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NFPA 96 Section 11.6.1 says when an inspection finds grease in your kitchen exhaust system, the entire system, including the hood, filters, ducts, and fan, has to be cleaned by a qualified contractor before the next inspection. The trigger is 0.003 inches of grease buildup. The cleaning has to go to bare metal. The AHJ wants documentation. Your insurance carrier wants the same documentation. And if the system fails, your kitchen closes until it passes.
That is what hood cleaning actually is. Fire safety, regulatory compliance, and insurance protection running together on a schedule.
Star Building Services has cleaned commercial kitchen exhaust systems across Texas since September 2008. Our portfolio includes one of Houston’s six Michelin-recognized restaurants, 35 other high-end Houston restaurants, hotel and catering kitchens at World of Hyatt and Greatwolf Lodge, the Houston Country Club, Karbach Brewing, and chain restaurant locations across the metro. We clean to NFPA 96 standard, document for the AHJ, and schedule around your operations so the kitchen does not lose service time.
18
Years in Business
2.5M+
Sq Ft Cleaned Daily
Trusted Across Texas Businesses
Certified, recognized, proven cleaning excellence
Current and past Texas hood cleaning accounts include one of Houston’s six Michelin-recognized restaurants, Le Jardinier (Houston Museum of Fine Arts), Houston Country Club, World of Hyatt properties, Greatwolf Lodge, Karbach Brewing, Loch Bar, Snooze, Rodeo Goat, and Jersey Mike’s Subs locations across the Houston and Dallas metros.
What NFPA 96 Actually Requires
NFPA 96 (Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations) governs every commercial kitchen exhaust system in the country. Three rules drive the work.
- Trigger:
Cleaning is required when grease buildup reaches 0.003 inches anywhere in the system. NFPA 96 Section 11.6.1 specifies that finding grease anywhere in the exhaust path triggers cleaning of the entire system, not just the spot where it was found.
- Documentation:
A qualified contractor signs off after cleaning. Pre and post photos document the work. A dated tag goes on the hood with the contractor name and cleaning date. Your AHJ (local fire marshal or health department) reviews the documentation on inspection.
- Standard:
Components have to be cleaned to bare metal. No biological or chemical residue. No surface-only scrape.
Insurance carriers care about this too. Most commercial property and liability policies require documented hood cleaning per NFPA 96 schedule. A grease fire in an undocumented hood can void the claim.
Insurance carriers care about this too. Most commercial property and liability policies require documented hood cleaning per NFPA 96 schedule. A grease fire in an undocumented hood can void the claim.
How Often Your Kitchen Needs Hood Cleaning
NFPA 96 specifies four frequency tiers based on cooking volume and fuel type. Texas AHJs (Houston Health Department, Dallas County, state fire marshal) follow these as the minimum, and some local jurisdictions require stricter intervals.
NFPA 96 is the floor, not the ceiling: If your kitchen runs heavier than typical for its category, your interval shortens. If your AHJ has caught grease on a previous inspection, your interval shortens. We size the schedule to what your kitchen actually produces, not the minimum legal interval.
Frequency
Monthly
Quarterly
Semi-annual
Annual
Operation Type
Solid-fuel cooking
(wood, charcoal, mesquite)
High-volume operations
(24-hour kitchens, charbroiling, woks, heavy fryer use)
Moderate-volume operations
(standard sit-down restaurants, hotel kitchens, catering)
Low-volume operations
(church kitchens, seasonal venues, senior centers)
We schedule around your operations. Most cleanings happen overnight or during slow hours so the kitchen does not lose service time.
What Our Commercial Hood Cleaning Program Covers
Hood cleaning is a full system service, not a hood-only service. We clean every accessible component in the exhaust path:
- Exhaust hood: Degreased and cleaned to bare metal, including baffles, filters, and the underside of the hood face.
- Ductwork: Vertical and horizontal exhaust paths, plus access panels for sections that cannot be reached without them.
- Exhaust fans: Rooftop and inline fan units, including belts, blades, and motor housings.
- Grease containmen: Drip trays, troughs, grease cups, and rooftop containment systems.
- Cooking line protection: Equipment, surfaces, and walk-ins covered and protected during cleaning.
- Post-cleaning visual inspection: Per NFPA 96, before sign-off.
- Documentation: Pre and post photos, signed cleaning certificate, dated tag installed at the hood. Copy emailed for your records and your insurance file.
We schedule around your operations. Most cleanings happen overnight or during slow hours so the kitchen does not lose service time.
Why Cheap Hood Cleaning Creates Real Risk
Every grease fire in a commercial kitchen starts in the same place: a hood, duct, or fan that did not get cleaned to NFPA 96 standard. The shortcuts are predictable.
Some vendors do a scrape-and-rinse on the hood face and leave the ductwork untouched. That looks clean from below. The fire risk is in the duct.
Others skip the rooftop fan entirely. The rooftop fan is the highest grease load in the system, and the most expensive to fix when it stops working.
Untrained technicians miss access panels, scrape what they can reach, and document the rest as done. That documentation does not hold up under AHJ review.
No NFPA 96 sign-off, no dated tag, no photos. When your AHJ comes in for the next inspection, you have nothing to show them.
Star’s response is structural. Our technicians are trained on NFPA 96 standards. Every component in the exhaust path gets cleaned, including ductwork and rooftop fans. Every cleaning ends with a visual inspection and a signed certificate. Every job gets a dated tag at the hood. The documentation is yours, and both your insurance carrier and your AHJ have what they need.
Recent Hood Cleaning Engagements
Michelin or fine-dining restaurant, Houston
Case Study 1
- Customer: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur.
- Area / Industry: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur.
