If not cleaned promptly or properly, a significant amount of stubborn grease can build up. This doesn’t just impact the efficiency of the device but also encourages the growth of mold and bacteria, posing a threat to food hygiene and human health.
However, cleaning stubborn grease from a range hood can be a tricky task, often requiring disassembly, soaking, and scrubbing. This process is not only time-consuming and laborious, but some grease stains may still remain even after all that effort.
But don’t worry; no matter how dirty or greasy your range hood is, it can be cleaned in just a few minutes with the help of a hairdryer.
1. How to Clean a Range Hood with a Hair Dryer
You can use a hairdryer in conjunction with soap to clean your range hood. The reason a hairdryer is effective in removing grease is that the hot air it blows out can increase the temperature of the grease, accelerating the movement of its molecules. This, in turn, reduces the viscosity and surface tension of the grease, making it flow more easily.
Once heated, the grease becomes less stubborn and may even slide off the surface of the range hood directly.
Soap, on the other hand, is a surfactant with strong cleaning properties. The grease stains that have been softened by the hairdryer can then be easily dissolved and wiped away with soap.
To clean your range hood using this method, you’ll first need to gather a hairdryer, a bar of soap, a cloth, and a bucket of clean water. Once you have these items ready, follow these steps to clean your range hood:
Step 1: Set your hairdryer to blow hot air and direct it at the surface of the range hood. Blow evenly from top to bottom and from left to right, maintaining a certain distance. Generally, a few minutes of hot air should be enough to soften the grease.
Step 2: Dampen the soap with water and apply it to the surface of the range hood, ensuring an even coverage.
Step 3: Dip the cloth into the bucket of water, wring it out, and vigorously wipe down the surface and interior of the range hood. The grease stains and soap residue should come off easily at this point.
With this method, you won’t need to disassemble the range hood or soak and wait for extended periods. Just a few minutes of blowing hot air and a couple of wipes should leave your range hood sparkling clean.
2. Additional Tips for Cleaning a Range Hood
– Steam to Dissolve Grease
Boil a pot of water, remove the lid, and direct the steam towards the range hood. Use the hot air to soften the grease, then spray a cleaning agent onto the surface to dissolve the grease. Finally, wipe it down with a cloth.
– White Vinegar + Dish Soap
Prepare a bottle of white vinegar, some dish soap, and a bucket of hot water. Mix the vinegar and dish soap in a 1:1 ratio. Add an appropriate amount of hot water and stir well. Dip a cloth into the solution, then use it to wipe down the surface of the range hood, both inside and out. One or two wipes should be enough to remove all grease stains.
White vinegar helps soften the grease and has antibacterial properties, while the dish soap enhances the cleaning power of the solution.
– Paper Towels + Laundry Detergent
Take advantage of the absorbent nature of paper towels and the dissolving power of laundry detergent to easily remove grease from your range hood.
Simply dilute the laundry detergent with water in a 1:10 ratio. Spray this solution onto the range hood, cover it with paper towels, and then spray another layer of the detergent solution. Wait about 10 minutes, remove the paper towels, and wipe down the range hood with a clean cloth.