The TR19 cleaning frequency table
| Usage | Daily cooking | Clean |
|---|---|---|
| Light use | 2–6 hours | Every 12 months |
| Moderate use | 6–12 hours | Every 6 months |
| Heavy use | 12–16 hours | Every 3 months |
How do I count my cooking hours?
Count the hours the extract runs with cooking underneath it on a normal day, not your opening hours. A café that cooks breakfast and lunch is usually light or moderate use; a restaurant doing lunch and dinner, or a takeaway open late, is usually moderate to heavy.
When do kitchens need cleaning more often?
- Charcoal grills, tandoors and open-flame cooking
- Woks and high-heat stir-frying
- Deep fryers and chicken shops running all day
- Kitchens that skip weekly filter cleaning
The table is a starting point. Each clean records grease readings, and if the system is already over the limit when the engineer arrives, the report recommends a shorter interval. Systems that stay well under can sometimes stretch it.
Why staying on schedule saves money
An overdue system takes longer to clean, and a lapsed certificate is exactly what an insurer looks for after a fire. Many policies set their own interval, often at least every 12 months, and that applies on top of this table: what insurers require. The simplest fix is a reminder: your next due date goes on every report, and Nightshift messages you before it comes round.