To prepare for hood cleaning, shut the cook line down early enough for it to cool, put away all food, clean utensils and paper goods, clear a path to the hood and the roof, and settle three things with your provider before the night: who shuts off and relights the gas, how the crew gets in, and who locks up.
Everything else belongs to the crew. What a crew does inside the hood, duct and fan is covered in our complete guide to commercial kitchen hood cleaning. This page is about your side of the line: the handoff at close, the handoff back at opening, and the paperwork that proves a professional hood and exhaust cleaning actually happened. Think of the night as two handoffs, not one job. Most day-after problems come from a fuzzy handoff, not a dirty hood.
The Short Answer: Your Hood Cleaning Prep Checklist
- When you book: agree in writing who handles gas valves and pilot lights, how the crew gets into the building and onto the roof, and whether anyone from your team stays.
- Before closing: stop cooking early enough that the hood, filters and appliances are cool when the crew arrives.
- At close: store all food, clean utensils, linens and single-service items away from the line, clear the tops of equipment and the floor under the hood, and leave the path to the roof hatch open.
- Before you leave: tell your alarm company or overnight security to expect the crew, and leave a note on anything unusual, like a fan that has been noisy or a filter that will not seat.
- At opening: check that filters are in, the fan runs, pilots are lit, and the certificate, access panel tags and written report are there.
Why Hood Cleaning Happens After You Close
Overnight service is not only about keeping your line running. The FDA Food Code, which Maricopa County Environmental Services enforces in its 2017 edition, says that apart from spills and accidents, cleaning “shall be done during periods when the least amount of food is exposed, such as after closing” (section 6-501.12). A hood cleaning is the heaviest version of that rule: cleaning chemicals, hot water and scraped grease coming down over the cook line.
That is why Hood Hero runs most cleanings overnight, so service is not disrupted. It is also why the prep that matters most is about protecting food, not about the hood. Crews typically tent the line in plastic sheeting before they start. Keeping food, clean utensils and paper goods out of the splash zone is still your job, because the health permit is in your name, not the crew’s.
Three Decisions to Settle When You Book
These three questions cause most of the confusion on the morning after. Settle them on the phone and get the answers in the booking confirmation.
Who handles the gas and pilot lights?
This is where providers genuinely disagree. Some crews shut off the gas and pilot lights themselves and relight them before they leave. Others write it into their service terms as the customer’s job, including relighting in the morning. Neither approach is wrong. The problem is a kitchen where each side assumed the other had it, which opens with cold fryers or a pilot nobody has checked.
How the crew gets in and onto the roof
The job ends at the rooftop exhaust fan, so the crew needs the building and the roof. Sort out keys, alarm codes and the roof hatch or ladder before the night. If you lease space where a property manager controls roof access, request it days ahead, not on the night. A crew that cannot reach the fan cannot clean it, and the written report will say so.
Who stays, and who locks up?
You usually do not need to stay. Many providers work after hours with nobody on site and lock up behind themselves. That makes it a trust decision: the crew is alone in your building with your equipment. It is the reason Hood Hero’s technicians are background-checked and drug-screened. Whoever you hire, agree on who locks up and how the building is handed back.
At Close: Handing the Kitchen Over
The handover at close comes down to four things.
- Let it cool. Stop cooking early enough that hood surfaces, filters and appliances are cool when the crew arrives. Hot equipment slows the job and puts technicians next to hot steel.
- Put food and clean items away. The Food Code requires food to be stored where it is not exposed to splash, dust or other contamination (section 3-305.11) and applies the same idea to cleaned equipment, utensils, linens and single-service items (section 4-903.11). Store them in the walk-in, dry storage or closed cabinets away from the line, not under a sheet of plastic on the prep table.
- Clear the line. Pull pans, small wares and anything sitting on top of equipment or on the shelf above the line. Clear the floor under the hood so the crew can work beneath it.
- Leave notes. Flag anything unusual: a fan that has been loud, a filter that does not seat, or a burner that has been acting up. A good crew will use it. Nobody can use what they are not told.
