What Does It Mean to Be IKECA Certified?

IKECA — the International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association — is the nonprofit trade association that sets training and inspection standards for the kitchen exhaust cleaning industry. When a technician or company says they're IKECA certified, it means they've been trained and tested against those standards, not just handed a pressure washer.

What certification covers

IKECA certifications cover the full exhaust system, not only the hood you can see. That includes the filters, the ductwork running through the building, the exhaust fan on the roof, and the access panels in between. Certified professionals are trained to clean the system to bare metal, identify hazards like grease buildup in hidden duct runs, and document what they found and what they did.

Why it matters to restaurants

Why does that matter to a restaurant? Because kitchen exhaust fires usually start where nobody is looking. Fire marshals, insurance carriers and landlords want proof that the whole system was cleaned by qualified people. IKECA's standards line up with NFPA 96, the national fire code for commercial cooking operations, and certified work gives operators a clear, defensible record.

Our IKECA leadership: Randy Russo

At Kept Companies, that commitment runs deep. Randy Russo, our National Compliance Manager, serves on IKECA's board of directors and is a past President of the association. He's helped shape the standards the industry follows today — and he now reviews every hood cleaning job Kept performs to make sure it meets fire code, NFPA 96 and insurance requirements.

How Hood I.Q. builds on it

Hood I.Q. builds on that foundation. Our IKECA-certified technicians handle installation and periodic service, while the automated system cleans the hood daily in between, and every service is logged with photos and records your inspector can see.

Want to see how certified service and automation work together across your locations? Request a Hood I.Q. demo.