How to Start a Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Business: The Complete 2025 Guide
Starting a kitchen exhaust cleaning business (also known as hood cleaning or grease exhaust system cleaning) is one of the most reliable and profitable opportunities in the service industry today. Commercial kitchens in restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals, and other food service facilities are required to have their exhaust systems professionally cleaned on a regular schedule to comply with fire codes and meet insurance requirements. This creates steady, recurring demand that isn't affected by economic downturns.
With relatively low startup costs (typically $10,000–$50,000), high profit margins (often 40–60% per job), and the ability to scale quickly, many owners reach six-figure incomes within the first few years. If you're ready to be your own boss in a recession-resistant industry, here's what you need to launch successfully in 2025.
Ready to Get Started?
A kitchen exhaust cleaning business offers freedom, excellent income potential, and the satisfaction of getting grease filled kitchen exhaust systems clean. The key to long-term success is doing the job right — trained, insured, and equipped with professional-grade tools.
At BryanExhaustTools.com, we're here to help you launch strong. Browse our full line of custom hood cleaning tools built by greasers, for greasers. Need advice on the perfect starter kit? Contact us — we're happy to guide new owners. (747) 207-9442
Start cleaning, start earning, and build the business you've always wanted. The demand is there — go claim your share!
1. Understand the Legal and Regulatory Requirements
All commercial cooking operations in the US and Canada follow NFPA 96 — the Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations from the National Fire Protection Association. Key points:
- Exhaust systems must be cleaned to remove grease by a properly trained and qualified company that your local Fire Department (The Authority Having Jurisdiction or AHJ) approves of.
- Cleaning frequency depends on cooking type:
- Monthly: Solid fuel (wood/charcoal)
- Quarterly: High-volume (24-hour operations, charbroiling, wok cooking)
- Semi-annually: Moderate-volume
- Annually: Low-volume (churches, seasonal businesses)
Non-compliance can lead to failed fire inspections, fines, insurance denial, or shutdowns for your clients — which is why they need you.
What you need:
- Register your business (LLC recommended for liability protection).
- Obtain local business licenses and permits (varies by city/state; some require specific hood cleaning licenses, e.g., Massachusetts or New York City).
- Comply with EPA wastewater disposal rules (grease runoff can't go into storm drains).
2. Get Properly Trained — Hands-On Skills Are What Matter Most
NFPA 96 requires that exhaust systems be cleaned by a “properly trained and qualified” company or person acceptable to the local authority having jurisdiction (usually the fire marshal). The code cares about one thing: that the system is cleaned to bare metal and that the work is done safely and correctly.
Here’s the real-world truth in 2025:
- In the vast majority of the United States, there is no state or national law requiring you to hold a specific certification card (IKECA, Phil Ackland, etc.) to legally perform kitchen exhaust cleaning.
- A handful of locations do require a local or state license that includes a written test (e.g., New York City FDNY, Massachusetts, Utah, a few cities in South Carolina and Texas), but even in those places the “certification” is primarily a knowledge test — it is not proof you can actually clean a greasy hood and duct system correctly.
- Restaurant owners, chains, and fire inspectors ultimately judge you by the quality of your work, your before/after photos, your references, and whether the system passes inspection after you leave — not by a certificate on the wall.
What wins jobs and keeps clients is showing up with the right tools, the right techniques, and a track record of leaving systems spotless and grease-free.
How to get truly qualified (the way that actually matters):
- Work as a helper or second tech for an established company for a part-time or short-term basis if possible. Nothing replaces on-the-job experience.
- Practice on your own van setup or help a friend with a small kitchen until you’re fast, safe, and consistently hitting bare metal.
- Take a hands-on training course or boot camp (3–5 days in the field scraping real grease with an experienced instructor). Programs from Powerwash.com, KitchenExhaustTraining.com, Power Washers of North America, and others focus on real-world technique, safety, and efficiency — not just classroom theory.
Many highly successful hood cleaners across the country have never held a formal “certification” and have built million-dollar businesses purely on reputation and results. Others choose to take a certification course later, once they’re already profitable, simply for marketing or to satisfy a particular chain’s insurance requirements.
Bottom line: Spend your startup money and time on real world training and professional-grade tools first. That’s what turns you into someone restaurants trust and rehire month after month.
At Bryan Exhaust Tools, we’ve equipped owners — certified and non-certified alike — who are crushing it in their markets. The tools and the skills are what separate the pros from the amateurs. Grab the right gear, learn to clean like a beast, and the clients (and the money) will follow. Need help picking the perfect starter kit? Reach out any time.
3. Secure the Right Insurance
Hood cleaning involves heights, chemicals, hot surfaces, and slippery grease — insurance is essential and often required by clients.
Must-have policies:
- General Liability ($1M–$2M minimum) — Covers property damage or injuries you cause.
- Professional Liability (E&O) — Protects against claims of incomplete/inadequate cleaning.
- Workers' Compensation — Required in most states if you have employees; covers job-related injuries.
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Commercial Auto — For your work van/truck.
Expect $2,000–$6,000/year starting out. Shop specialists in contractor/hood cleaning insurance.
4. Invest in the Right Equipment and Tools — Start Smart, Not Expensive
You do not need a $10,000+ trailer-mounted hot-water pressure washer to launch a profitable hood cleaning business in 2025. Hot water only becomes a real advantage when grease is rock-hard because of freezing temperatures.
Here’s the equipment that lets you hit the ground running and keep startup costs low:
- The Magnetic Duct Scraper is the #1 tool for Greasers
- Hood Cleaning Foamers produce thick, clinging foam that melts grease
- Flat and Round Scrapers will reduce water and chemical usage
- Chemical Sprayers
- Heavy-duty caustic degreaser (make your own here)
- Hot Water Garden hose (100–200 ft common)
- Portable electric pressure washer for final rinse and hard spots — the AR630 TSS Hot (hot water, 2.2 GPM, total stop system) is great and fits in the back of a minivan. Under $1,500 and more than enough power for most kitchens.
- Wet/dry shop vac
- Plastic sheeting, tarps, buckets, and grease containment system
- Full PPE: chemical gloves, non-slip boots, respirator, eye protection, and fall-arrest harness for roofs
5. Price Your Services and Find Clients
Average job prices in 2025:
- Small kitchen: $400–$800
- Medium restaurant: $800–$1,500
- Large/high-volume: $2,000+
Offer quarterly contracts for recurring revenue. Market by:
- Visiting restaurants, networking with fire inspectors, Google Ads, and a simple website showing your before/after photos.
6. Scale Your Business
Once you have 20–30 regular clients, hire trained technicians and add trucks. Many owners go from solo operator to $300k+ revenue in 3–5 years.