Monthly Restaurant Hood and Roof Inspection

The checklist groups the work into three areas. Kitchen hood and grease management: empty and clean the grill and fryer grease catch trays, remove excess grease from the hood interior and surrounding equipment surfaces, record the estimated total grease volume removed in gallons, and rate grease accumulation severity in the trays. Roof surface and drainage: look for grease overflow or spillage from the hood discharge, clear trash and debris, assess the overall roof surface, and confirm roof drains and their discharge areas are clear with no backup. Equipment and mechanical systems: check the grill and fryer hood exhaust belts for wear, cracking and tension, record any belt specification or replacement part number if serviced, and inspect the condenser coil condition, cleanliness and fan operation on HVAC equipment, walk-in coolers and ice machines.

Grease pulled out of a kitchen hood has to go somewhere, and it does not always stay where it is supposed to. Overflow or spillage that reaches the roof surface can make walking conditions hazardous and can find its way into roof drains, where it combines with trash and debris to cause ponding and backup. Inside the kitchen, grease buildup in hood interiors and catch trays is a fire safety concern. Checking belts for wear, cracking and poor tension and confirming condenser coils and fans are clean and operating protects the refrigeration and cooling equipment, which is easy to take for granted until it fails.

Start with the identifying information the record needs: the date conducted, who prepared it, and the location. Then service the grease catch trays for the grill and fryer, clear excess grease from the hood interior and surrounding surfaces, and record how much grease you removed and how severe the accumulation was. Move to the roof and check the surface for overflow or spillage from the hood discharge, clear any trash or debris, and verify the drains and their discharge areas are flowing freely with no backup. Finish with the mechanical checks: grill and fryer hood exhaust belts for wear, cracking and tension, then the condenser coils, cleanliness and fan operation on HVAC, walk-in cooler and ice machine units. Rate overall equipment performance, record the overall inspection outcome, write up your detailed findings and field observations, note any corrective actions you performed, and list follow-up recommendations with priority levels. Sign and close out the record with the finished time and real start and end dates.

The checklist captures identity and location, the inspections and servicing performed, the condition ratings you assign, a written account of findings and field observations, any corrective actions performed during the visit, follow-up recommendations with priority levels, a signature, and the finished time along with the real start and end dates. The estimated grease volume removed in gallons and any belt specification or replacement part number recorded during servicing are the kind of details that make the record useful for tracking trends and ordering parts later.

Most items are written so you can answer Yes, No or N/A. Ratings are used where a simple yes or no would lose information: grease accumulation severity in the catch trays, overall roof surface condition, and overall mechanical equipment performance and reliability. Where the checklist calls for measurement, such as estimated total grease volume removed, record the figure rather than a rating.

Running the same items every month across all restaurant facilities is what makes the records comparable. You can see whether grease accumulation is trending up at one site, whether the same roof drain keeps backing up, or whether a belt was replaced sooner than expected. That consistency supports ongoing regulatory compliance documentation. The checklist itself does not set thresholds or cite a specific regulation, so treat the ratings and notes as your own maintenance history and pair them with whatever inspection and servicing obligations apply to the site.