A-1 Power Steamers, MiSSOURI-Based HOod Cleaning

With 20 years in the hood cleaning industry, we have retained a long list of customers. We’ve been told the loyalty from our customers is due to our thoroughness and attention to detail, but mostly because of our “above and beyond” personal service and treating each kitchen as if it were our own.

Cleaning Services

Every kitchen and hood system is different and requires different levels and complexity of services. Our kitchen hood cleaning bids are personalized to each individual kitchen and its needs.

We handle cleaning for various industries:

  • Privately owned or single location restaurants
  • Food chain establishments
  • Grocery and convenience stores
  • Schools and school districts
  • Companies that provide kitchens and cafeterias
  • Hotels and motels
  • Any business that operates a commercial kitchen in the surrounding St. Louis area.

Please contact us at 636.861.2104 or email us at info@A1FilterBox.com. We’ll be happy to schedule a visit to provide a personalized bid for your professional hood cleaning services.

Our Service includes a full inspection of each kitchen components

We look at each of our customers’ kitchens as a whole, working system. We inspect each component, from the roof and rooftop exhaust fan to the entire kitchen, including outside areas, reporting or addressing any issues needing attention. The extra services and details we give to our customers’ kitchens is very welcome in an industry that has a reputation for limited janitorial services only.

Witnessing the issues our customers struggle with in keeping their kitchens (the life blood of their business) operating smoothly, cleanly and safely, and the damage caused by grease waste and traditional cleaning methods, we took the initiative to come up with a better solution.

We care deeply about the impact these issues have on both our customers’ businesses and to the environment. So- we designed the A1 Filter Box Clean & Capture System- a comprehensive solution to this industry-wide problem, and, just as important, helping to greatly reduce the damage to and pollution of our waterways and our wildlife. Our St. Louis-area customers get the best of both worlds: Access to our A1 Filter Box and the A-1 Power Steamers full-service hood cleaning! Contact us today for more information.

Equipment and Methods

Notice the CLEAN DISCHARGE of the filter cleaning in this video featuring the Cart Version of the A1 Filter Box Clean and Capture System . That’s because the video was taken AFTER the filter was already clean! This demonstrates how thorough our equipment and methods will be cleaning restaurants and commercial kitchens.

If a professional hood cleaning company is not using this equipment, or is not capturing the grease and waste produced from cleaning the filters or other equipment, they are violating NFPA codes & EPA regulations. That opens those companies to potential fines, which can also be passed on to restaurant owners.

Improper cleaning methods are also contributing to the major pollution problem caused by restaurant grease and chemicals.

Learn more about our St. Louis hood cleaning services

Hood Cleaning Services

This video of an active cleaning job uses the Cart Version of the A1 Filter Box Clean and Capture System and demonstrates a basic filter cleaning. Note the dirty filter grease & wastewater going into catch box.

The waste material is highly filtered before it enters a restaurant or commercial kitchen’s plumbing and sewer lines. Not one bit of the waste is allowed to run on the ground or is directed into a storm drain.

Our Process

A-1 Power Steamers does a complete thorough job, from rooftop and duct-work, down into the actual hood. We clean off ALL cooking grease that builds up. We use our Gutter Box, together with the Sink Filter Box (included), to capture all the grease and wastewater from the roof and dispose of it properly.

The hood inside is “rigged” (draped in sheets of plastic from top of hood, covering and protecting the cooking area) tightly shimmed and ending inside 50 gallon waste cans so all waste from the ductwork and hood cleaning is captured. Every inch of the hood is cleaned, down to bare metal; zero cooked on grease remains. The grease & waste in waste cans is pumped back into our sink filter box, which sits in the kitchen sink, and which captures the majority of the grease.

Each hood filter is removed prior to “rigging” the hood, put in the soaker box for pretreating. Filters are then put in our portable filter box (can be used inside or outside) and are thoroughly cleaned in it, taking special care to get in-between each baffle of each filter.  The grease & waste from the filter cleanings is also contained and captured, also pumped back into our sink filter box, capturing the majority of the grease, with very little draining into either their grease trap or their sanitation lines. When everything is completely clean, rigging is dismantled and removed. We then mop the entire floor area, taking care that no grease or debris remains.

Important difference with us- we do not let ANY of the dirty grease or toxic chemicals hit the ground outside. We do not line up hood filters on their back wall to clean them, we do not leave the customer’s lot and grounds filthy and full of grease and toxic chemicals, as many other hood cleaning companies do.

Most important- every bit of grease and wastewater produced at each step of the cleaning process is CONTAINED & CAPTURED, unlike nearly all other hood cleanings.

Pit Box Cooking Equipment

Cleaning cooking equipment like deep fryers and pizza racks is a challenge. But it is a specialty for A-1 Power Steamers because restaurants must periodically get this equipment professionally cleaned, and we provide this service.

One piece of equipment we use for the projects is the “Pit Box”. We use this because the grease, waste, chemicals from cleaning these items must also be contained, captured and disposed of properly. The equipment is put inside our “Pit”, treated with cleaning chemicals, then power washed clean, down to bare metal. The “Pit Box” is only used for outside cleaning, almost any restaurant equipment can be cleaned in it. As is the case with our hood and filter cleaning, we’re able to capture the grease and waste, then pump it back into our sink filter box, which is sitting inside the kitchen sink. The majority of the nasty grease is then filtered and captured in the sink filter box, very little grease going into the restaurant’s grease trap or sanitation lines, and NONE of the grease or toxic chemicals is allowed to go on the ground and become pollution in our waterways.

Grease pumped to the Sink Filter Box is HIGHLY filtered. A1 Filter Box uses two industrial strength filters to maximize capture and retention of grease before it A1 Filter Box Cleaning Systemdrains into the sink and plumbing system.

These are all the products used on job sites: Portable filter box system with filter box, cart & catch box; Filter and parts soaker box (to pre-soak/treat materials prior to cleaning). We also use the gutter box, to capture all grease & waste generated from cleaning the rooftop exhaust fan.

The grease and toxic chemicals captured in the waste cans is NOT dumped outside, in the back or parking lot, as is done by a lot of hood cleaning companies. Any waste that’s put on the ground, anywhere, will either become run-off or drain directly into a creek or waterway. Either situation results in major pollution of our waterways, as both will eventually make it right into our rivers, killing almost all wildlife it comes in contact with.