How To Clean That Sticky Grease Off Of Your Range Hood

Cleaning a kitchen thoroughly is no easy feat. In addition to disinfectants and potentially heavy cleaning products, you have to make sure you get into everything — this is where your food is prepared, after all. And while everyone knows there are parts of the kitchen that you have to hit — the counters, the sink, the stovetop — there's one big one you might be skipping, and it's one you really need to make sure to keep clean: the range hood (also called the kitchen hood), that pyramid-like object that hangs above your stove. Fortunately, all you need is a degreaser and a microfiber cloth.

It's helpful to understand the purpose of a range hood to understand why it gets so dirty (and why cleaning it is so important). The reason it's there is to suck grease, smoke, combustion fumes, and whatever else comes off the stove up and away from it. As a result, while grease eventually collects on kitchen surfaces like cabinets, there might be no part of the kitchen that attracts grease the way a range hood does. And that grease and grime can cause some issues if you don't take care of it. 

Happily, the way you clean it isn't complicated (though it is a bit labor-intensive).

The issue isn't just that the grease on a range hood looks and feels gross (although it does); it can actually be a health hazard. Grease is a great environment for potentially harmful bacteria to become trapped in — and if you're just running disinfectant over the top of it without getting down into a deep clean, that bacteria isn't going to get touched. Deep-cleaning your range hood, though, will take care of this problem.

Thankfully, it doesn't take some ludicrously complex procedure to solve this. You simply use a degreaser and a microfiber cloth on the outside and underside of the hood, going back over it until you're sure you've gotten everything. Grease is pretty easy to spot, so it's unlikely any will cling there if you're paying attention. You can and should disinfect the hood after this.

Most importantly, though, don't skip cleaning the hood's filter. This is where the water, soap, and baking soda come in. Remove the hood and soak it in a solution made from the three products for about 20 minutes. This should loosen whatever's on there enough that a brush and cold water can take the filter the rest of the way from there.

It's important also to take proper safety precautions. Heavy-duty kitchen cleaners, and in particular, degreasers, can have bad effects on people if they get in your eyes, nose, mouth, or on your skin. As such, you want to make sure you wear protective gloves, eyewear, and a mask, and be careful not to get the degreaser on your skin. Be careful not to spray the degreaser willy-nilly; you want it to get in there and deal with the stubborn stains, but you don't want to inhale any of it.

As long as you follow these procedures, your kitchen will be clean in no time. Not only will it be better for your health, but it will also just look and feel a lot better. The process might be a bit of a pain — but the end result is worth it.