Restaurants — Kitchen Extract Cleaning in Manchester

Woks, tandoors, chargrills and fryers throw grease into the air, and some of it always gets past the filters into ductwork nobody in the kitchen sees. We arrange TR19 extract cleaning quotes for restaurants across Greater Manchester, from Chinatown to the borough towns. An independent specialist provider carries out the work and issues the certificate.

Which TR19 band your restaurant is in

TR19 Grease, the BESA specification for kitchen extract, ties the minimum cleaning interval to daily cooking hours. At 12 to 16 hours a day the system should be cleaned every 3 months. At 6 to 12 hours it is every 6 months, and at 2 to 6 hours every 12 months. Lunch and dinner service usually means the six-monthly band; open for breakfast and stay open late, and you are likely to be quarterly. BESA stresses these are minimums, and the type of cooking and the grease measured in the duct can justify a shorter interval. The bands are set out in our TR19 compliance guide.

The Fire Safety Order, your risk assessment and your insurer

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 makes the responsible person, in a workplace the employer, see that a fire risk assessment is carried out and kept up to date. Grease in the extract is one of the hazards it should deal with. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, an enforcing authority for the Order, warns owners of pubs, restaurants and takeaways that uncleaned extraction ducts let flammable fats, dust and grease build up, which can stop the ventilation working properly and help a fire spread fast. Its guidance for licensed premises also says most insurance companies make duct cleaning a condition of building cover, and that cover may be invalidated if it is not done.

A Manchester fire that was in the ducting

On 28 February 2021 GMFRS sent six fire engines and an Incident Command Unit to a restaurant on Princess Street in Chinatown after members of the public reported smoke. The fire was in the basement kitchen's ducting system. Crews used an aerial appliance to direct a water jet into ventilation outlets from above, and the incident began scaling down after a full survey of the ducting system found no further sign of fire. A clean has to follow the duct all the way out of the building, not stop at the canopy.

Manchester's busiest restaurant streets

The Food Standards Agency's open data lists 6,597 food businesses in Manchester City Council's area alone (October 2026). Chinatown is described as the second largest Chinatown in the UK and the third largest in Europe. The Curry Mile on Wilmslow Road in Rusholme is thought to hold the largest concentration of South Asian restaurants in the country and stays busy into the early hours, and a kitchen that trades that late can reach the quarterly band. In Ancoats, called the world's first industrial suburb, and in the Northern Quarter, old industrial and warehouse buildings have been converted into flats and offices. In a building like that the duct may climb several storeys before it reaches the fan.

From canopy to discharge: what is cleaned

The provider cleans the canopy and filters, then the entire extraction route: the ductwork including risers and horizontal runs, the extract fan and the discharge. Where a section cannot be reached, access panels are fitted, which BESA says should typically go every 2 to 3 metres wherever possible. Grease depth is checked with wet film or deposit thickness tests, and TR19 Grease says deposits should not exceed a mean of 200 microns between cleans. The report includes before and after photographs from matching positions and a hygiene certificate giving the date, the system location and the technician's name. An inspection report is a good first step when the route of the duct is unknown.

Food hygiene ratings are a separate check

Food hygiene ratings come from a food safety officer at your local authority, under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme that the Food Standards Agency runs with councils, so in Greater Manchester it is your borough council that inspects and rates you. The officer checks how food is handled, how food safety is managed and the physical condition of the premises, including cleanliness and ventilation. In England showing the sticker is voluntary, though businesses are encouraged to. The TR19 certificate answers a different question: whether the fire risk in your extract has been managed.

Booking around service

Booking the clean after the final sitting, or early before you open, means no covers are lost. Groups can have every site on one quote; for counter service see the takeaways page. The cost guide sets out what goes into the price. We arrange quotes in Manchester city centre, Didsbury, Chorlton, Altrincham, Sale, Stockport and Bolton, or you can request a quote now.

Where we see these kitchens most

Services: TR19 extract cleaning · canopy cleaning · ductwork · filters · what it costs

Frequently Asked Questions