FilterShine

Grease Filter Exchange

Weekly / Bi-Weekly / Monthly

Don't let F.O.G. cloud your business. (Fats • Oils • Grease)

Is Your Kitchen Safe? Signs Your Grease Filter Needs to Be Exchanged

March 3, 2025

 

Running a restaurant isn’t just about serving great food—it’s about maintaining a safe, efficient kitchen. And while you focus on service, staffing, and delivering great meals, one critical component often gets overlooked: your grease filters.


Or maybe you call them screens, baffles, vents, or those metal things that drip grease onto freshly cooked food. Whatever name you use, they all serve the same purpose—trapping grease before it becomes a fire hazard (or an unplanned ingredient).


Ignoring them can lead to health violations, costly repairs, or even an unexpected kitchen fire.


So, how do you know when it’s time for a grease filter exchange? Here’s what to look for—plus the key areas most people miss when cleaning their filters.


Why Regular Grease Filter Maintenance Matters

Your restaurant’s ventilation system works hard, pulling in smoke, grease, and food particles every time you cook. The grease filters trap these contaminants before they can enter the ductwork. Over time, those filters become overloaded, restricting airflow and creating serious risks.

A clogged grease filter isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a hazard. Here’s why regular exchanges should be part of your kitchen routine:

  • Fire Prevention – Grease buildup is highly flammable, increasing the risk of a devastating fire.
  • Better Ventilation – Proper airflow keeps your kitchen cooler and reduces lingering smoke and steam.
  • Health Code Compliance – Dirty filters can trigger violations from health inspectors.
  • Longer Equipment Life – Clean filters mean less strain on your exhaust system, reducing maintenance costs.

5 Signs Your Grease Filter Needs to Be Exchanged

1. Discoloration & Visible Grease Buildup

Take a close look at your filters. Are they discolored? Do they have a visible layer of grease? If they appear thick, dark, or sticky, they’re long overdue for an exchange.

2. Grease Hidden Inside the Filter (Most Overlooked Issue!)

Even if the surface looks clean, grease often hides between the baffles, inside the outer frame, and around the drain holes. These are the hardest areas to clean—and the most dangerous if ignored.

Test it yourself:

  • Hold the filter at an angle and inspect the gaps.
  • Run a gloved finger inside—if it’s not smooth, bare metal, it’s not clean.
    (Be careful—sharp metal edges can cause cuts.)

If grease is trapped inside, it needs to be exchanged, not just surface-cleaned.

3. Excess Steam or Smoke in the Kitchen

If your kitchen is filling with smoke or steam more than usual, your filters may be clogged. A blocked grease filter restricts airflow, making it harder for the hood system to remove heat and airborne grease from the cooking area.

4. Increased Fire Risk

A neglected grease filter is a serious fire hazard. If you see thick, sticky, or dripping grease anywhere on the filter, it’s a major red flag. Built-up grease can ignite in seconds, putting your staff, equipment, and business at risk.

5. Loud, Overworked Exhaust System

Is your hood fan noisy, running inconsistently, or shutting down unexpectedly? That’s a sign of airflow restriction—likely caused by a clogged filter. Exchanging it can restore proper function and prevent costly breakdowns.


The Solution: A Grease Filter Exchange Program That Works for You

At FilterShine USA, we make grease filter maintenance effortless. Our Grease Filter Exchange Program ensures you always have clean, compliant filters—without the hassle of cleaning them yourself.

 

• Set service intervals that fit your kitchen’s needs 

(every 1, 2, 4, or 8 weeks).

Receive professionally cleaned filters on schedule

—just swap the old ones out.

• Keep your kitchen fire-safe and compliant 

with NFPA codes.

• Eliminate smoke, improve airflow, and extend equipment life.


• Set service intervals that fit your kitchen’s needs 

(every 1, 2, 4, or 8 weeks).

Receive professionally cleaned filters on schedule

—just swap the old ones out.

• Keep your kitchen fire-safe and compliant 

with NFPA codes.

• Eliminate smoke, improve airflow, and extend equipment life.

No scrubbing. No mess. No risk. Just safe, fire-ready filters delivered on time, every time.


Find Your Nearest FilterShine Team

If your filters show any of these warning signs, it’s time to take action.

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Manager: We had hood cleaning scheduled for a Tuesday night and I did not have to work Wednesday. I was behind on paperwork, so I stayed over to finish paperwork without any team member distractions. When I finished, I went to one guy in the kitchen hanging plastic and told him I was leaving for the night and to please shut the back door and set the alarm when they were done. He told me to watch my step when leaving through the back door. I did not ask why, but quickly realized the hazard in so many ways! I could not believe what they were doing!! They were actually pressure washing our greasy filters with a foam cleaner. The foam, and all the grease from the filters, was going straight on to our parking lot and going straight into the storm drain that leads into a creek on the side of the parking lot and from there, goes to a pond. I could not believe it!! That foam had heavy duty degreaser, not to mention all the grease from the filters, and was contaminating the pond. I asked them to please stop immediately and they did, but they indicated they would have to put the remainder of the filters by the dishwasher so we could wash them in the morning. I continued the conversation by asking them how many of our locations they clean for our company and they mentioned that they clean the entire region, “8 locations”. I was so relieved when our Regional Manager took action and informed me that we were going to be using the FilterShine grease filter program so the hood cleaners would not be cleaning the filters outside and continue to cause the creek and pond contamination.
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Managers that have decided to use FilterShine grease filter exchange program have spoken with us about how “tasks” have changed since using the FilterShine exchange program. In the past, cooks would remove filters two times a week and put them in the 3 compartment sink, fill each sink with hot water and about half a gallon of heavy duty degreaser. The filters would soak over night and they would drain the greasy sink water in the morning and place the filters by the dishwasher area then continue to sanitize the greasy sinks before they could use them to prep frozen food. Dishwasher employee would then run the filters through the dishwasher, two at a time, and when finished, change the water in the dishwasher, so the days dishes do not come out greasy when washed. The cooks would then get on top of the equipment and install the filters in the hood systems. Manager: “absolutely saved money on heavy duty degreaser, all of the labor of removing filters and cleaning sinks and dishwashers”.
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With so many years doing grease filter exchange for many different types of cooking concepts, one main point for the managers and cooks is that removing the filters from the hood is dangerous. They end up dropping the filters on grills or fryers. More than a few accidents have occurred. One of the worst cases we have experienced is a cook slipping while holding a filter in one hand and the other hand going into a hot fryer.
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Our technicians are fully trained and fully insured. We have been in the exhaust cleaning business for 10 years and we are active and certified members of IKECA.
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