As a kitchen exhaust cleaning (KEC) contractor, some of my time is spent educating customers on the proper ways to clean kitchen exhaust hood systems. I have found many restaurant and building owners simply don't know what is required of them, or don't know what is considered a properly cleaned kitchen exhaust hood system. In many instances, owners are led by unqualified contractors to believe that cleaning the hood and attaching a certificate of cleaning is sufficient enough to keep them in compliance with authorities. Unfortunately this lack of knowledge comes back to haunt an owner when a fire occurs. A proper cleaning of the entire kitchen exhaust system includes the hood, filters, fan and all associated horizontal and vertical ductwork. I refer customers to the NFPA-96 Standard (National Fire Protection Association Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations 2011 edition) that provide the minimum fire safety requirements (preventative and operative) related to the design, installation, operation, inspection, and maintenance of all public and private cooking operations. The more owners know and understand what is required, the better they will be able to select contractors that will provide the proper service and better manage their fire protection.