Cost & commercial
A low headline price is sometimes a full clean and sometimes a doorway to extras. The gap between the two is the small print - the access, the fan, the filters and the certificate that a keen quote leaves out and the final invoice quietly puts back.
The short answer
A low headline price is sometimes a full clean and sometimes a doorway to extras. The gap between the two is the small print - the access, the fan, the filters and the certificate that a keen quote leaves out and the final invoice quietly puts back.
The detail
Access panels are the classic add-on. A compliant clean needs the duct opened roughly every two metres; if your system lacks panels, someone has to fit them. A cheap quote can assume they exist, then charge to cut and fit them on the day - real work, but a surprise if it was not flagged up front.
The fan is another. Some low quotes price the canopy and duct and treat the fan as extra, even though a grease-loaded fan is central to the clean and the inspection. Cleaning and checking the fan, its belts and bearings can appear as a separate line rather than part of a full-system price.
Filters and consumables slip in too. Baffles that are beyond degreasing need replacing, and a quote that assumed they would clean up can add replacement filters to the invoice. Approved cleaning agents, waste disposal and out-of-hours loading can each appear as extras that a headline figure left out.
The certificate itself is sometimes the biggest omission. A quote can look cheap precisely because it does not include the TR19 Grease certificate and report - the paperwork that makes the clean count. Adding proper documentation afterwards, or worse, discovering it was never produced, is where the saving evaporates.
What it means for you
Ask what is not included. A fair contractor will tell you whether access panels, fan work, filter replacement and the certificate are in the price or extra. Getting the exclusions in writing turns a tempting headline into a figure you can actually compare against a full quote.
Be suspicious of a price that assumes everything is perfect. Systems accumulate quirks - missing panels, worn filters, an awkward fan - and a quote that has priced none of them is either optimistic or setting up extras. A quote that has surveyed the system has fewer surprises in it.
Phoenix Duct Clean quotes the whole job, names any likely extras before starting, and includes the certificate, so the figure you agree is close to the figure you pay - not a low number waiting for add-ons.
The service behind the guide
Sibling guides
budgeting across several kitchens · the cost of a fan seized by grease · the records to keep between cleans
Questions
Commonly access panel fitting, fan cleaning and inspection, filter replacement, waste disposal, out-of-hours loading, and the certificate itself. A low headline can assume the system is perfect, then bill the reality on the day.
A compliant clean opens the duct about every two metres; if your system has no panels, they must be fitted. A keen quote can assume they exist and add the work later, so ask whether panel fitting is included.
Not in a bargain quote. Some low prices exclude the TR19 Grease certificate and report, which is the paperwork that makes the clean count. Always confirm the certificate is in the price before comparing quotes.
Get the exclusions in writing and prefer a quote based on a survey rather than a phone estimate. A contractor who has looked at the system prices the real quirks up front instead of adding them mid-job.
No - sometimes it is a genuine price for a small, easy system. The risk is a low price that quietly omits the fan, the certificate or the harder access, so the honest test is what the quote says it excludes.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
Get a whole-job quote with any likely extras named up front, certificate included.