Cleaning your cooker hood

Cooker hoods are often seen as the finishing touch to a kitchen but after installation many of us are disposed to forget about the cooker hood and the importance of cleaning the filter area regularly.

If your cooker hood filter is dirty the extractor fan has to be run at a higher setting to achieve the same benefits as a clean one. Running your extractor cooker hood at a higher level increases the energy consumption and therefore the cost of running the appliance. It also increases the noise level which can be irritating - especially in open plan living situations.

Steam and splashes from cooking food can stick to the hood forming a layer of grease and dirt. With this in mind it is important to clean your cooker hood's filter about once a month to ensure it runs at is optimum efficiency.

How to clean your cooker hood

Disposable filters need replacing every month or so to ensure they don't start to smell. They can be bought from many retailers and easily replaced. If you have a metal filter it can usually go in the dishwasher for an easy, quick clean - check your manufacturer guide for details. If you have no dishwasher washing up liquid and hot water should do the trick.

For the surround of extractor cooker hoods it is important to regularly clean with your regular kitchen cleaning product. Unless you take care of it the build up of grease and grime can be very difficult to get rid of without an industrial cleaner. Be careful to check the material of your cooker hood before embarking on a new cleaning regime because some caustic materials can corrode aluminium. The manufacturer's guide is the best place to start.

For the best part, providing you're not dealing with years of grime build up a washing up liquid and sponge will be strong enough to remove grease. If the material scratches easily it is best to avoid scourers on cooker hoods. So test on a small, inconspicuous area before scrubbing the whole appliance.