Reducing The Risk Of Fire By Cleaning Filters
Many clients overlook an important aspect of fire safety: cleaning and maintaining filters in commercial premises like restaurants, fast food outlets, and care homes. Let’s focus on two common risks that, if addressed, can reduce the risk of fire and help meet legal and insurance requirements.
Canopy filters
Canopy filters efficiently capture grease, but over time, grease accumulates and becomes hard to remove once it solidifies. Failing to clean kitchen extractors and canopies regularly not only reduces the efficiency of the extraction system but also shortens the lifespan of the canopy fan. The vaporized grease from commercial cooking, which filters cannot fully capture, fills the ductwork, posing a significant fire risk as it extends throughout a building.
The Importance of Regular Maintenance
Failing to maintain and clean kitchen canopies, filters, ducting, and fans might invalidate your insurance coverage. According to insurance terms, regular cleaning of these components is now required. The cleaning frequency is crucial for maintaining safety standards:
- Light Use (2-6 hours a day): Clean annually
- Moderate Use (6-12 hours a day): Clean every 6 months
- Heavy Use (12-16 hours a day): Clean quarterly
Tumble Dryer Filters
A tumble dryer contains a powerful motor with fast-moving parts that get very hot. The cause of a tumble dryer fire could be due to several reasons. Most commonly, tumble dryer fires are caused by large build-ups of fluff, which ignite when exposed to heating elements within the machines. Ensuring that lint filters in tumble dryers are cleaned before use and that lint, which is highly flammable, is not allowed to accumulate in and around the appliance will substantially reduce the fire risk.
Important Factors to consider
Ensure that all staff using the dryers are fully aware of the laundry operation procedures and the necessary checks. Specifically, make sure that staff are well-trained in the proper use of tumble dryers and good housekeeping practices, and regularly remind them of the importance of storing only fully cooled stock.
- Establish procedures for checking and removing foreign materials left in the pockets or folds of garments and linens before laundering.
- Regularly clean tumble dryer filters, remove fluff, lint, and debris from dryers, and keep them well-maintained. This should include removing lint from hard-to-reach areas within tumble dryers during routine servicing.
Other considerations
- Provide fire detection throughout laundry areas.
- Consider sprinkler protection for laundry areas as part of general building sprinkler protection.
Conclusion
Awareness, training, and good maintenance procedures, as always, will help reduce the fire risk to its lowest practicable level and help remove the most common causes of fires associated with filters. It will also protect your insurance policy, which may be affected due to a lack of filter maintenance.