What the Crew Is Doing While You Are Gone
You do not need to know how a hood cleaning works to judge one, but it helps to know what the rules require of the crew. Under NFPA 96, the national fire standard for commercial cooking ventilation, the 2024 edition says a crew:
- locks out electrical switches that could be switched on accidentally before it starts (section 12.6.3)
- leaves the fire suppression system operable, unless a properly trained and qualified person takes it offline for the job (sections 12.6.4 and 12.6.5)
- uses no flammable solvents and keeps cleaning chemicals off fusible links and other detection devices (sections 12.6.6 and 12.6.7)
- puts every access panel and cover plate back, and returns switches and components to working order (sections 12.6.9 and 12.6.12)
The cleaning itself runs from the hood and filters through the duct to the rooftop fan. How long that takes depends on the size of the system and how much grease is in it; see what drives the length of a restaurant hood cleaning.
At Opening: Taking the Kitchen Back
Walk the line before the first ticket. The first check is operational:
- Filters are back in and seated with no gaps.
- The exhaust fan turns on and pulls at the filters.
- Gas is back on, pilots are lit, and every appliance fires.
- Plastic is gone, and floors and equipment surfaces are wiped down and dry.
The second check is the one most kitchens skip, and it is the one that matters at inspection.
The Paperwork Is the Part of the Night You Keep
Clean steel is invisible once the panels are closed. What survives to your next fire inspection is the paper, and NFPA 96 is specific about what the crew leaves behind:
- A certificate kept on the premises showing the service company, the person who did the work and the date (section 12.6.13). It is often the sticker on the hood.
- A label or tag near each access panel that was opened, with the company name and the date (section 12.6.10). A duct panel with no tag usually means nobody opened it.
- A written report to the system owner that specifies any area that was inaccessible or not cleaned (section 12.6.14).
Read that report the morning after, not the morning of your inspection. An area listed as inaccessible is not always the crew’s fault. It often means the duct needs another access panel, or the roof could not be reached. Either way it is grease nobody removed, and it will still be there next time unless someone fixes the access.
Where your fire department requires it, certificates and reports also go to them (section 12.6.15). In Phoenix, fire inspections now run under the 2024 International Fire Code, adopted February 17, 2026. For the rest of that visit, see what a commercial kitchen fire inspection checks.
When Good Prep Still Leaves a Problem
Some problems show up on hood cleaning nights that no amount of prep or cleaning will solve:
- The report keeps listing the same inaccessible section. That is an access problem in the ductwork, not a prep problem. Cleaning more often will not reach it.
- Grease is already on the roof around the fan. A hood cleaning removes what is inside the system. Stopping grease that escapes onto the roof takes rooftop grease containment.
- The kitchen still holds smoke after a cleaning. If the hood, duct and fan are clean and the line still smokes, the building may not be replacing the air the fan removes. That is a make-up air question for a mechanical contractor.
A provider who says so, instead of booking you another cleaning, is one worth keeping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be at the restaurant during hood cleaning?
Usually not. Many providers work after closing with nobody on site, as long as access, alarm codes and lock-up are agreed in advance. Some operators have a manager open up and walk the kitchen with the crew at the end.
Should I turn off my pilot lights before hood cleaning?
It depends on your provider. Some crews shut off gas and pilots themselves and relight it; others make it the customer’s job. Confirm in writing when you book, including who relights in the morning.
Do I need to cover my equipment before the crew arrives?
Generally no. Crews typically cover the line with plastic themselves. Your job is to remove and store food, clean utensils, linens and paper goods, which the Food Code requires be kept away from splash and contamination.
How often should a restaurant hood be cleaned?
NFPA 96 sets inspection intervals by cooking type, from monthly for solid fuel cooking to annually for low-volume kitchens, and requires cleaning whenever an inspection finds grease deposits. See how often Phoenix hood systems should be cleaned.
Do you clean hoods across the Phoenix metro?
Yes. Hood Hero serves Gilbert, Scottsdale, Chandler, Mesa, Phoenix and Tempe, plus Tucson, and most cleanings run overnight so your line is not disrupted. See hood cleaning in Phoenix for local details.
Book a Night That Ends With an Inspection-Ready Kitchen
Hood Hero is local, family-owned and operated, $5M insured, and staffed by Phil Ackland-certified technicians who are background-checked and drug-screened, which matters when the work happens in an empty building. Every job is held to the Mum Clean Standard™: if it is not right, we come back.
Request a free compliance check. We will settle the gas, access and lock-up questions when you book, so all your team has to do on the night is close.
