Free checklist
Commercial kitchen exhaust hood quarterly maintenance checklist
A quarterly kitchen exhaust hood round is short on purpose: it catches the wear items that fail between annual services. This checklist is sized for a tech with a phone. Every item says what to look at and the photo that proves the round happened. 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 the round
Hood cleaning sticker read in place
Sticker on the hood shows the date and contractor of the last duct and hood cleaning, and the next cleaning is not past due on the site's schedule.
Line shut down and cooled before filters are pulled
Window agreed with the kitchen, appliances under the hood turned off, filters and trough cool enough to handle with gloves before anything comes out.
No photo
Filters and grease containment
Grease baffle filters pulled, cleaned and refitted
Baffles removed and degreased, no missing filters leaving open slots, refitted tight and angled so grease drains back to the trough.
Grease trough and drip cup emptied
Continuous trough and removable cup drained and wiped, cup seated so it isn't overflowing down the hood face or onto the cook line.
Filter listing label and frame checked on every baffle
Each filter carries its listing label, frame not bent or split, size matched to the track. No mesh filters or foil standing in for a missing baffle.
Plenum behind the filters checked for grease buildup
Buildup on the plenum walls judged against the last cleaning, heavy loading reported so the cleaning contractor's next visit is brought forward.
Hood body, lights and controls
Hood lights working with globes intact and sealed
Every fixture lit, globe or lens whole and seated in its gasket, no grease pooled inside the globe or dripping from the fixture.
Hood seams and canopy exterior dry of grease
Welded seams and joints on the canopy show no grease weeping, nothing tracking down the hood face or from the canopy edge onto the ceiling.
Exhaust fan started from the hood control panel
Hood switched on from its own panel and the exhaust fan confirmed running by indicator or at the fan; makeup-air response is proved on the makeup air unit checklist.
Capture at the cook line
Capture checked across the cooking line
Smoke or steam off the appliances drawn into the hood along the full length, no roll-out at the ends of the line or over the busiest burner.
Appliances sit fully under the hood canopy
Every appliance under the hood with the canopy overhanging front and ends as the hood drawings show, none pulled forward or added past the end of the hood.
Exhaust fan
Rooftop exhaust fan running and containment intact
Fan pulling and free of unusual noise or vibration, grease catch cup on the fan base in place and not overflowing onto the roof.
Hood handed back to the kitchen and findings logged
Every filter and cup back in place, hood left running from its control, kitchen told it is back in use, grease load and deferred work entered on the hood record.
No photo
What usually sends this back
The failures are almost always the evidence, not the work
- Baffle filters run through the dish machine and slotted back with two missing, leaving an open gap that pulls grease straight past into the plenum.
- Drip cup emptied at the hood but the fan-base grease cup on the roof forgotten until it's running down the membrane.
- Capture checked with the line cold, so nobody sees the roll-out that only happens once every burner is fired at lunch.
Verified against
Common questions
6 answers
- What does this commercial kitchen exhaust hood quarterly checklist cover?
- 13 items across 5 sections, covering before the round, filters and grease containment, hood body, lights and controls, capture at the cook line, 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 kitchen exhaust cleaning tech or building maintenance on the quarterly round.
- When in the schedule should this walk happen?
- Every quarter, more often over a high-volume or wok/char line where grease loads the filters in weeks, not months.
- Why do these items ask for a photo?
- 11 of the 13 items call for photo evidence, 13 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 quarterly inspection?
- Baffle filters run through the dish machine and slotted back with two missing, leaving an open gap that pulls grease straight past into the plenum. Drip cup emptied at the hood but the fan-base grease cup on the roof forgotten until it's running down the membrane. Capture checked with the line cold, so nobody sees the roll-out that only happens once every burner is fired at lunch.
- 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 13 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.