Exhaust hood systems pull out all the grime, dust, grease, etc. from the air, and all of these airborne particles are then mostly trapped in an air filter or expelled outside through ductwork. Stainless steel hood filters are great at catching these airborne particles, but after a few weeks they do require some cleaning. If the air filters get too clogged up they can affect the exhaust systems ability to properly clean the air, and could also lead to the exhaust equipment working harder to make up for the blocked air filter and can cause damage to the entire system. Ideally you should clean the air filter of your exhaust system every few weeks by following some pretty simple steps.

1) REMOVE THE FILTER

Remove the air filter from your exhaust hood system. Check it for any damage - if there appears to be issues with the filter you may need to replace it, otherwise you can move on to the next step.

2) FILL UP A SOAKING STATION

Next step is to fill a kitchen sink or any large enough receptacle with very very hot water.

3) CREATE YOUR CLEANING SOLUTION

You want to use a cleaning solution that is free from chemicals. We suggest taking 1/2 cup of baking soda, and then mixing it with enough dish soap to create a paste. Double up the recipe to make more solution if needed.

4) SOAK THE FILTERS

Pour the paste into the hot water and mix in the paste. Once you have your hot water and cleaning solution paste mixed together nicely, you can drop in the filters. Let the filters sit submerged in the solution for 10 - 15 minutes.

5) SCRUB WITH NON-ABRASIVE BRUSH

Once the 10 - 15 minutes has passed, take out the hood filter and scrub it thoroughly using a non-abrasive cleaning brush. This should remove the excess filth and grease that has built up, however if needed you can re-soak the filter and scrub again.

6) RINSE & DRY

After you feel confident with your hood filter cleaning you need to rinse the filter with water to get off any remaining cleaning solution and dirt, and then dry.

7) REINSTALL

When the filters are clean and dry you can reinstall them back into the exhaust hood system.

If you clean your filters fairly often the filters themselves should be pretty easy to clean. Once the grease and dirt builds up enough it may make it too difficult to get a thorough cleaning yourself and it may require installing replacement hood filters. If possible we recommend cleaning the hood filters every 6 - 8 weeks, including during thorough hood cleanings that are handled by professional hood cleaning services. HoodMart provides our customers with a wide range of exhaust hood systems - from Compensating (Short Cycle) to Perforated Supply Plenum (PSP) - as well as all exhaust hood accessories such as no-weld grease duct, hood filters, canopy hood lights, and curbs. We also offer a wide range of walk-in refrigeration systems to meet your needs.   If you still have questions regarding the purchase of your hood system, please feel free to contact one of our experts today by calling us at 1.800.715.1014 or contacting us through our live chat system.