How Often Should a Restaurant Hood Be Cleaned? Portland's Compliance-Schedule Guide

The interval isn't yours to decide

The most common question restaurant operators ask about hood cleaning is "how often do I have to do this?" The honest answer: not as often as your insurer or fire marshal requires — not as often as you think would be reasonable, and not based on a number you read online.

The cleaning interval for your exhaust system is set by the authority that reviews your records: usually your fire marshal, your insurance underwriter, or both. That interval is based on your specific cooking volume, the type of cooking you do, and what they find when they look at your documentation.

What drives the frequency

Two kitchens that look similar on the outside can have very different cleaning requirements. A wok-heavy operation running lunch and dinner service loads grease into a duct run faster than a sandwich shop that never touches a fryer. A bar kitchen running late-night fried food after the bar crowd rolls in creates a different accumulation pattern than a breakfast-only diner.

The variables that your inspector or insurer will look at include: the type of cooking you do (fryer-heavy, grease-heavy, or lighter-menu); how many hours per day your kitchen is active; how old the equipment is and how well it was installed; and whether your exhaust system design allows grease to accumulate in certain spots more than others.

None of those variables fit into a single simple answer.

What "documentation" actually means

When a fire marshal or insurance underwriter asks about your hood cleaning, they want to see more than your word that it was done. They want a record showing the date, the scope of work, and — ideally — before/after photos that show the condition of the system before and after cleaning.

Before/after photos serve two purposes. First, they show that the cleaning actually happened and what it accomplished. Second, they create a baseline — the inspector can see at the next visit whether the interval you've been following is appropriate for your cooking volume, or whether grease is accumulating faster than the schedule accounts for.

Strong Tower provides before/after photos and a written service record on every visit. That documentation is yours to keep and show at your next inspection or policy renewal.

What to do if you don't have records

If you've had your hood cleaned before but don't have documentation, the practical step is to get a cleaning done now and start building your record from this visit forward. Most fire marshals and insurers care about what you can show them today and going forward — not about punishing you for a gap you're now addressing.

If you've never had your hood cleaned, the same logic applies. Get it done, get the documentation, and establish the baseline. Call us at 971 516 0787 or fill out the form on this page. We work throughout Greater Portland and can usually schedule within a week.

How to work with your insurer on the interval

If you're uncertain what interval your insurer requires, the most direct path is to call your agent and ask. Tell them you're a restaurant operator and you want to know what documentation they expect to see for your kitchen exhaust system at renewal. Many agents don't know the specific answer off the top of their head — but they can get it from your underwriter.

Once you know the required interval, build it into your operations calendar. A cleaning that happens on a consistent schedule is easier to document and explain than one that happened "when we got around to it."

Strong Tower serves restaurant operators throughout Greater Portland — Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, Aloha, and Lake Oswego. We work after hours and provide documentation that works for both fire marshal and insurer review. Request a free quote here or call 971 516 0787.