Exhaust Hood Cleaning in Etobicoke
Exhaust hood cleaning is the degreasing of the canopy over a commercial cook line and the plenum cavity hidden behind its filters. Etobicoke Hood Cleaning Pros takes both back to bare stainless, empties the grease trough, and checks that nothing is blocking the fire suppression nozzles. The canopy is the part of the system everyone in the kitchen looks at every day. The plenum behind it is the part nobody has seen since it was installed.
The cavity behind the filters
Pull a baffle filter out of its bank and you are looking into the plenum. It is the chamber that collects what the filters did not catch and funnels it toward the duct collar. It has corners, a sloped back, a trough along the bottom, and on most hoods a grease cup at one end. Every one of those features exists to collect grease, and every one of them holds it.
Because the filters sit in front of it, the plenum is invisible during service. A kitchen can wash its filters every night for two years and still have a plenum lined with hardened grease. That is the single most common finding on a first visit in Etobicoke, and it is why "the hood looks clean" is not a useful measure of anything.
The plenum also carries the fire suppression nozzles on most systems. Grease build-up around a nozzle changes the spray pattern it was commissioned with. A suppression system that discharges into a blocked nozzle is a system that did not do what the design said it would.
Type 1 vs Type 2 hoods: which one is over your line
The distinction decides whether this work is a fire code requirement or a housekeeping choice.
| Point of difference | Type 1 hood | Type 2 hood |
|---|---|---|
| What it sits over | Fryers, ranges, griddles, char-broilers, woks. Anything producing grease-laden vapour. | Dishwashers, steamers, ovens producing heat and moisture only. |
| Filters fitted | Listed baffle filters, removable, draining into a trough. | Often a simple mesh screen or none at all. |
| Fire suppression | Required, with nozzles in the plenum and over the appliances. | Not required. |
| Under NFPA 96 | In scope. Scheduled cleaning is a code requirement. | Out of scope for grease cleaning requirements. |
| Duct construction | Welded liquid-tight grease duct with access panels. | Ordinary sheet metal ducting. |
| Why it matters to you | An inspector will ask for a cleaning record. | Cleaned for hygiene and airflow, not for the fire code. |
If you are not certain which you have, the free walk-through confirms it in person. Community hall kitchens in Etobicoke frequently turn out to have a Type 1 hood over a range that only gets used at weekends, and the code does not care how often it runs.
What a canopy and plenum clean covers
Etobicoke Hood Cleaning Pros works the hood in a fixed order so nothing gets missed and nothing loosened lands on a surface already finished.
Filters out first. The bank comes out and goes for cleaning, which opens the plenum. Filter work is covered on its own page, and the two always happen together.
The plenum. Hardened deposits are scraped, then hot alkaline degreaser goes on with real dwell time and the cavity is wiped and rinsed. Corners, the sloped back and the duct collar get particular attention because that is where the deposit is deepest. The trough is emptied and cleaned, and the grease cup is emptied and refitted.
The canopy. Interior surfaces, the capture edge, and the exterior stainless including the front face the customers can see from the pass. The exterior is polished rather than only degreased, because the hood is the first thing a health inspector looks at and the only part of the system a diner ever sees.
The check. Suppression nozzles are inspected for grease obstruction and reported. They are never adjusted or serviced: that is a licensed suppression contractor's work and this report is what tells you to call one. Any damaged baffle, failed light lens or loose panel gets photographed and named in the report.
How much does exhaust hood cleaning cost in Etobicoke in 2026?
Canopy and plenum cleaning is included in a scheduled service, which starts from $385 per visit for a single-hood kitchen up to ten feet and from $725 per visit for a multi-hood kitchen of two to four canopies. The hood is not sold as a separate visit, because a clean canopy above a loaded duct does not make a kitchen compliant and will not earn a certificate.
What moves the hood side of the number is canopy length, the number of canopies, and the state of the plenum on arrival. A first clean where the cavity has never been opened takes hours of scraping that a maintained system never needs again. Island canopies, which are open on both sides, take longer than a wall-mounted hood of the same length.
The rest of the system is priced on the cost page, and the duct run behind the collar is covered under kitchen exhaust cleaning.
Next step: call 647-370-5780 or request a written quote. Measure your canopy, note how many you have, and say what is cooking underneath it.
Exhaust hood cleaning in Etobicoke: frequently asked questions
Can kitchen staff clean the hood themselves?
Staff can and should keep the exterior stainless and the visible canopy interior wiped down between visits, and wash the filters regularly. What staff should not do is climb into the canopy or open the plenum. It is a confined space with sharp edges, live suppression nozzles and hot surfaces, and it is part of the scheduled service for that reason.
What is the best cleaning agent for a greasy ventilation hood?
A hot alkaline degreaser. Cooking grease is a fat, and alkali breaks fats into something water can carry away. Strength, temperature and dwell time all matter, and weak results almost always come from rushing the dwell rather than from the product. Acidic cleaners attack aluminium filter frames and oven cleaner used as a general spray will mark stainless, so neither belongs near a hood.
Do you clean the outside of the hood as well?
Yes. The exterior stainless is degreased and polished, including the front face visible from the dining room. It is the part a health inspector notices first and the only part of the system a customer ever sees, so it is finished rather than just cleaned.
Do you service the fire suppression system?
No. Suppression nozzles are inspected for grease obstruction and the finding goes in the report, but servicing, recharging or recommissioning a suppression system is licensed work for a suppression contractor. The report is what tells you whether to book one.
My hood is over a dishwasher. Does it still need this?
Probably not for the fire code. A hood over a dishwasher or steamer is usually a Type 2 hood handling heat and moisture rather than grease, and NFPA 96's cleaning requirements do not apply to it. It still benefits from cleaning for airflow and hygiene, and the walk-through will tell you which type you actually have.