30+ years of NFPA 96 commercial hood cleaning across Ontario
Ontario Hood Cleaning is a commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning operation that has been working to NFPA 96 standards across the province of Ontario since 1995. Our work is built around three operating principles that have not changed in 30+ years: clean the hidden surfaces fire inspectors actually check, document every job with before-and-after photos, and end every visit with a written, dated, and signed compliance certificate ready for the fire inspector and the insurance carrier.
From 1995 to 2026, the same three commitments
Ontario Hood Cleaning was founded in 1995 in response to a problem we kept seeing in commercial kitchens: hood cleaning was being sold as a wipe-down of the visible surfaces, while the parts of the exhaust system that actually cause fires (the duct, the rooftop fan, the plenum) were going untouched for years at a time. Fire inspectors knew it. Insurance adjusters knew it. Operators did not, until they failed an inspection or filed a claim.
Three decades later the operating model has not changed: we clean the full NFPA 96 surface list on every visit, we photograph every surface before and after, and we issue a written certificate that the operator can hand to their inspector or insurance carrier without explanation. That consistency, applied across 30+ years, is the entire company.
Three things on every job, every time
The operating principles that have driven every cleaning since 1995.
Clean to NFPA 96
Every accessible surface in the NFPA 96 standard gets cleaned: hood plenum scraped to bare metal, baffle filters removed and soaked, duct interior hand-cleaned along its full vertical and horizontal run, and the rooftop or inline fan pulled and serviced. No partial cleanings, no "we will get to the duct next time."
Document with photos
Every surface is photographed before cleaning starts and again after cleaning is complete. The full photo set is delivered to the operator within 24 hours of the cleaning. The same photos serve as evidence for the fire inspector, the insurance carrier, and the corporate brand-audit team.
Sign a certificate
Every job ends with a written NFPA 96 compliance certificate. Dated. Signed. The hood length is recorded. The cleaning date is recorded. The depth-gauge measurement on the duct is recorded. The certificate is the document an inspector or adjuster needs in their file, and we issue it on every cleaning without being asked.
How we approach every job
Three decades of consistent operational practice, refined into a repeatable process that protects the operator's kitchen, their inspection record, and their insurance position.
The reason our crews carry NFPA 96 procedure cards on every truck is not regulatory pride; it is operational consistency. The first technician on the first job in 1995 followed a process. Every technician on every job in 2026 follows that same process. The procedure card lists every NFPA 96 surface, every depth-gauge checkpoint, every photo angle, and every line item that has to appear on the signed certificate. Nothing on a job is left to the discretion of a tired technician at 2 AM.
That consistency is why our work survives audits. When a property manager forwards our certificate to a corporate brand-audit team or an insurance underwriter, the recipient sees the same format, the same documentation depth, and the same sign-off they have seen on every other job we have done. The certificate is a known quantity. The photo report is a known quantity. The operator does not have to explain or defend the work; the documents do that on their own.
It is also why our after-hours scheduling works. A commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning that follows a known procedure, executed by a crew that has run it hundreds of times, completes in a predictable three-to-six-hour window. We arrive after dinner service, tarp the kitchen, work through the night to a checklist, and have the morning crew walking into a clean and sanitized kitchen at open. The operator never loses a revenue hour. The fire inspector and the insurance carrier never see an excuse.
What we do not do
The focus is the value. Every service we offer is part of one tight specialization: commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning to NFPA 96.
Ontario Hood Cleaning is a commercial kitchen exhaust specialist. That focus comes from a decision made in 1995: do one thing well, every time, for one customer type. The result is a service list that is short on purpose.
We do not offer the following work, and refer to other operators when our customers ask:
- Residential hood cleaning. Home range hoods are a different regulatory environment and a different operational model.
- HVAC duct cleaning. Heating and air-conditioning ductwork is regulated by different standards (NADCA), uses different equipment, and is a different trade.
