How Often Does Your Mobile, AL Restaurant Need Hood Cleaning?
If you run a commercial kitchen in Mobile, hood cleaning is a fire code requirement. Two documents govern it. NFPA 96 is the national standard for commercial kitchen exhaust systems, and the 2021 International Fire Code (IFC) is the law that makes its schedule enforceable here: the City of Mobile adopted the 2021 code family in November 2022, and Alabama adopted the 2021 IFC statewide effective January 1, 2023 under Ala. Admin. Code r. 482-2-101-.02. Your insurance policy almost certainly requires compliance too.
Here is the schedule the code sets, based on how you cook.
Your required inspection frequency
Per IFC section 606.3.3 and Table 606.3.3.1 (viewable free in the Alabama fire code), the entire exhaust system must be inspected for grease buildup at these intervals:
Monthly. Kitchens with solid fuel appliances: wood-fired grills, charcoal, mesquite smokers. If you run a barbecue joint or wood-fired pizza oven, you are in this tier.
Every 3 months. High-volume operations: 24-hour cooking, charbroiling, wok cooking. Most busy full-service restaurants and fast food kitchens land here.
Every 6 months. All other cooking operations. This is the default tier for a typical moderate-volume kitchen.
Every 12 months. Low-volume operations, with the code naming places of religious worship, seasonal businesses, and senior centers as examples.
One nuance worth understanding: the code sets an inspection schedule, and requires cleaning whenever that inspection finds grease accumulation, per IFC 606.3.3.2. The cleaning itself must follow ANSI/IKECA C10, the industry cleaning standard. In practice a kitchen cooking at normal volume accumulates grease by every scheduled inspection, which is why the industry talks about these intervals as a cleaning schedule. NFPA 96 carries the same schedule in its inspection table (the table number varies by edition; see NFPA 96).
The inspection must be done by qualified individuals, which in practice means a professional kitchen exhaust cleaning company, and your cooking method decides the tier. A smoker on an annual schedule is out of compliance and a documented fire hazard. When in doubt, ask a certified hood cleaner to assess your system, or check with the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department, the local authority having jurisdiction.
Why this matters more than the invoice
Grease buildup in hoods and ducts is the number one fuel source in restaurant fires. Once a grease fire gets into your ductwork, it can travel through the building. Beyond the fire risk, a missed schedule can mean failed fire inspections, insurance claim denials after an incident, and in the worst case, closure.
What a proper cleaning includes
A certified crew cleans the entire system, not just the visible hood: hoods and filters, the plenum behind the filters, accessible ductwork, and the rooftop exhaust fan, with the work done to the ANSI/IKECA C10 standard (crews describe the result as cleaning to bare metal). You should receive documentation after every service, including before and after photos and a certificate you can show a fire inspector or insurance auditor.
The records the code actually requires
This part is spelled out in the IFC, not left to habit:
- Written records of each inspection, naming the individual and company who performed it, describing the work, and dating it (IFC 606.3.3.3). Keep them on site.
- A service tag posted in a conspicuous location, showing the service provider’s name, address, telephone number, and date of service (IFC 606.3.3.3.1). This is the sticker on the hood that fire inspectors look for first.
A missing paper trail reads the same as a missed cleaning.
Ready to get on schedule? Compare certified hood cleaning companies serving Mobile in our directory.