top notch! To prevent any discolouration from using chemical cleaners incorrectly, just wash it with soap or a mild detergent with warm water and then rinse it with clean water. To give that finish an extra "oomph", wipe dry the cleaned surface.

How do I clean my baffle filters?

The grease filters mounted within the extract canopy should be cleaned at least once per trading week. The grease collection drawers should also be checked, emptied, and cleaned (wipe with clean cloth and detergent solution) on a weekly basis. Any collected grease is to be disposed of appropriately and not to be placed within the house drainage system. 

The filters should be left to soak in a solution of hot soapy water (washing up detergent recommended), for around 20 minutes, until the grease collected within the separator media is released into the solution. Alternatively, the panel may be cleaned in the house decarbonising tank, following all relevant instructions, method statements, COSHH and risk assessments. The filters should then be rinsed in clean water and left to drain overnight to be placed back within the assembly at the start of preparation the following day. When placing the separator panels within the grease filter assembly, care should be taken to ensure that the drainage holes within the filter panel are located to the bottom of the filter assembly, allowing grease to drain from the filter panels. 

The filter panels may be cleaned within the house dishwasher system.

How do I know if my air filters need replacing?

We use G4 air filters as standard in our fresh air input systems as they are highly effective in removing pollutants from the air, meaning that you can be rest assured that you're breathing in clean, healthy air. Depending on your usage, your filters should be changed every three to six months to ensure your fresh air system continues to run as efficiently as possible. Your maintenance team should be able to do this, however you can always set up a Planned Preventative Maintenance programme with us so you don't have to worry about doing this yourself. Contact us here for more details.

How do I turn on my fan?

Talk nicely to it and buy it some flowers! 😉 Only joking...

The majority of the time, this is done via the speed controller which will be mounted in your kitchen, however if we've installed a larger fan, a direct online push button starter will also have been installed. This device acts as an isolator, but also provides overload protection (in accordance with current electrical regulations) to the fan motor. This switch is operated by depressing the relevant button: green to start the system, and red to stop the system. 

The fan is then turned on by means of the rocker switch or stepped control dial situated on the facia of the speed controller. On and Off positions are marked adjacent to the rocker switch. "Power On" is confirmed by the neon indicator situated on the front facia of the speed controller. The level of ventilation achieved is then dictated by the fan speed control dial. The adjusting of the dial in a clockwise direction will increase the level of ventilation and anti-clockwise will reduce the level of ventilation.