Island Range Hoods

Range Hood Filters

In order for your kitchen's range hood fan to operate properly and filter the air, you must clean and replace your range hood filters regularly.

Range Hood Filters

If you have an overhead kitchen range hood with an exhaust fan over your stove, you have probably noticed that there are some types of range hood filters installed in the top of the hood. There are several different types of range hood filters available.

While there are several styles, makes, models of range hood filters on the market design and built from a variety of materials, you need to make sure that these are cleaned and/or replaced on a regular basis.

During the act of cooking foods, there are aerosol gases produced that are misted with air and pollute your indoor air.  An overhead range hood fan or exhaust fan helps to circulate and ventilate this air.  As the air is pulled into the hood and thru the fan, it passes through a filter or set of filter materials.  These filters cleanse the air of pollutants to varying degrees of efficiency, depending upon the type, make and composition of the filter medium.

Some of the range hood filters are part of a fan that exhausts the air outdoors.  For this type range hood fan, there is very little filtration necessary since the air is ventilated outdoors.  Another popular design of range hood fan is not vented outdoors and simply recycles the air back into the room.  In this design, the quality and performance of the filters is critical to the removal of the air particles and making sure that they are prevented from recirculation back into the kitchen.

Range hood filters come in a variety of materials such as aluminum mesh, charcoal filled and combination aluminum mesh with light lens that prevents greasy air from covering the lights in your kitchen exhaust hood.  The aluminum mesh is simply a grease-collection filter and does very little to rid the air that is circulated of small particulates.  These are mostly there to capture large particulate. 

If you combine these aluminum mesh filters with a charcoal or fiber filter, you increase the efficiency of the air cleaning capability.  Not only do you capture the large particles but now you trap small particulate and do a much better job removing almost all of the air pollution created while cooking. Sometimes these combination filters are sold under the name ‘ductless filters’ or ductless range hood filters.   

Your range hood filters will need to be properly cleaned from time to time to maintain their ability to clean greasy air produced by your stove.  The charcoal and paper filter element portions, if your range hood is so equipped, are disposable.  They cannot be cleaned and must be replaced.  The aluminum mesh filter can be removed and cleaned.  Depending upon the configuration of your range hood filters, you may have a single element or several small elements.  Cleaning is the same regardless.

To clean your aluminum range hood filters, remove the filter and place it in your sink filled with hot, soapy water with a couple tablespoons of white vinegar added.  Let it soak in this solution for at least 15 minutes so that it penetrates throughout the filter.  Then, take a brush and lightly scrub the filter on both sides.  For stubborn grim, repeat the process keeping the water as hot as you can stand it.  Then rinse and let it dry completely before reinstalling it.  This should be done at least once every three months, more or less depending upon how often you boil, sauté or fry foods.