Loughton · TR19 Grease
We clean the full commercial duct run - grease, dry and laundry ductwork, canopy to roof fan - for kitchens, offices and industrial sites across Loughton, and certify it to the TR19 Grease standard your insurer expects.
Loughton
Loughton rates hundreds of food premises, and behind a large share sits an extract duct a canopy clean never reaches - plus the dry ductwork and air-handling that keep its offices and public buildings running.
Right across Loughton, from High Road through Church Hill to Baldwins Hill, cooklines share tight roof space and vent through concealed ducting few operators ever see inside. We clean that entire path to the TR19 Grease standard, canopy through to fan, taking in the level pulls and the risers where grease settles thickest and a fire would run.
The same crews clean dry ventilation and air-handling ductwork in offices, schools and civic buildings, plus the combustible lint runs behind hotel and care-home dryers. High-turnover sites - restaurant and hotel kitchens, college refectories, pub kitchens and the busy High Road and Debden Broadway takeaways - build grease fastest in the concealed lengths where flame spreads.
The standard
TR19 Grease is the benchmark Loughton insurers and fire risk assessors expect - measured across the whole extract run, not just the visible mouth of the canopy.
Grease is measured by thickness, and the standard sets the depth at which a system must be cleaned and re-tested. Around High Road and Baldwins Hill, where the concealed runs thread through mixed roof voids, a canopy-and-filter wipe leaves the ductwork itself - the long hidden sections where grease accumulates and a fire travels - untouched. We access the full Loughton run through existing and newly fitted inspection hatches, clean to bare metal, record before-and-after grease-depth readings at set points, and issue a TR19 Grease certificate with a post-clean depth record.
By system
The fire risk. Fried-food extract coats duct walls in combustible grease; cleaned canopy to fan and certified to TR19 Grease.
Supply and general extract in offices and public buildings, carrying dust and debris that throttles airflow and loads the air-handling unit; cleaned to TR19.
The hidden one. Tumble-dryer ducting packs with lint - highly combustible - in Loughton hotels, care homes and gyms.
On the ground in Loughton
We are in Loughton's ductwork and plant every week. The proof is the jobs, not the stock photos.
A family-owned community centre in Loughton had building dust accumulated in the branch ducts feeding the hall, leaving the air barely moving. We worked through the supply ducting with brushes and HEPA extraction, then cleaned and refitted the supply grilles. The open-plan space felt fresher with the stale, dusty smell gone, and everything was back to normal by opening. We flagged a worn part to the office manager for their maintenance records.
When it is due
Ductwork rarely warns you politely. In a busy Loughton kitchen these are the tells.
The tells are plain: steam that lingers, odours drifting back over the diners, drips off the canopy onto a High Road line, a rim of grease at the filters, or a Loughton insurer or fire assessment wanting a TR19 certificate you cannot show. Frequency tracks the cooking load - a hard-frying Church Hill kitchen needs it far more often than a quiet cafe - and your certificate sets the date, so nothing is left to chance.
How it runs
Inspect the full Loughton run, find the access gaps in the concealed sections, agree scope and frequency.
Fit inspection hatches where the run is sealed - common in the older Baldwins Hill conversions - and protect the kitchen.
Canopy to roof fan, down to bare metal, with before-and-after grease-depth evidence.
TR19 Grease certificate, grease-depth record and next-due date for your Loughton fire logbook.
Why it matters
Three duties push every Loughton operator to keep ductwork clean, and they reinforce one another.
Fire safety law. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person for a Loughton premises must assess and manage fire risk. A grease-laden duct is one of the most serious risks in any catering building, because a flare-up on a High Road cookline can travel the ductwork and spread fire through concealed voids. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the HSE reinforce the same duty of care.
Insurance. Your Loughton insurer expects a current TR19 Grease certificate as proof the duct is clean. Without one, a fire claim can be cut back or turned down altogether - a costly thing to find only after a fire.
Hygiene and environmental health. Food hygiene inspections by Epping Forest District Council take in the condition of the building, ventilation included, so a grease-laden system can cost you on the rating an Environmental Health Officer awards - never mind the smell and the dropping extraction your kitchen team works under.
It is set by cooking hours under TR19 Grease - roughly every three months for heavy use of 12 to 16 hours a day, every six for moderate, every twelve for light. A hard-frying High Road kitchen sits in a tighter band than a daytime Church Hill cafe. We measure the grease load and confirm your interval.
We fit compliant access panels where the ductwork has none, so every internal section can be reached, cleaned, inspected and certified - common in the older Baldwins Hill conversions where the run was boxed in with no hatches.
A dated TR19 certificate, before-and-after photographs of each section, and an access report for your fire logbook - the evidence a High Road operator's insurer and fire risk assessor expect.
The full run, canopy through the concealed horizontal and vertical ductwork to the roof fan - the hidden sections a canopy-only clean leaves loaded, which matters in the tight stock around High Road and Baldwins Hill where the runs are long and awkward.
Yes. We work overnight, early mornings and closing days for the High Road and Church Hill kitchens, and around shift patterns at commercial and production sites, at no extra charge for out-of-hours work.
Yes. We clean the dry ductwork and air-handling in Loughton offices, schools and public buildings, and the lint-heavy laundry ducts in the Essex hotels and care homes, alongside kitchen grease ducts.
Yes. The fan at the top of a Baldwins Hill or city-centre riser is where grease throws off the blades and the run ends - we degrease it and its housing, because a loaded fan is what finally stops a system pulling.
Local knowledge
The Central line reached Loughton in 1948 and Debden the following year, and alongside it the London County Council raised the vast Debden estate to rehouse East Londoners, turning a forest-edge village into a working commuter town with its own industrial units. Modern premises hide their dust and grease inside sealed ductwork instead, where it builds unseen until airflow fails or fire finds a path. We clean and inspect ventilation and extract ductwork across the town, then hand over photographic before-and-after evidence of every run.
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