Free Commercial Kitchen Hood & Exhaust Cleaning Checklist PDF

This free commercial kitchen hood and exhaust cleaning checklist covers what your staff should clean every day, week and month, what your professional hood cleaner must do on each visit, and how often NFPA 96 says your system needs attention. Download the PDF, post the daily page in the kitchen, and hand the professional page to your vendor.

Grease buildup inside kitchen hoods and ductwork is a major fire risk. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, cooking is the leading cause of restaurant fires, involved in over 60% of them, and dirty exhaust systems let a small flare-up spread.

Regular hood cleaning isn’t just good practice. It’s required under NFPA 96, the national standard for ventilation control and fire protection in commercial kitchens. Falling behind can lead to fines, a forced closure, or trouble with your insurance claim if a fire happens.

That’s why we created this Commercial Kitchen Hood & Exhaust Cleaning Checklist. It helps restaurant owners, kitchen managers and facility teams stay organized, stay compliant and prevent costly emergencies.

You can also run this checklist on a phone or tablet with MaintainIQ, the checklist and maintenance app for single and multi-location operators.

What’s Inside This Checklist

The checklist is split into clear sections, so everyone from your line cooks to your professional hood cleaning vendor knows exactly what to do and when.

Daily Cleaning Tasks (Staff)

Quick end-of-shift tasks your kitchen staff should complete every day to prevent grease buildup between deep cleanings.

• Wipe down hood exterior surfaces with a degreaser.
• Empty and clean grease drip cups and troughs.
• Check that all baffle filters are properly seated with no gaps.
• Wipe grease from the hood lip and exposed interior surfaces.
• Make sure the exhaust fan runs whenever you are cooking.
• Make sure the makeup air unit is running and not blocked.
• Check that the fire suppression system pull station is easy to reach.

Tip: Give this list a daily due time, so an unfinished end-of-shift check stands out the next morning.

Weekly Deep Cleaning (Staff)

Deeper cleaning tasks to schedule during slower service periods, so grease doesn’t build up.

• Remove, soak, scrub and rinse all baffle filters.
• Clean grease troughs and channels thoroughly.
• Wipe down all accessible interior hood surfaces.
• Inspect filters for damage, warping or bent baffles.
• Clean hood light covers and check that all lights work.
• Check the rooftop grease collection container (if you can reach it safely).

Monthly Inspection Tasks

Monthly tasks combine deeper cleaning with an inspection of critical safety parts. Some of these should only be done by trained staff.

• Deep clean the entire hood canopy interior to bare metal.
• Inspect fire suppression system nozzles for grease blockage.
• Check that the fire suppression system pressure gauge reads in the green (normal) range.
• Check fusible links for grease buildup (do NOT apply chemicals to links).
• Inspect the rooftop grease containment system for overflow or damage.
• Review the hood cleaning log and confirm the next professional cleaning date.

For a closer look at the suppression side, see this guide to fire suppression system maintenance for commercial kitchens.

Professional Cleaning (Per NFPA 96 Schedule)

This section covers the full professional cleaning scope under NFPA 96. Hand this page directly to your hood cleaning vendor so they cover every requirement.

• Take apart all removable parts: filters, grease cups, troughs and end caps.
• Pressure wash and scrape the hood canopy interior to bare metal.
• Open and clean every duct section through the access panels (NFPA 96 calls for access openings at least every 12 ft on horizontal runs).
• Lift the rooftop exhaust fan off the duct opening and degrease it to bare metal.
• Inspect exhaust fan belts, bearings and overall condition.
• Clean the rooftop grease containment system and drain.
• Inspect all duct joints and seams for gaps or damage.
• Reinstall all access panels. Place a dated cleaning sticker on the hood.

NFPA 96 Cleaning Frequency Reference

A quick-reference table showing how often your exhaust system needs a professional inspection and cleaning, based on your type and volume of cooking.

Documentation & Compliance

Everything you need to keep your records inspection-ready, from cleaning logs and vendor certificates to what fire marshals actually ask to see.

Why Kitchen Hood Maintenance Matters

Fire Prevention

Grease is fuel. When it builds up inside your hood, ductwork and exhaust fan, a small flare-up on the line can ignite the whole system. Regular cleaning removes that fuel before it becomes a hazard. Dirty hoods and ducts are one of the most common ways a cooking fire spreads beyond the stove.

Health Code Compliance

Fire marshals and health inspectors routinely check hood systems and ask for cleaning records. If you can’t show records of regular cleaning by a certified company, you’re looking at a violation, and possibly a forced closure until the system is brought up to code.

Insurance Protection

If a grease fire happens and you can’t prove NFPA 96 compliance, your insurance company may deny the claim. A current sticker on your hood and cleaning certificates on file are your proof.

Air Quality & Kitchen Comfort

A clogged exhaust system traps heat, smoke and odors in your kitchen. That makes the kitchen uncomfortable and unsafe for staff, and it can affect food quality. A clean system keeps airflow strong and the kitchen cooler.

Cost Savings

A scheduled professional cleaning costs a fraction of an emergency duct cleaning, fire damage repair or a shutdown. Preventive maintenance is almost always cheaper than a repair after the fact.

NFPA 96 Required Cleaning Schedule

Under NFPA 96 (Table 11.4), a qualified company must inspect your kitchen exhaust system for grease buildup at these minimum intervals, based on your type of cooking. When an inspection finds grease deposits, the system must be cleaned.

In practice, most kitchens book a full cleaning on the same schedule, because a busy hood almost always has grease buildup by the time it is inspected.

Note: Your local fire authority (AHJ) may require more frequent cleaning based on your operation. These are minimum intervals only.

Your hood is one piece of the fire safety picture. Portable extinguishers need a monthly visual check and annual maintenance under NFPA 10, and this fire extinguisher inspection checklist covers them.

How to Use This Checklist

• Print and post the daily and weekly pages in the kitchen, so staff know what is expected.
• Use the monthly inspection page during your manager walkthrough.
• Hand the professional cleaning page directly to your hood cleaning vendor, so they cover every NFPA 96 requirement.
• Keep the documentation page in your compliance binder for fire marshal and health inspector visits.
• Pair it with a grease trap cleaning checklist, since grease that gets past the hood often ends up in the drains.
• Or run it as a digital checklist with due times, assigned to a person, with a record of who completed each check and when.

Go Digital with MaintainIQ

A paper checklist is a great start. Running your hood cleaning program in MaintainIQ, a checklist and maintenance app, adds accountability you can check from anywhere:

• Digital checklists you can set up for your kitchen’s own hood and equipment.
• Due times for daily, weekly and monthly tasks, with anything overdue shown on the dashboard.
• Checklists completed on iPhone, iPad, Android or the web.
• A dashboard showing each location’s status and who submitted each checklist, so managers can confirm the work without being on site.
• The exhaust fan and hood set up as equipment in the preventive maintenance app, with the vendor’s service dates, next due date and service history in one place.

Whether you manage one kitchen or dozens, MaintainIQ helps every location clean the hood the same way, on time. See how the digital checklist app works.