Tampa Bay · the exhaust standard
What NFPA 96 is
NFPA 96 is the National Fire Protection Association standard most fire inspectors and insurers point to for commercial cooking exhaust. It is about the hood, grease filters, ducts, and fan — and how often that system gets cleaned. This page names the standard. It does not assign your kitchen a bucket and does not inspect you.
What the standard is aimed at
Grease in a commercial exhaust system is a fire problem, not a polish job. NFPA 96 is the document that conversation usually names. Your inspector or insurer may be stricter than a minimum interval. Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota County are not the same stamp.
Follow the finding you received. Do not follow a slogan on a cleaner’s truck.
Frequency follows cooking volume
How much grease the line produces matters more than the calendar alone. Busy fry and solid-fuel kitchens are typically on a tighter interval than a lower-volume operation. NFPA 96 cleaning schedule is the request page when you are due, behind, or looking at a finding.
We are not going to certify which bucket your line is in from a form. Write what you cook and how many shifts. The cleaner who accepts the lead can talk interval after they see the hood.
A filter rinse is not “done to NFPA 96”
Shiny filters and a filthy elbow or packed fan are a known pattern. Inspectors care about the system. If your last invoice said “hood clean” and someone still found grease in the duct, send that context.
This website does not sell “NFPA certified” as a brand we hold. The person who cleans should tell you how they document the work.
What we will not invent
No section numbers, no fabricated certificate, and no claim that a Tampa route automatically covers Lakeland or Sarasota. A licensed local hood cleaner may contact you if they accept the lead. You can decline if their scope is only a filter rinse.
Related service requests
These are narrower request pages on this site, not a list of partner shops. A licensed local provider may contact you if they accept a lead.
Questions
Does this site inspect to NFPA 96?
No. We pass a cleaning request. We do not stamp paperwork and we are not the fire inspector.
How often should we clean?
The standard ties frequency to cooking volume and fuel. Busy fry and solid-fuel lines are often monthly. Many ordinary restaurants are quarterly. Your inspector may require a tighter interval. We will not assign your bucket from a form.
Is a sticker on the hood the same as compliance?
A sticker is the cleaner’s paperwork, if they leave one. It is only as good as what they actually opened. Ask what they will clean.
Does NFPA 96 cover the Ansul system too?
Kitchen fire suppression is a related fire-safety topic, not the same ticket as exhaust cleaning. Use this site for hoods, fans, and grease ducts.
Related pages
These are more request pages on this site, not a list of partner shops. A licensed local provider may contact you if they accept a lead.
Request hood cleaning in Tampa Bay
Call if you want to talk now, or send the form. Either way this is a request, not a booked job.
Call (656) 226-9665