NYC Restaurant & Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning
Servicing - Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester County
Mrs. Allen (917) 930-5887 - Mr. Allen (646) 891-7019
Mon-Sun: 24 Hours Daily
Allen's Duct Systems Inc.

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Allen's Duct Systems Inc.Blog
06 Nov 2026
By Ducter Kitchens

Long Menus, Long Cooklines: Duct Exhaust Care for Full-Service Restaurants

A full-service restaurant kitchen rarely cooks on just one piece of equipment. Ranges, griddles, charbroilers and fryers often share one long duct exhaust hood, and every station sends grease up into the same grease filters, plenum and ductwork. Allen’s Duct Systems cleans that whole connected path, from the duct exhaust hood and filters through the accessible plenum and ductwork to the rooftop exhaust fan. Cleanings can be scheduled around service hours, weekends included, and emergency service is part of our 24/7 availability. Removing accessible grease buildup helps support the ongoing fire-safety maintenance of a commercial kitchen exhaust system. We’re family owned and FDNY Approved Company #065. For a free estimate, call Mrs. Allen at (917) 930-5887.

Read what plenum and ductwork cleaning covers

04 Nov 2026
By Ducter Kitchens , , , ,

Why Hot Water Comes After the Degreaser

Why Hot Water Comes After the Degreaser

Grease inside a restaurant duct exhaust system doesn’t come off in one step. Once the cookline is covered and the grease filters are out, Allen’s applies degreaser to the accessible surfaces inside the duct exhaust hood and plenum. The degreaser softens the buildup so it lets go of the metal, and on heavier jobs the thickest grease is removed next.

Then comes the hot-water wash. A pressure washer sends hot water across the areas the degreaser has loosened, and the grease runs down the clear plastic into a container instead of onto the cooking equipment or the floor. Doing it in that order lets the hot water rinse away grease that is already loose.

See what goes into a duct hood cleaning

Allen’s Duct Systems is family owned, FDNY Approved Company #065, and has worked in New York City and Westchester restaurant kitchens since 1998. For a free estimate, call Mrs. Allen at (917) 930-5887.

03 Nov 2026
By Ducter Kitchens

Why Clean Grease Filters Go Back In Last

On an Allen’s cleaning, the grease filters are among the first things out of the duct exhaust hood and among the last things back in. There’s a simple reason for that order. With the filters out, the crew can reach the areas behind them: the accessible plenum and the surfaces the filters normally cover. The cookline is already protected with clear plastic, so degreaser can go on and the accessible areas can be washed with hot water while the filters are cleaned on their own. Once the inside of the duct exhaust hood has been washed and wiped, the clean filters go back into the row, and the stainless gets its final polish and review before the plastic comes down. Filters that turn out to be warped, cracked or damaged along the way don’t have to go back in at all, because Allen’s replaces damaged grease filters as a separate service.

See the full range of Allen’s restaurant services

For a free estimate, call Mrs. Allen at (917) 930-5887.

02 Nov 2026
By Ducter Kitchens

The Final Check at the End of a Duct Exhaust Cleaning

Before an Allen’s crew loads the van, the cleaning gets one more look.

By that point the cookline has been covered, the grease filters have come out, and degreaser and a hot-water wash have gone to work inside the duct exhaust hood and through the accessible plenum and ductwork. The clean filters then go back into their tracks, and the stainless steel is polished. Then comes the final review: the crew looks over the duct exhaust hood, the filter row and the cleared cookline. Last, a new service sticker goes on the front of the duct exhaust hood.

Removing accessible grease buildup helps support the ongoing fire-safety maintenance of a commercial kitchen exhaust system, and a careful finish is part of doing that work well. Allen’s Duct Systems is family owned, FDNY Approved Company #065, and serves restaurants across NYC and Westchester. For a free estimate, call Mrs. Allen at (917) 930-5887.

Read how every Allen’s cleaning runs, stage by stage

01 Nov 2026
By Ducter Kitchens

Why Heavy Duct Exhaust Jobs Start With a Scraper

Most duct exhaust cleanings follow a familiar order: the cookline gets covered, the grease filters come out, and degreaser and hot water do most of the work. Some kitchens, though, have grease built up thick inside the duct exhaust hood, and on those jobs the scraper comes out first.

With clear plastic in place over the stove and backsplash, an Allen’s technician gets up close to the open duct exhaust hood and scrapes the heaviest grease off the accessible inside walls and the plenum behind the filter area. The loosened grease lands on the plastic instead of the equipment. After that, the cleaning continues the usual way, with degreaser, a hot-water wash, the filters back in, a final polish, a review and a new service sticker.

Removing accessible grease buildup helps support the ongoing fire-safety maintenance of a commercial kitchen exhaust system. Allen’s Duct Systems is family owned, licensed and insured, and FDNY Approved Company #065, serving restaurants across New York City and nearby Yonkers. For a free estimate, call Mrs. Allen at (917) 930-5887.

