Once A Year - Exhaust Hood

About once a year the exhaust hood needs the intake air filters cleaned. The filters (2 of them) are on the roof and can be accessed through removing two screws on top of the intake unit.

Here are some pictures after I already removed the two filters for cleaning. I generally just spray the filters out real well with water sprayer at kitchen sink. Maybe if they are real bad you can let them soak for awhile in the 3-sink in the kitchen then spray the filters out and let them run a couple of time in the automatic dishwasher.

Takes two screws to remove the top and to get to the filters to slide them out.

Here is the exhaust fan unit for the actual "exhaust". The belt, pictured below, can be bought at Grainger in town on Jordan Lane. (click the link) The belts are not that expensive so we just get them there. There may be other places you can purchase them. Always buy at least 2 at a time so there is always a backup. You can use a socket set or some hand wrenches to loosen and tighten the bolts in order to put another belt on BUT if the belt has already broken off I usually put the new belt all the way on the motor pulley and partially on the fan pulley and give it a quick spin and the belt will pop all the way on like a tight bicycle tire without ever having to use any tools.

Both the intake and exhaust unit have seperate electrical switches close to their motors so you don't have to turn the exhaust switch off in the kitchen to work on them. Just climb the ladder to the roof and switch off the one you want to work on.

Both Pastor Will Umbarger and Jim Cochran have some experience with this maintenance job so if you have any questions they should be able to help you out!

Once A Week - Drain Refrigerator Condensation

I would suggest Mondays. Every Monday the black refrigerator with 3 glass doors in the Pantry should be drained. In the picture below you see that I already have the louvered vent off of the front. It is held on by two plastic hooks that go over screws and two actual screws you have to take out. Very easy. 

Here is what the screws look like that are taken out of the bottom left and bottom right side of the black louvered vent. The screws are found in the side right over the last vent in the cover.

Underneath we have a catch pan which is basically a plastic Cambro chafing dish. You can see in the picture below how the drain tube/hose comes down from the refrigerator unit. Most models have heat coils that evaporate the water so its usually not an issue in other refrigerators. This one does not have one. It was bought used, runs great, and otherwise has no problems. During the warmer and hot months this unit HAS TO BE DRAINED EVERY WEEK, NO EXCEPTION. 

Here is a link to a printable form you can use to track and also to be a reminder.

Drain Refrigerator Catch Pan Schedule

Use a 5 gallon bucket to pour water into and then drain water in the mop sink in the kitchen.

Make sure you slide the plastic chafing dish back in and position the tube/hose inside so it will drain properly. This holds about 5 gallons of water before it start to overflow.

Twice A Year - Grease Catch/Pit

The grease pit should be cleaned twice a year. More if there is an emergency like water backing up into the kitchen and/or horrible smells coming up from the floor drains in kitchen. Observe the photos:

The panel for the grease pit is directly in front of the big windows in the kitchen.

This is what it looks like after a full 6 months of collecting the grease and waste of the kitchen drains. Preferably you would not let any grease or food waste go down the drains, but as it is with cleaning dishes, more of it gets down the sink than you can imagine. 

[I use the word "dishes" lightly, it mostly reflects pots, pans, trays, utensils...not actual plates.]

It stinks like...well, like real sewage!

To clean it dress yourself with a double apron (front and back) and cover yourself like with the biggest trash bag and then cut holes for your arms and head. Use the good latex gloves and bring a few more sets with you. Also you want to have one of those face masks like at the hospital or when painting. You can buy them cheap at Home Depot and keep a few around. The smell could make you vomit.

I use a slotted spoon or spatula to scrap all the solid chunks of grease and waste off the top and fill up a "tea pitcher" with the waste. I use the hand-truck to carry the second largest pot on it. I line the pot with the largest and thickest garbage bag. This is what I fill up as I scoop waste out...you can scoop it straight to the pot, or fill up the pitcher first and then dump in the pot.

The pitcher you can keep closer to the actual work. And later you may want to use the pitcher for skimming off the top then pouring into the pot. 

When the bag is full close to the top of the pot STOP because you want to tie a knot in the bag and roll the pot up the hill to the trash. When you do this, the pot rolls uphill at a slant so you don't want that stuff bouncing back or pouring out on you or the ground.

Then use the pot handles to pick it up and dump into the trash dumpster. Then repeat this process as many times as necessary. Usually 2 to four times. When I get done I throw everything away: Gloves, pitcher, garbage bags I have used, even the slotted spoon and/or spatula...Everything can be replaced relatively cheap from Sam's Club or Webstaurant.com. Throw the aprons in the bag of dirty laundry.

Doing it yourself is a difference of $20 or $30 dollars in supplies versus $600 a year. Now if cleaning it is not an option then call the local Roto-Rooter Plumbing Service and get a quote. My first quote I got in 2012 was almost $300.00 (Three Hundred Dollars) so I would imagine it would be more than that now. And you need to get it done twice a year.

This is how it should look when your done. Or pretty close to this.

Probably the two best times to do this is end of the school year when VFCA is done and before summer camp has started AND during Fall or Christmas Break when the VFCA is not in session. During the day it's best to do it between 1pm and 230pm so you leave enough time on either side for lunch to be over and before parents start coming regularly to pick up their children from LVA. Because LVA is all year around. Bring a change of work shirt or chef jacket in case of splatter and/or smell permeates clothes.