Hood Cleaning Services in London, Ontario
Hood Cleaning Services in London are the commercial cleaning of the hood assembly that hangs over a cook line: the stainless canopy, the baffle filters set in its back slot, and the plenum chamber hidden behind those filters. Hood Cleaning London pulls every filter for a heated soak, scrapes and degreases the canopy and plenum down to bare metal, and photographs each surface before and after. The visit closes with a signed health and safety certificate referencing the published NFPA 96 standard. A single hood up to ten feet starts at $585 per visit.
Commercial hood cleaning in London: canopy, filters and plenum
A hood has one job, which is capture and containment. The canopy has to hold the rising plume from a fryer bank or a flat-top inside its lip long enough for the exhaust to draw it away.
The baffle filters sit at an angle across the back of the canopy. Their folded blades force the air to turn, and the grease it carries hits the metal and drains to a trough and cup.
The plenum is the closed box behind the filters. Grease vapour that slips past the blades condenses on its walls, where no one on the line ever looks. On a Richmond Row pub hood that gets wiped every night, this is where the heaviest layer usually sits. What happens past the collar is covered on the kitchen exhaust cleaning page.
Restaurant hood cleaning in London: baffle and mesh filters
Baffle or mesh. A mesh filter is layers of woven aluminum that trap grease in the weave and keep it there. Once loaded, it is a pad of fuel sitting a few feet above an open flame. A stainless or aluminum baffle does the opposite: it sheds grease into the trough, so the filter itself does not build a fire load. Older fit-outs in Old East Village and along Dundas Street still turn up with mesh pads in a baffle slot, and the fire inspector will point at them.
How the soak works. Every filter comes out and goes into a heated soak tank with a caustic degreaser. The dish machine at the back of the kitchen removes the soft film but leaves the baked, amber layer in each fold. The hot soak softens that layer so a rinse lifts it.
When a filter needs replacing. Replace a baffle when a blade is bent flat, when the frame is cracked or pitted, or when the handles have torn off. Replace the whole set if the filters no longer span the slot, because a gap at the end lets the plume go straight past them. Any replacement is listed as its own line on the written quote and approved before the visit.
Kitchen hood cleaning service for wall, island, backshelf and tandoor hoods
Wall canopy. Bolted to the back wall above a straight line of ranges and fryers. This is the hood in most Wortley Village pizzerias and in the franchise units on the Wellington Road strip. Grease builds in the rear corners of the plenum where the canopy meets the wall.
Island canopy. Hung from the ceiling over a line with open sides all round, the layout in hotel and banquet kitchens and some campus kitchens near Western University.
Backshelf hood. A low, shallow unit tight above a griddle or a countertop fryer, found in breakfast spots and quick-service kitchens with low ceilings. Its plenum is small, so it fills in weeks, and the filters sit close enough to the heat to bake the grease hard.
Deep canopy over a tandoor or wood-fired oven. South Asian kitchens on Wellington Road and Wonderland Road run a deep canopy over the tandoor, and the wood-fired pizza ovens around Wortley Village need the same. Charcoal and wood smoke lay down soot and creosote with the grease. The mix sets into a black crust on the lip and filter faces that a standard degreaser does not touch, so these hoods get a longer dwell and hand scraping.
Best commercial hood cleaning service in London for your cooking type
| Solid fuel vs high volume vs moderate vs low volume | Where the hood loads | Hood interval |
|---|---|---|
| Solid fuel: tandoor, charcoal grill, wood-fired oven | Canopy lip and filter faces, under a soot and creosote crust. | Monthly |
| High volume: deep-fry lines, charbroilers, wok stations, late-night Richmond Row kitchens | Filters first, then the plenum walls behind them. | Quarterly |
| Moderate volume: pizzerias with gas deck ovens, bistros, retirement home kitchens | An even film across canopy and plenum. | Semi-annual |
| Low volume: Legion hall kitchens in Strathroy, church halls, seasonal and day-camp kitchens | Old grease that hardens between events. | Annual |
The standard behind these intervals, and what London Fire Department checks, is on the NFPA 96 page. Kitchen types by segment are on the who we serve page.
Where to find hood cleaning services near me in London
Hood Cleaning London works across the whole city, from Masonville and Hyde Park to Byron, White Oaks and Lambeth, on one price list.
Route days also reach St. Thomas and Aylmer to the south, Strathroy and Komoka to the west, and the Woodstock and Ingersoll kitchens off Highway 401 to the east. London and Middlesex kitchens answer to the Middlesex-London Health Unit, while Woodstock, Ingersoll and St. Thomas fall under Southwestern Public Health. The full coverage list is on the areas served page.
How much does commercial hood cleaning cost in London in 2026?
Commercial hood cleaning in London costs from $585 per visit for a single-hood kitchen up to ten feet, and from $995 per visit for a multi-hood kitchen of two to four canopies. Larger systems are quoted on site after a free walk-through, with a written quote back within 24 hours.
Three things move the number on a hood visit: total canopy length, how many canopies, and the state of the filters. A tandoor or wood oven hood takes longer because the crust needs extra dwell and scraping. Proof of WSIB coverage and liability insurance arrives before work starts.
Next step: call 226-457-6745 or request a written quote. Tell us the canopy count, baffle or mesh, and the main appliance. Every other service is listed on the commercial cleaning services page.
Hood cleaning services in London: frequently asked questions
What parts of the hood does a hood cleaning visit include?
A hood cleaning visit includes the canopy inside and out, every baffle filter, the grease trough and cup, and the plenum behind the filter slot. Each surface is photographed before and after. The duct beyond the collar is part of kitchen exhaust cleaning.
Why does a tandoor hood need cleaning every month?
A tandoor is solid-fuel cooking, and NFPA 96 publishes monthly as the interval for solid fuel. Charcoal soot bonds with grease on the canopy lip and filters and hardens fast.
Should mesh filters be swapped for baffles?
Mesh filters hold grease in the weave, so a loaded pad adds fuel above the flame. Baffles drain grease away. The written quote prices a matched baffle set as a separate line.
What does the signed certificate after a hood cleaning prove?
The signed certificate is a health and safety record of what was cleaned, backed by the photographs, and it references the published NFPA 96 standard. Hood Cleaning London is not affiliated with NFPA, and the certificate is not an NFPA credential. The NFPA 96 page explains what it asserts.
Can hood cleaning happen after closing time?
Overnight and between-service scheduling is standard, so the canopy is clean and dry before the morning prep crew arrives. Roof and door access are arranged when the visit is booked.