Guide · Deep-clean frequency · FHRS
There is no single legal date. Frequency is set by how hard you cook, in layers - daily and weekly upkeep, plus a periodic deep clean that resets what they cannot reach. Here is the rhythm.
The short answer
There is no single legal date for a kitchen deep clean. The right frequency is set by how hard the kitchen runs, and it works in layers - daily and weekly upkeep holding the line, with a periodic professional deep clean resetting what those routines cannot reach.
To protect a 5, the deep clean has to keep pace with how fast soil and grease rebuild. Clean too rarely and the cleanliness and condition marks creep back between visits; the rating follows.
The layers
A rating is held by routine, not by one big clean a year. The layers stack:
As a working guide for the deep clean itself, high-volume kitchens and those doing heavy frying, grilling or wok cooking lean towards monthly to every couple of months; medium-use kitchens more often than quarterly; small, light cafe-style kitchens around every three to six months. These are starting points - the right interval comes from your actual cooking type, hours and volume, not a generic calendar.
The extraction clock
One part of the deep clean has a firmer rule. The extraction system is cleaned to TR19 grease standard on a risk-based interval measured from the grease load: roughly every three months for heavy use (long hours, frying and chargrilling), six months for moderate use, and twelve for light use. That interval is set by survey, recorded on a certificate with a next-due date, and is exactly the evidence an officer or insurer can ask to see - so it anchors the rest of your deep-clean schedule.
The principle that ties it together is consistency. A single deep clean does little if the buildup returns within a fortnight, so the interval has to match output rather than the calendar. Set it from how the kitchen actually runs, keep the daily and weekly layers honest in between, and the cleanliness and condition score - the part of the rating a clean controls - stays low and stops being the thing that caps you. That is how a 5 is protected: not by cleaning harder once a year, but by cleaning at the right rhythm all year.
Questions
There is no single legal interval - it is set by how hard the kitchen runs. As a guide, high-volume or heavy-frying kitchens lean towards monthly to every couple of months, medium use more often than quarterly, and small light kitchens around every three to six months.
It is essential but not enough on its own. A rating is held in layers: daily surface cleaning every shift, weekly cleaning of the areas daily skips, and a periodic professional deep clean that reaches behind and under equipment, high level, interiors and extraction.
To TR19 grease standard on a risk-based interval set by the grease load - roughly every three months for heavy use, six for moderate, and twelve for light. It is measured on a survey and recorded on a certificate with a next-due date.
Because a single clean does little if the buildup returns within a fortnight. For a busy kitchen, an annual clean leaves the cleanliness and condition marks creeping back for months, and the rating drops with them.
From your actual cooking type, hours and volume rather than a generic calendar. A survey measures how fast grease and soil rebuild on your system and sets an interval that keeps the cleanliness score low between inspections.
Yes. A planned interval, with each clean dated and certificated, is evidence your cleaning is managed - which supports your confidence-in-management score as well as the cleanliness one.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
We survey how hard your kitchen runs and set a deep-clean and TR19 extraction interval that matches it, with a dated certificate. Ask for a quote.