How much does commercial kitchen cleaning cost?
Commercial kitchen cleaning is two different services with two different price structures: exhaust hood and duct cleaning, which is a fire-code service priced per system and sold on a schedule, and kitchen deep cleaning, which is labor priced by the crew-hour or per job. Most owners who search for prices want both, so here is how each is built.
| Service | Pricing unit | What drives the number | Published benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hood and duct cleaning (NFPA 96) | Per system: first hood, each extra hood, duct runs, fans | Hood length, duct length and stories, fan count and roof access, grease level, night work | HoodMart: $102.96 per hour average for a two-person crew, extras for travel, access panels and large kitchens |
| Kitchen deep clean (line, floors, walls, equipment) | Per crew-hour or per job after a walkthrough | Square footage, equipment count, grease, whether equipment is moved, time of night | No national survey; price from crew hours (worked example below) |
| Recurring kitchen cleaning (nightly or weekly) | Per visit, on a monthly agreement | Scope, frequency, hours of access | See commercial cleaning prices for per-hour and per-square-foot rates |
| Add-ons: fan hinge kits, access panels, filter exchange, grease containment | Parts plus labor | Parts cost, roof access | Priced per part |
The hourly benchmark comes from HoodMart, a hood manufacturer, which says that on average a commercial hood cleaning costs $102.96 per hour for a two-man crew and that each kitchen is different, with additional charges possible for travel, access panel removal and reinstallation, and larger kitchens. There is no government or association price survey for hood cleaning, so treat that figure as one data point and build your own price from time.
If you are setting up the hood side of the business (licenses, IKECA certification, equipment, wastewater rules), read our guide on starting a hood cleaning business first. This page covers prices only.
How often do hoods need cleaning, and what is an account worth a year?
Hood cleaning frequency is set by the fire code, which means the customer’s revenue to you is set by what they cook. NFPA 96, the standard for ventilation control and fire protection of commercial cooking operations, is adopted by fire marshals across the country. Portland Fire & Rescue’s FIR-8.08 policy turns it into a schedule that most jurisdictions mirror:
| Type of cooking | Minimum cleaning frequency | Visits a year | Annual value at a hypothetical $800 per visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid fuel or wok cooking | Every month | 12 | $9,600 |
| High-volume, fast food, 24-hour cooking or charbroiling | Every 3 months | 4 | $3,200 |
| Normal volumes of commercial cooking or baking | Every 6 months | 2 | $1,600 |
The policy also says a trained and certified person must inspect the exhaust at least every six months, and that the real cleaning frequency depends on the grease observed at inspection. That gives you two things to sell: the inspection (which many companies include at a low price or free to win the account) and the cleaning schedule the inspection justifies.
Price the account by the year. A charbroiling burger restaurant on a quarterly schedule at $800 a visit is a $3,200 account; a wok kitchen on a monthly schedule is a $9,600 account at the same per-visit price. When you quote, show the annual figure and the per-visit price side by side, and lock the per-visit price for the term of the agreement. The $800 above is only an illustration; your per-visit price comes from the hood count method below.
The reason the schedule exists is in the fire data: the U.S. Fire Administration estimates 33,300 nonresidential building cooking fires in 2023 with $50.3 million in dollar loss, and a 13 percent increase in those fires over the ten years to 2023. A restaurant owner who has read that number does not argue about a quarterly invoice.
How to price hood cleaning by hood count, duct and fans
Price the first hood at a full rate that covers setup, containment and cleanup, then each additional hood on the same system at a lower rate, with the duct, the fans and the access work as their own lines. A flat “per hood” price with no structure either overcharges a two-hood kitchen with a short duct or loses money on one hood with a four-story duct and a roof fan.
The price list structure
- First hood (up to a stated length, for example 10 feet). Covers arrival, plastic and containment, filter removal and cleaning, hood and plenum to bare metal, the sticker and the report.
- Each additional hood or each additional foot. Hood work scales with length. Price extra feet or extra hoods at a fraction of the first-hood rate, because the setup is already done.
- Horizontal and vertical duct. Per run and per story. A single-story straight duct is quick; a long horizontal run with no access panels is not. Quote access panel installation as a separate parts-plus-labor line the first time.
- Exhaust fans. Per fan, with a roof access surcharge. Fans without hinge kits take longer and are a safety issue; many companies sell and install hinge kits as an add-on.
- Grease level. A first cleaning after years of neglect, or a system that was never cleaned to bare metal, carries a one-time surcharge. Say so on the quote and show the before photos.
- Night and weekend work. Most hood cleaning happens after close. If your base price assumes night work, say so; if not, add the premium.
Building the first-hood rate from time
Start from crew hours. If a two-person crew spends four hours on site plus one hour of travel and setup, that is five hours each, or ten crew-hours. At a hypothetical loaded wage of $26 an hour the labor alone is $260 before chemicals, disposal, the truck and overhead. HoodMart’s $102.96 is a rate per clock hour for the whole two-person crew, so the same five hours would bill at about $515 for the hourly part, which shows why the extras for travel, access panels and large kitchens matter: the hourly figure alone leaves little room for a tough job.
Keep a time log for your first twenty jobs. Hood length, duct stories, fan count and grease level against actual crew-hours is the only price list that fits your market.
How much to charge for a restaurant kitchen deep clean
Charge kitchen deep cleans by crew-hours after a walkthrough, with a minimum, and sell them as a recurring quarterly or semiannual job alongside the hood service. A deep clean is everything the nightly crew does not reach: behind and under the line, grease on walls and ceiling tiles, floor drains, the dish area, equipment exteriors and sometimes interiors, and the walk-in.
