Free checklist
Commercial kitchen exhaust hood annual maintenance checklist
The annual kitchen exhaust hood service is the deep pass: the measurements, cleanings and tests a quarterly round doesn't reach. This checklist keeps the full service on record with the photos that make it defensible later. Work is commonly verified against NFPA 96, manufacturer's published instructions. Confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction has adopted.
The checklist
Every item, and the photo evidence it needs
The photo count on each row is what RTI would require before the item can be submitted. Work the list here and watch the gate hold, or load it into RTI and let it enforce the real thing.
Before cleaning
Owner and monitoring company told before cleaning starts
Owner told of the cleaning window, the monitoring company notified where the suppression system reports to it, and the owner's impairment procedure followed if protection is affected.
No photoCooking appliances shut down and cooled
Every appliance under the hood off and cool to the touch, fuel or power turned off at the appliance controls so nothing is lit while the crew works overhead.
No photoLock and tag on the exhaust fan and hood light circuits
Fan disconnect and hood light circuit locked and tagged under the site's procedure, fan tried from the hood control and stays stopped before any panel opens.
Cook line covered and wash water contained
Appliances and floor sheeted, runoff funneled to a container, and wash water disposed of the way the site allows, never to a storm drain.
Full degrease
Hood, plenum and accessible duct degreased to bare metal
Interior plenum, filter track and reachable duct cleaned to bare metal, cleaning extent and any unreachable runs noted rather than left assumed clean.
Duct access panels opened, cleaned and resealed
Each access panel opened to clean the run, gasket intact, panel refitted so it seals and can be found again at the next cleaning.
Baffles soaked to bare metal and checked for damage
Beyond the quarterly wash: baffles soaked clean through the blades, split welds and bent frames found, damaged filters listed for replacement.
Hood light fixtures opened, cleaned and resealed
With the circuit locked out, globes removed and grease cleaned from the fixture housing, gaskets checked, globes refitted tight so the fixture seals again.
Fan service
Exhaust fan swung on its hinge kit and serviced
Fan swung open on the hinge kit, housing and blades degreased, belt tension and bearings checked, grease containment cleaned and refitted.
No photoFilters refitted, locks removed and the hood restarted
All filters, cups and globes back, sheeting and tools out, lock and tag removed by whoever hung them, hood run from its control with exhaust and makeup air on.
Airflow and interfaces
Makeup-air balance verified against exhaust
Makeup-air unit running with the exhaust, doors not fighting to open and no back-drafting appliances, hood holding capture with the kitchen at working conditions.
Fire-suppression interface observed and documented
Nozzle positions, fusible links and the exhaust/fuel shutdown tie-in photographed for the record, not a discharge test; the licensed fire company inspects and tests the system and the AHJ accepts it.
Suppression fan response confirmed on the fire contractor's report
Latest trip test report shows the exhaust fan and makeup air responding as the design sequence sets out. The cleaning crew never trips the system to check it.
No photo
Records and handback
Hood sticker updated with the date and the contractor
New sticker on the hood showing this cleaning's date and the cleaning contractor, photographed in place, with the old sticker removed or marked superseded.
Cleaning report filed and the owner told the hood is back
Report lists what was cleaned, sections not reached and deficiencies found, copy to the owner and the hood record. Monitoring company told too where it was notified.
No photo
What usually sends this back
The failures are almost always the evidence, not the work
- Hood interior wiped bright at the front while the horizontal duct run stays coated because no access panel was opened.
- A cleaning sticker filled in for the whole system when only the reachable sections were done and the vertical riser was never touched.
Verified against
Common questions
6 answers
- What does this commercial kitchen exhaust hood annual checklist cover?
- 15 items across 5 sections, covering before cleaning, full degrease, fan service, airflow and interfaces, and more. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.
- Who should run this inspection?
- The certified kitchen exhaust cleaning crew on the deep cleaning visit.
- When in the schedule should this walk happen?
- The deep cleaning pass, sized around the appliance duty. This is the visit that reaches the plenum and the duct run the quarterly round can't.
- Why do these items ask for a photo?
- 10 of the 15 items call for photo evidence, 14 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.
- What most often fails a commercial kitchen exhaust hood annual inspection?
- Hood interior wiped bright at the front while the horizontal duct run stays coated because no access panel was opened. A cleaning sticker filled in for the whole system when only the reachable sections were done and the vertical riser was never touched.
- Can I use this checklist in RTI?
- Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.
Run it with the Photo Gate
A checklist nobody can submit half-finished
Load this list into RTI, stick a QR tag on the area it covers, and the submit button stays locked until every mandatory item is answered and the 14 required photos exist. Approved walks roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident record behind every line.
See all 508 checklists · 6741 items and 5984 photo requirements in total.