- Date: 07-05-2026
Problem:
AHJ inspection prep, charbroiler service interval missed, grease buildup found in vertical duct run
Action:
Full system cleaning to bare metal, hood and ductwork degrease, rooftop fan service, NFPA 96 documentation
Outcome:
Inspection passed, ongoing quarterly schedule established
Anti-Template Detail:
Specific NFPA section, hood model, AHJ name
Photo:
Hotel kitchen or catering operation
Case Study 2
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- Area / Neighborhood: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur.
- Date: 07-05-2026
Problem:
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Action:
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Outcome:
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Photo:
Brewery, chain, or volume operation
Case Study 3
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- Area / Neighborhood: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur.
- Date: 07-05-2026
Problem:
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Action:
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Outcome:
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Anti-Template Detail:
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Photo:
Restaurants and Kitchens We Service for Hood Cleaning
- Star's Texas hood cleaning portfolio includes:
- Fine dining and Michelin-tier kitchens: One of Houston's six Michelin-recognized restaurants plus 35 other high-end Houston restaurants, including Le Jardinier at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Loch Bar, and Houston Country Club.
- Chain restaurants and food service: Jersey Mike's Subs, Snooze, Rodeo Goat.
- Hotel kitchens and catering: World of Hyatt properties and Greatwolf Lodge restaurant operations.
- Breweries with food service: Karbach Brewing.
- Healthcare and university cafeterias: Memorial Hermann food service, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Lamar University in Beaumont.
- Event venues, museums, and seasonal kitchens
- Different kitchens, different frequencies. Solid-fuel grills run monthly. High-volume charbroil restaurants run quarterly. Hotel kitchens and standard sit-down restaurants run semi-annually. Church and seasonal venue kitchens run annually. All on NFPA 96.
How Quality Stays Consistent
Trained technicians, post-clean visual inspection, NFPA-compliant documentation, and supervisor sign-off before we leave. For the broader three-layer quality control mechanism that runs across our entire commercial cleaning portfolio, see our commercial janitorial cleaning services page.
Related Commercial Cleaning Services
Hood cleaning rarely ships alone. The most common pairings for restaurant and food-service operations are recurring restaurant cleaning for nightly back-of-house and kitchen detail, and 24/7 emergency response for post-fire cleanup and emergency takeovers.
Centralizing kitchen and restaurant cleaning under one provider is what makes the documentation, scheduling, and accountability work as a single program rather than five separate vendors.
What Our Clients Say
Trusted by Dallas Property Managers, Facilities Directors, and HOA Boards
Service Coverage Across Texas
We provide commercial janitorial cleaning throughout Texas, with primary operational hubs in Houston and Dallas and structured support for surrounding metros.
Houston Hub
1717 Gessner Rd., Houston, TX 77080:
- Harris County
- Katy
- Greenway Plaza
- Galleria
- Energy Corridor
- Downtown
- Port of Houston
- Sugar Land
- Clear Lake / NASA
- Woodlands
- Texas Medical Center
- River Oaks
Dallas Hub
11410 Mathis Ave Unit C4,
Farmers Branch, TX 75234:
- Dallas County
- Plano
- Uptown
- Frisco
- Downtown
- Addison
- Arts District
- Irving
- Knox-Henderson
- Las Colinas
- Highland Park
Coverage is expanding into San Antonio and Austin as portfolio capacity allows.
Service Coverage Across Texas
We provide commercial cleaning services across Texas, with primary hubs in Houston and Dallas and coverage throughout surrounding metropolitan regions.
- Houston
- Dallas
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does NFPA 96 require hood cleaning?
NFPA 96 sets four frequency tiers. Solid-fuel cooking (wood, charcoal, mesquite) requires monthly cleaning. High-volume operations (24-hour kitchens, charbroiling, woks, heavy fryer use) require quarterly. Moderate-volume operations (standard sit-down restaurants, hotel kitchens, catering) require semi-annual. Low-volume operations (church kitchens, seasonal venues, senior centers) require annual cleaning. Texas AHJs follow NFPA 96 as the minimum and may require stricter intervals based on local conditions or prior inspection findings.
What does commercial hood cleaning cost?
Hood cleaning pricing depends on the size of the exhaust system, ductwork length, rooftop fan accessibility, and cleaning frequency. A small single-hood restaurant runs a few hundred dollars per cleaning at standard frequency. A large multi-hood hotel kitchen with heavy ductwork can run several thousand. We quote against documented system size and access conditions after a free walkthrough, and pricing includes NFPA 96 documentation and post-clean inspection.
What documentation do I get after hood cleaning?
After every cleaning, we provide pre and post photos of the hood, ducts, and fan; a signed NFPA 96 cleaning certificate; and a dated tag installed at the hood with the contractor name and cleaning date. The certificate is emailed for your records and your insurance file. Your AHJ (local fire marshal or health department) sees the dated tag during inspection.
Can hood cleaning happen after-hours or while the kitchen is closed?
Yes. Most hood cleanings run overnight or during slow operating hours so the kitchen does not lose service time. We schedule around your busiest cooking shifts. For restaurants closed one day per week, that day is often the right window.
What if I have a charbroiler or solid-fuel cooking?
Solid-fuel cooking (wood, charcoal, mesquite) runs at monthly NFPA 96 frequency due to higher grease and creosote production. Charbroilers without solid fuel typically fall under the high-volume quarterly tier. Both require fully cleaned ductwork in addition to the hood and fan, and both produce conditions where AHJs check carefully.
Get a Free Hood Cleaning Quote
If your kitchen needs NFPA-96-compliant hood cleaning backed by AHJ-ready documentation and 18 years of Texas restaurant experience, schedule a free walkthrough. We document the system, identify any access or duct issues, and return a quote the same day.
