Related service
Exhaust Duct Cleaning in Charlotte, NC
The duct is the part of the exhaust system nobody sees and the part where grease sits longest. Horizontal runs, vertical risers and transitions cleaned through access panels, with honest reporting on what could not be reached.
- Horizontal runs and vertical risers
- Cleaning through existing access panels
- Access recommendations where runs are sealed
- Documented before-and-after condition
Duct is where a kitchen exhaust system hides its real condition. The hood gets wiped, the filters get pulled, the fan gets a look — and the twenty or forty feet of steel between them keeps collecting. In a building with a vertical riser, that accumulation runs straight up through occupied floors.
What duct cleaning involves
- Opening existing access panels along the run
- Cleaning horizontal duct sections back to accessible bare metal
- Working vertical risers where they can be safely reached
- Cleaning transitions at the hood collar and the fan curb
- Resealing panels and confirming nothing is left open
- Recording which sections were cleaned and which were not reachable
The access problem, stated plainly
Many older Charlotte kitchens were built with too few access panels, or panels were covered over during a remodel. A duct section with no access cannot be properly cleaned. The responsible answer is to say so, mark the section on the report, and recommend adding access — not to charge for a full-system cleaning and leave a loaded run behind a ceiling.
Signs your duct is the problem
- Grease odor away from the kitchen, in hallways or stairwells
- Staining or seepage at duct joints or ceiling penetrations
- Exhaust volume that dropped even after filters and hood were cleaned
- A cleaning history that mentions hoods and fans but never ducts
Where this fits
Duct cleaning is normally part of kitchen exhaust cleaning rather than a standalone purchase, and is often paired with exhaust fan cleaning since both require the system to be opened up. Multi-tenant buildings with shared risers are covered under commercial exhaust cleaning. Run length and access difficulty are two of the biggest pricing factors.
Frequently asked questions
How do you clean a duct run you cannot see into?
Through access panels. Existing panels are opened and the run is cleaned in sections. Where a length of duct has no panel and cannot be reached, that section is documented as uncleaned along with what access would be needed.
Do I need more access panels installed?
If long stretches of your duct cannot be reached, then yes — otherwise part of the system never gets cleaned no matter how often you pay for a service. Panel installation is separate work, but you should know it is needed.
Is duct cleaning included in a hood cleaning?
It should be part of a full kitchen exhaust cleaning. It is not always part of a quote that says 'hood cleaning'. Ask any provider directly which duct sections are in scope.
Request a commercial hood cleaning quote
Tell us about your kitchen — cooking line, hood count and how the system is used — and we will follow up with scheduling and pricing details.