Scope decides the price, so quote from a written task list. The usual tiers:
| Tier | What it includes | How to price |
|---|---|---|
| Line and floor deep clean | Pull movable equipment, degrease walls and floors behind the line, clean drains, scrub and re-mop the whole kitchen floor | Crew-hours after a walkthrough; typically a night’s work for two or three people |
| Full kitchen deep clean | Line and floor tier plus equipment exteriors, ceiling tiles and vents, dish area, storage shelving, walk-in floors and shelves | Crew-hours, often one long night or two shorter nights |
| Equipment interiors | Ovens, fryers (drained by the kitchen first), flat tops, salamanders, reach-in interiors | Per piece of equipment, as add-ons |
| Front of house add-on | Dining room floors, chairs, booths, restrooms to deep-clean standard | Per square foot or per hour, from your commercial price list |
For task lists by area and frequency, our restaurant cleaning checklist covers daily, closing, weekly and monthly work; use its monthly tasks as the base of your deep clean scope. For the per-hour and per-square-foot rates commercial cleaners charge, and how to bid them, see commercial cleaning prices and the commercial cleaning calculator.
One rule for both hood and deep clean work: never mix cleaning chemicals, and never let a degreaser meet a chlorine product. Keep safety data sheets on the truck and train the crew on each product before the first night.
What moves the price up or down?
Beyond hood count and duct length, six things move a commercial kitchen price: access, grease, hours, wastewater, paperwork and travel. Each one should be a question on your quote form.
- Roof access. A fan on a flat one-story roof with a fixed ladder is routine. A fan on a pitched roof, a roof with no ladder access, or a high-rise with a freight elevator booking is a surcharge, and sometimes a lift rental passed through at cost plus a margin.
- Grease and history. Ask for the last service sticker. No sticker, or a date more than a year old, means a first-time surcharge.
- Hours. A kitchen that closes at 9 pm is easier than one that closes at 2 am. Price the 2 am job higher; your crew does.
- Wastewater. Where the greasy washwater goes is set by the local sewer authority: some allow the grease interceptor, others require hauling. Hauling is a real cost per job and belongs on the quote as a line.
- Reports and stickers. Fire marshals expect a dated sticker and a report of what was and was not cleaned. Include them in the price; charge for extra copies or for inspector-ready photo reports if the customer wants them.
- Travel. The IRS business mileage rate, 76 cents per mile for the second half of 2026, is a fair proxy for the truck. A job 40 miles out costs about $30 in vehicle expense each way, or about $60 round trip, before crew time. Cluster accounts and charge a travel fee beyond your core area.
Insurance moves the price too. Fire-after-cleaning claims are the one hood cleaners worry about, and the premium for the right policy is part of overhead. Our guide to cleaning business insurance explains the policies; this is not insurance or legal advice, and license rules for hood cleaners differ by state and city, so check yours.
A worked hood and kitchen quote (hypothetical numbers)
The job: a charbroiling restaurant with two 10-foot hoods on one system, a two-story vertical duct, two roof fans with hinge kits, and a quarterly schedule. The customer also wants a line and floor deep clean on the same night. Every number is hypothetical; replace it with your own.
| Line | Assumption | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Hood crew labor | 2 technicians × 6.5 hours (5.5 on site, 1 travel and setup) at $26 per hour loaded | $338.00 |
| Chemicals and supplies | Degreaser, plastic sheeting, filters media, rags | $75.00 |
| Wastewater disposal | Hauled, per job | $50.00 |
| Vehicle and equipment | 30 miles at $0.76 per mile, plus pressure washer and vacuum wear | $42.80 |
| Hood direct cost | $505.80 | |
| Hood price per visit | Direct cost ÷ 0.50 (30% overhead and insurance, 20% profit) | about $1,010 |
| Deep clean labor | 2 cleaners × 4 hours at $22 per hour loaded, same night, no extra travel | $176.00 |
| Deep clean supplies | Degreaser, floor chemicals, pads | $30.00 |
| Deep clean price | $206 ÷ 0.50 | about $410 |
| Quote for the night | Hood system plus deep clean | about $1,420 |
| Annual agreement | Quarterly hood cleaning, deep clean twice a year | $4,040 + $820 = $4,860 |
A single-hood, single-story job with one fan is a very different number: our hood business guide works one at about $770 with the same method. The two-hood, two-fan, two-story system here is not twice that, because the setup is shared, which is the point of pricing by hood count instead of a flat per-hood rate.
Present the annual figure as the agreement value and the per-visit price as what shows on each invoice. Run your own version in the profit calculator.
How to present kitchen cleaning prices and sell the annual agreement
Present a one-page proposal with the system described (hoods, duct, fans), the per-visit price, the frequency the fire code calls for, the annual value, and what the customer gets after each visit: a sticker, a report and photos. Restaurant owners buy reliability and inspector-proof paperwork; the price is second.
- Inspect first. Offer the six-month inspection at a low price or free. It gets you on the roof and in the duct, and the photos write the quote for you.
- Quote the schedule, not the visit. “Quarterly, four visits, $X per visit, $Y per year, price locked for 12 months.”
- List the surcharges in advance. First-time buildup, access panels, after-2 am work, hauling. Nobody disputes a line they agreed to.
- Bundle the deep clean. Same night, same crew on site, lower combined price than two visits. It also makes you the one company the owner calls for anything greasy.
- Remind before each visit and invoice the same night. A text three days out, a report by morning, a card on file or net-15 terms in the agreement.
Use the cleaning proposal template for the document. A note on software: build the hood quote itself from the tables above, then let scheduling software handle the recurring part. Broombook books the quarterly and semiannual visits, texts the reminder before each night, keeps a card on file and charges after the job; see the features page for what it covers.