It is quite difficult to clear the grate from fat, but this task is doable, the main thing is to do all the work correctly. It is important to understand that if you clean the mesh only from the top, then the filters inside will remain dirty. Over time, this will lead to a decrease in the performance of the hood, and in some cases to breakdowns.
Preparatory work
Before you start washing the hood, you should disassemble it a little. It is necessary to remove the main filter and visually assess the degree of its contamination. If the hood is cleaned regularly, then it will be enough just to wash it with hot water using special detergents.
The situation is much more complicated if the hood has not been washed for a long time. In this case, the grease filter will be much more difficult to clean. You need to prepare special tools or purchase them in stores.
When disassembling the cooker hood, it is necessary to disconnect it from the electricity.
You can disassemble it only after you have studied the instructions regarding the location of all structural elements. This will prevent malfunctions from occurring.
Using home methods to clean your hood
Before you clean your hood in the kitchen, you need to choose the right detergent. With a limited budget, you can prepare such a tool yourself. In terms of their effectiveness, they are not inferior to store options, and in terms of cost they are significantly lower.
To keep the hood clean, it is worthwhile to carry out regular cleaning, for this it is necessary to clean all the elements from soot once a month.
Subsequently, this will make it possible to wash the entire hood from fat, using only dishwashing detergent. To do this, immerse all the elements of the hood in water with detergent, then rinse with boiling water and wipe dry with a clean cloth. Folk remedies that can be used to clean surfaces contaminated with grease:
- soda;
- laundry soap;
- acetic acid;
- lemon juice.
Using soda
If the fat cannot be simply washed off, dishwashing detergent will not work. In this case, you need to use soda. It must be poured into a pot of water (at least half a pack will be needed) and put on fire. Carefully lower all small elements into the boiling solution and boil for 30 minutes. The filter grate must be boiled on each side if it does not completely fit into the pot.
Laundry soap in the fight against fat
The grill of the hood can be cleaned of stubborn fat using laundry soap. To do this, you need to use laundry soap marked 72%. For 2-3 liters of water, you need to use about half a piece. It must be grated and diluted in water, after which the solution is put on the fire and boiled. The metal mesh and other elements that are not afraid of temperature can be completely boiled. The rest of the surfaces must be smeared with a solution and left for a while. Then you can start mechanical cleaning using a plastic scraper. This product gives an effective result even in the case of very stubborn dirt.
Acetic acid to help
This acid should be concentrated, only with its help you can to some extent cleanse the filter surface from stubborn grease. You can apply acetic acid to the surface with a sponge.
All work must be carried out in rubber gloves so as not to damage the skin of the hands.
Apply the product to the filter and all loaded surfaces and wait 10-15 minutes. Then wash everything with water and a sponge. If the hood above the stove is not too dirty, you can prepare the product with water and half the amount of vinegar.
Lemon juice against fat
Cleaning the hood over the stove using lemon juice. The filters and mesh can be rubbed with lemon pulp. After that, you need to leave the surface for 10 minutes, this is enough for the product to corrode stubborn fat. After that, the filters must be washed with water. If not all contaminants have been removed, it is recommended to repeat the procedure several times until the fat is completely eliminated.
More radical treatments
It is possible to wash a very dirty hood from contamination only with aggressive agents. In this case, the mesh and filters must be washed with a special pipe cleaning compound. All work must be carried out as quickly as possible so that the chemical composition does not damage the structural elements of the kitchen hood. The product on the surface immediately begins to dissolve stubborn grease. After using such a concentrate, all products must be very well rinsed under running water until they are completely cleaned.
The use of brine is also often practiced. To prepare the composition, you need to use table salt and water. Bring the water to a boil, then soak all the parts. Additionally, the grate and other parts can be washed with citric acid solution. This will give a quality result.
The final stage of work
After the filters are cleaned with folk or store products, you need to rinse them in running water. It is important that all elements dry completely naturally. You do not need to wipe anything, you can skip wet areas, which will negatively affect the functioning of the work. After complete drying, all elements can be reinstalled and the hood can be used at full strength.
If you wash your cooker hood immediately after cooking, you can avoid heavy contamination later on. But it should be understood that washing only the outer surface of the product is not enough. It is also necessary to wash the internal parts, which also accumulate fatty deposits. Filter contamination can lead not only to deterioration of functionality, but also to damage to the household appliance.
In order to prevent the hood from reaching a deplorable state, it is recommended to wash all filters and internal parts at least once a quarter. For this purpose, you can use any of the above methods, or purchase a detergent in the appropriate department of household chemicals. Removing new dirt is much easier than dealing with old fat build-ups. This rule must be taken into account by every housewife who has an extractor hood above the stove in the kitchen.
