We have a recirculating rangehood over our cooktop. Due to the design of the house, external extraction was not possible.
The mesh filter comes in two parts, each of which are 90cm long. This is too long to fit into the sink for a soak or into the dishwasher.
Does anyone have any suggestions for cleaning these please? I want to remove the grease deposits.
Two things come to mind.
If you have a bathtub, chuck them in there with some detergent and a bit of a gentle scrub with a brush.
Or there are handheld steam cleaners.
Soaking oven and cooking things in a tub, if one has one, works a treat on the item but requires follow-up cleaning of the greases that will adhere to the tub walls. It also requires care to avoid scratching the tub, item dependent.
Having a similar problem as yours for 70cm oven grates I found a fairly shallow plastic bin that was large enough – it might be challenging to find one large enough for your 90cm filters. When there is sufficient water in those sizes to soak the grates they are heavy so need to be positioned somewhere they can be dumped by tipping.
Alternatively you could put them in your shower and wet them, spray the cleaner on them and rinse a few times, and clean the greasy residue from the shower, visible or not, when done.
Best solution would be soaking in a bathtub, and to minimise the inevitable grease ring: wipe with a microfibre cloth and a grease cutting spray before immersing in the hot water plus laundry detergent/ dishwashing liquid/ bicarb of soda/ vinegar….choose according to the type of mesh.
Also, if you have any outdoor area at all, a more painstakingly method would be hand washing from a bucket and a possible garden-hose spray rinse?
To be able to assist, do you know what they are made of. Manufacturers commonly use either aluminium or stainless steel in the mesh screens. Come contain other materials such as carbon filters. Cleaning can be depended on the metals/materials they are made out of.
Can they be scrubbed or is the oil deposits within the mesh?
For example, if they are stainless steel, you should be able to spray them with an oven cleaner (follow instructions and use personal protective equipment), then let them sit for the recommended time and hose off. The same method of cleaning on aluminium can damage the aluminium. For aluminium, a mild detergent with very hot water is best. It may take a couple of times of cleaning aluminium to get it full clean.
If the mesh can be scrubbed, using a kitchen dish brush also can assist in the removal of deposits using the above methods.
If you have difficulties, there are companies which specialise in cleaning rangehood/extractor fan filters which could do it for you.
Also check what the user guide/manufacturer website says in relation to cleaning the filter. This might shed some light on what needs to be done.
If the oven cleaner contains caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) it will destroy aluminium, producing hydrogen gas as a by-product, you could have a fire or explosion if particularly unlucky.
To determine the best cleaning method the cleaning instructions which came with the appliance would help. I wonder what they suggest for cleaning such a big filter?
Mix a reasonably strong sugar soap solution (roughly 50 - 100 ml per litre of water), apply by spray bottle to both sides of the filter until the filter is wet (wear gloves please). Leave for a few minutes (re-spray if drying out) but not longer than 5 minutes. Rinse (can be done with a hose on the grass in the backyard), preferably using hot water (but cold will do), and check if clean. If required reapply sugar soap solution and repeat. As the sugar soap is alkaline, it will react with aluminium and cause it to become dull (it causes corrosion but for the small amount of time of application this is purely superficial in nature). Using a dishwasher for those filters that can fit in them will have the same issues if the filters are aluminium (some manufacturers however still recommend this way…e.g. AEG Best way to clean your rangehood filter…First remove the filter/s out from the hood, by using the tab to pull…You can then hand wash your filters or place them in your dishwasher on a hot cycle for added convenience.). Using the sugar soap solution will remove the oils very effectively. It is recommended by some manufacturers that the mesh filters should be replaced every 1 to 2 years, a householder may get longer if they handle them carefully.
Some filters are activated carbon containing, these cannot be cleaned this way, they should be replaced when they are too dirty (e.g. Buy Filter Carbon 432mm X 216mm #ACC063 Accessories), the recommendation for time is about once every 120 hours of cooking. Typically the activated carbon filters are used in the re-circulating type hoods, they remove the oils/greases and the odours.
Just thinking out loud: if the right size is available, what about replacing the filters with charcoal filters ?
It might assist to provide some further details of the range hood brand and model for more focussed advice.
The manufacturer in general recommends what is best for the product?
If one does not have the original product manual, most provide soft copies online these days.
Some recirculating range hoods (EG a previous home Westinghouse) had provision for activated carbon filter cartridges to neutralise odours. These were seperate clip on accessories that attached between the filter panels and exhaust fan/s inlet. Standard spare parts?
Yep standard spare parts, whether it is a clip in extra I would guess it depends on manufacturers if they make single items that combine both uses or not??
Well, we have a bathtub so that might be an option as long as I clean it out afterwards.
The unit is a Westinghouse WRH908I. I run it in recirculating mode with aluminium metal mesh filters. To reduce odours, it has a couple of carbon filters behind the mesh.
Cleaning instructions from the manufacturer are not all that helpful:
To maintain efficiency and reduce fire risk, filters should be removed every four weeks (maximum) for cleaning. Soak and agitate filters in hot soapy water or washing soda. Rinse, drain, shake well and replace.
Do not use caustic solutions or other corrosive agents. The filters can be washed in the dishwasher, but could dis-colour caused by dishwasher cleaning agents. It is recommended the filters be placed on the top shelf of the dishwasher.
Thanks for the suggestions
Those dishwasher cleaning agents are fairly caustic (alkaline), as is washing soda (pH of 11) so a bit of a mish-mash of advice not to use caustic solutions. I think they are really taking about not using strongly alkaline solutions (like a caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) solution or an oven spray).
Those are meant to be replaced on a reasonably regular basis, roughly 120 hours or 3 - 4 months.
Yes, replacing those is the easy part!
Using the sugar soap spray and rinsing cleans the filters in about 10 minutes, then just either let them dry in the Sun or drain most of the water and replace them …I do it about every 3 weeks.
Leaving greasy residue at the bottom of a shower could be an accident in the making! You would have to clean that residue off very thoroughly.
Soak in a nappy soaker solution or sodium percarbonate solution, which is the active ingredient in nappy soakers. 24 hours should be plenty.
If you know a homebrewer they will likely have some sodium percarbonate as nappy soakers often have strong perfumes as well as the active ingredient you are after.
Alternative would be to soak in hot water and dishwasher powder or disolved tablet.
You can make “tub” to do this in using a sheet of plastic. Just need something to hold the sides up. Timber, blocks, even line the bottom of a box. Or just line your bath with plastic if worried about fat and scratches.
If filters are OK for a dish washer then maybe try the following which is successfully used for cleaning our 70 cm stainless steel oven racks.
" * Place the oven racks in your bathtub carefully, on top of a towel or sponges. Fill your tub with just enough hot water to cover the racks. Add a cup of dishwasher powder and let the racks soak overnight. In the morning, rinse the racks. The stains will usually wipe right off with a firm rub of a sponge or clean cloth."
