Range hoods are one of the most important appliances in your house. They clean your kitchen’s air, remove odors and other dangerous gasses, help keep your kitchen cool while you cook, and captures grease that would otherwise fall back on your stove. With your range hood operating on a regular basis performing a necessary, but dirty, job, it is important to keep it cleaned and maintained. While it easy to remember the exterior of your range hood, let us not forget its true intentions.; it’s there to filter your air. With your range hood moving so much grease, air, and gasses, it gets just as dirty, if not dirtier, on the inside. While it may sound difficult to keep the inside of your range hood clean, it’s as simple as cleaning or replacing your range hood filter, and doing it on time.

There is no set time table for you to change your range hood filter. It varies for each home. However, there are suggestions that can keep your range hood running its best. A kitchen that is used often typically needs to have its range hood filter changed, or cleaned, every six months. A person who doesn’t use their kitchen to cook as often needs to change their filter once a year. While these are only suggestions, there are surefire ways of knowing when you need a new range hood filter.

When you go to clean your range hood, you should check on the condition of your filters. While grease build up is normal, that’s an easy fix. The real danger of causing harm to your range hood is when your filters are damaged. Any filter that’s warped, has dents in the frame, has any signs of corrosion, or holes in the mesh that are bigger than usual are all signs of a damaged filter. These filters will not sit in their place correctly, or properly filter the air moving through the unit, and will allow grease to get up in your range hood. While we suggest that you be proactive when replacing your range hood filters, any filter that is exhibiting these signs need to be replaced immediately.

While a new filter will always assure that you range hood will be properly filtered, they do not need to be replaced every time you clean your appliance. If you check your filters, and they do not show signs of damage, you can simply clean them and extend their use. The best way to clean your range hood filter is by simply using soap and water. Never use cleaning chemicals on your range hood filter. This will cause corrosion and will damage your filter. Since a damaged filter is a useless filter, we advise you to handle your filter with care when washing it. Instead of a sturdy brush to clean your filter, use a soapy rag and lightly scrub away the grease. While some range hood filters are dishwasher safe, we advise hand washing you filter to assure no damage is done.

Your range hood is one of the most important appliances in your kitchen. While they may seem intimidating, they really are easy to keep clean. With the proper care, and the right range hood filter, you can keep your appliance running like new.