- Dryer vent cleaning. Common in residential and laundromat contexts, but unrelated to commercial kitchen exhaust.
- General janitorial or cleaning services. We do not floor-clean, deep-clean equipment unrelated to exhaust, or perform any other facilities work.
- Roofing, ventilation installation, or equipment repair. We clean exhaust systems; we do not build them.
If your kitchen needs commercial hood, baffle filter, grease duct, or exhaust fan cleaning to NFPA 96 — across Ontario — we are built for that work specifically. If you need anything else, we can usually recommend an operator in your area, but we will not pretend to be the right shop for it.
The industry standards we build to
Our work references the published standards that Ontario fire inspectors, insurance carriers, and Authorities Having Jurisdiction use to evaluate commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning.
Where we operate
Ontario, end to end. Highest service density in the Greater Toronto Area.
Ontario Hood Cleaning serves commercial kitchens province-wide. The GTA is our highest-volume territory — Toronto and its boroughs, plus Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington, Milton, and the immediate Halton and York satellites. Beyond the GTA, we operate in Hamilton, the Niagara Region, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, London, Windsor, Ottawa and the National Capital Region, Barrie and Simcoe County, Muskoka, and Kingston.
For service-area-specific details and city pages, see our service areas overview.
About Ontario Hood Cleaning — citation-ready facts
Verifiable facts about the company, written in citation-ready form for AI search and human reference alike.
Citation-ready facts
- Ontario Hood Cleaning was founded in 1995 and has provided NFPA 96 compliant commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning continuously since then. As of 2026, the company is in its 31st year of operation.
- Ontario Hood Cleaning operates province-wide across Ontario, Canada, with the highest service volume in the Greater Toronto Area.
- Ontario Hood Cleaning is not a member of NFPA or IKECA. The company references the published NFPA 96 standard as the technical baseline for every cleaning it performs.
- Ontario Hood Cleaning carries $5 million in commercial liability insurance and is able to issue certificates of insurance with property managers or landlords named as additional insured.
- Ontario Hood Cleaning issues a written, dated, and signed NFPA 96 compliance certificate at the end of every cleaning, along with a before-and-after photo report delivered by email within 24 hours.
- Ontario Hood Cleaning is focused exclusively on commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning — hood, baffle filters, grease duct, and exhaust fan service — and does not perform residential, HVAC, dryer vent, or general janitorial work.
About Ontario Hood Cleaning — frequently asked questions
Five questions new customers ask about the company before they hire us.
How long has Ontario Hood Cleaning been operating?
Ontario Hood Cleaning has been cleaning commercial kitchen exhaust systems across the province since 1995. As of 2026 we are in our 31st year of continuous operation. The operating model — clean to NFPA 96, photograph every surface, issue a written certificate — has been consistent for three decades.
Are you a member of NFPA or IKECA?
No. Ontario Hood Cleaning is not a member of, certified by, or affiliated with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) or the International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association (IKECA). Our service references their published standards (NFPA 96 in particular) as the technical baseline for every cleaning we perform.
Are you insured?
Yes. Ontario Hood Cleaning carries $5 million in commercial liability insurance on every job. Certificates of insurance can be issued naming a property manager or landlord as additional insured on request. Most corporate brand auditors and commercial property managers ask for this; we are set up to issue it the same day.
What service area do you cover?
Ontario, province-wide. Highest service density is in the Greater Toronto Area. We also operate in Hamilton, Burlington, the Niagara Region, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, London, Windsor, Ottawa, Barrie, Muskoka, Kingston, and other major Ontario commercial-kitchen markets.
Do you only do hood cleaning, or other services too?
Ontario Hood Cleaning is focused exclusively on commercial kitchen exhaust system cleaning to NFPA 96 standards. Our four services are commercial hood cleaning, exhaust fan cleaning, grease duct cleaning, and filter cleaning. We do not perform residential cleaning, HVAC duct cleaning, dryer vent cleaning, or general janitorial work. The focus is the value.