The Ultimate Guide to Cleaning Your Stainless Steel Range Hood

When you're cleaning a kitchen table or table it's obvious when there is clutter, grease, or grime on the surface and they get cleaned right away. But with range hoods, it is difficult to tell how dirty they are at any given point, making them very easy to put off or ignore. They might look fine from afar but grease, bacteria, and excess moisture really accumulate over time in your range hood the more you cook on your stovetop…just run a napkin or paper towel under your hood filter and I guarantee you that it's way dirtier than you originally thought!

Uncleanly range hoods attract all sorts of insects including flies and cockroaches and can even turn into a potential fire hazard down the road. To prevent these problems you will want to extensively deep clean your stainless steel range hood every six months at the very least and even more often than that to be safe.

There are two main parts of your range hood that need to be deep-cleaned thoroughly, whether you are booking a clean with a professional or doing it yourself:

• The Range Hood Exterior, including the canopy and chimney
• The Range Hood Filter

Part One: How To Clean The Range Hood Exterior

First, let’s talk about how to thoroughly clean the exterior of your stainless steel range hood so it looks brand spanking new. This should be fairly straightforward. What do you need?

• Nonabrasive microfiber or cotton cloth
• Nonabrasive cleaning agent
• Dish soap and water or Degreaser
• Stainless Steel Cleaner

‍Step One: Apply a nonabrasive cleaning agent to a microfiber cloth. ‍

This could be your choice of dish soap and water combined or a degreasing agent. Use the cloth to clean off dust or grease residue across the canopy and chimney of the range hood, making sure that you go with the grain of the hood in smooth brush strokes. Going with the grain is important here because if you wipe the cloth perpendicular to the grain you will be inadvertenly pushing residue and grime deeper into the tiny crevices that exist in the steel.

‍Step Two: Spray Stainless Steel Cleaner directly on the cloth and use it to clean the entire stainless steel surface.‍

‍This is a good list of stainless steel cleaning agents that you can use on your range. Again, follow the grain here to make sure you are cleaning off the surface as efficiently as possible. Once you are done with the exterior it is time to move on to the filter, which is likely the grimiest and dirtiest part of your range!

Part Two: How to Clean the Range Hood Filter

What do you need?

• 1 Cup of Boiled/Hot water
• ¼ to ½ cup of Baking Soda
• ¼ to ½ cup of Dish Soap or Detergent Pot/Bucket (make sure it is a non stick)
• Scrub Brush (or toothbrush)
• Paper towels

‍Step One: Pop out the range filter

‍Depending on the type of filter you have, you may just have to hit the spring release, otherwise, you can unscrew it with a Phillips head screwdriver to dislodge the filter from the hood.

‍Step Two: Add ¼ to ½ cup of Baking Soda to a bucket, depending on the size of your range filter

‍Baking soda will be our secret weapon that works as a strong cleaning agent because it contains alkali, which naturally dissolves organic compounds such as grease.

Step Three: Boil Water and Pour in to the bucket

‍Boil at least a cup of water on your stovetop and then pour the water into the bucket to mix it with the baking soda.

‍Step Four: Put filter into bucket with water for 15-30 minutes

‍Place the filter face down in the bucket if there is enough surface area available in the bucket. Make sure it is completely submerged in the water. If you can only submerge half by putting the filter in sideways then make sure to change and flip the filter after 15 minutes to ensure the other side is cleaned as well.

‍Step Five: Take a scrub brush (or toothbrush you don’t want) and clean out excess grease and residue

‍At this point you should see a lot of grease and dirt in the water as it separates from the filter. However if there are any pesky remnants, take a brush (or toothbrush you aren’t ever, ever going to use again) and scrub the filter for a few minutes until it is completely clean

‍Step Six: Dry the filter before putting back in range hood‍

Make sure to dry the filter with a dish or paper towel before returning it to the hood. This may take a little bit of time if it has mesh.

‍Step Seven: Dispose of Bucket

‍It's time to get rid of the grimy water and baking soda that still exist in the bucket. But make sure you don't pour it down the drain! Pouring grease down the drain will clog your pipes and cause serious problems to your sewer system. Instead, pour it into an empty bottle and bring that bottle to the trash.

In conclusion, taking the time to really clean your stainless steel range hood in the right way will pay large dividends down the line. Using the right cleaning agents, including soap water, stainless steel cleaners, and baking soda will have your range hood looking brand new and sparkly. Taking the time to thoroughly clean both the exterior and the filter will keep the insects far away from your kitchen!