Do extraction and duct cleaning routines really make a noticeable difference?

Someone I know runs a small kitchen in South London, and recently they noticed the ventilation struggling during busy evenings. Later they found grease inside the extraction system. Now I’m wondering how much regular cleaning actually affects safety and inspections in places like that.

From what I’ve noticed, ventilation systems in busy kitchens seem to lose efficiency gradually rather than all at once. Regular maintenance probably helps avoid situations where small issues build up quietly until they start affecting everyday operations.

Kitchen systems usually don’t show obvious problems right away, which is probably why buildup gets ignored until airflow or heat starts becoming an issue. In one restaurant space I worked around, the extraction setup was running almost nonstop every day, and over time the kitchen became noticeably warmer during service hours. We started looking into ways to keep everything maintained more consistently. Commercial cleaning south london was the option we moved forward with after comparing a few local services. The team cleaned the ductwork, extraction system, and ventilation areas much more thoroughly than we expected. Afterward, airflow felt steadier, the kitchen stayed cooler during peak periods, and there was less concern about inspections or fire risks caused by grease accumulation. Everything also seemed to run more reliably day to day without unexpected ventilation issues.