Read how every Allen’s cleaning runs, stage by stage

31 Oct 2026
By Ducter Kitchens

Why Duct Exhaust Cleaning Covers the Whole Connected System

Restaurant owners usually judge a cleaning by the part they can see: the stainless over the cookline. But the polish on the outside doesn’t tell the whole story. Behind it sit the grease filters and their tracks, the plenum, the accessible ductwork and, at the far end, the rooftop exhaust fan.

A full-system kitchen exhaust cleaning covers that whole path. Allen’s Duct Systems starts by protecting the cookline, then removes the grease filters and opens the available access points, applies degreaser, removes heavy grease and washes the accessible areas with hot water. The rooftop exhaust fan is cleaned as the endpoint of the system. To finish, everything is put back together, the stainless is polished, the work is reviewed, and a service sticker is placed.

Removing accessible grease buildup helps support the ongoing fire-safety maintenance of a commercial kitchen exhaust system. To set up a full-system cleaning anywhere in the five boroughs or Westchester, call Mrs. Allen at (917) 930-5887. Allen’s Duct Systems is family owned and FDNY Approved Company #065, and has worked with New York City restaurants since 1998.

See how far a full-system cleaning goes

30 Oct 2026
By Ducter Kitchens

The Plenum: Where the Duct Exhaust Hood Meets the Ductwork

Behind the grease filters and before the duct begins, a restaurant duct exhaust hood has a chamber that kitchen staff rarely see: the plenum. Grease the filters don’t catch settles there, on the back side of the filters and on the inside walls, and it can carry on into the connected ductwork.

When Allen’s Duct Systems cleans the plenum and ductwork, the cookline is covered first and the grease filters come out, which opens the plenum up. Degreaser goes onto the accessible inside surfaces, the heavy grease comes off, and the accessible areas are washed with hot water. The connected duct sections are reached through the access points that are already there. Removing accessible grease buildup helps support the ongoing fire-safety maintenance of a commercial kitchen exhaust system.

Read how Allen’s cleans a restaurant duct hood

A family business since 1998 and an FDNY Approved Company (#065), Allen’s cleans restaurant duct exhaust systems throughout NYC and Westchester. For a free estimate, call Mrs. Allen at (917) 930-5887.

29 Oct 2026
By Ducter Kitchens

Grease Filters to Check After a Restaurant Changes Hands

New owners usually spend their first weeks on the menu, the staff and the kitchen equipment, and the grease filters can get overlooked.

New ownership often means inheriting filter problems along with the duct exhaust system: filters that are warped or damaged, missing from the row, or the wrong size for the opening. Those filters are replaced rather than washed again. Grease filter replacement is its own service at Allen’s Duct Systems, separate from cleaning. The filters are reviewed, the need is confirmed, and the replacements are fitted to the filter bank and checked once they’re in.

A change of hands is also a good time for a full cleaning, since the rooftop exhaust fan and the rest of the system may come with an unknown service history.

See everything a full-system cleaning reaches

Allen’s Duct Systems is family owned, FDNY Approved Company #065, and serves restaurants throughout NYC and Westchester. For a free estimate, call Mrs. Allen at (917) 930-5887.

28 Oct 2026
By Ducter Kitchens

What to Ask Before You Hire a Duct Exhaust Cleaning Company

Many restaurant owners start looking for a duct exhaust cleaning company when something changes: a new location, a kitchen that just changed hands, or an FDNY violation on the duct exhaust system. A few plain questions make the choice easier.

Is the company FDNY approved? Allen’s Duct Systems is FDNY Approved Company #065.

Is it licensed and insured? Allen’s is licensed & insured.

What does the cleaning cover? A full-system cleaning covers the duct exhaust hood and grease filters, the accessible plenum and ductwork, and the rooftop exhaust fan.

How is the kitchen protected? Every job starts with the cookline covered in clear plastic, before any degreaser or hot water goes on.

Who answers the phone? At Allen’s, a family business, it’s Mrs. Allen.

See why restaurant owners choose Allen’s Duct Systems

For a free estimate, call Mrs. Allen at (917) 930-5887. Allen’s serves Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and Westchester.

27 Oct 2026
By Ducter Kitchens

What Catches the Runoff When a Duct Exhaust Hood Is Power Washed

When hot water hits the grease inside a duct exhaust hood, all of it has to land somewhere.

That’s the job of the plastic. Before the cleaning starts, Allen’s covers the cooking equipment and the backsplash below the duct exhaust hood with clear plastic sheeting, clamped in place. During the wet stages, the plastic guides the grease and water down to one low point at the front, into a container on the floor, instead of across the ranges, griddles and floor.

With the cooking equipment protected, the crew can wash the accessible areas behind the grease filters, including the plenum and the reachable ductwork, through available access points.

See where the plenum and ductwork fit in

Allen’s Duct Systems is family owned, FDNY Approved Company #065 and licensed & insured, serving restaurants across NYC and Westchester. For a free estimate, call Mrs. Allen at (917) 930-5887.