This Smart Hack Makes Cleaning Your Range Hood A Breeze

Range hoods are both functional and stylish. They can add an accent to your kitchen but they are also there to filter out things like smoke and food odors, keeping your kitchen's air — and in turn your home's air — cleaner.

This also keeps your kitchen and home safer. According to manufacturer Faber, range hoods promote adequate air flow throughout the home, preventing dangerous gas and fumes like toxic carbon monoxide from building up.

Faber also notes that forgoing a range hood when cooking can lead to damage in other parts of your kitchen. No range hood leaves a kitchen moist and humid, leading to mold buildup. Grease buildup can also accumulate on your wood cabinets, causing odor and stains.

So, if you cook a lot, a range hood becomes a household lifesaver. It also becomes a grimy mess and needs cleaning. While cleaning a range hood might look daunting, it's a lot easier than you think and one home hack makes it a simple DIY project.

No, you don't have to get on a chair, small ladder, or stool to reach your range hood and start scrubbing. Instead, you have to focus on the filter as that's the piece that does all the heavy duty dirty work keeping your kitchen air clean.

If you notice the filter is full of grease and clogged in any way, then it's time to bring out a large stock pot, according to One Good Thing. Make sure the stock pot is large enough to immerse half the filter or more. Fill the stock pot with water and bring it to a boil. Once the water is boiled, add a ½ cup of baking soda, but make sure to do it at a slow pace. Do not pour all the baking soda in at once.

Finally, place your range hood filter in the boiling water for just a few short minutes to allow the grease to separate and disperse in the water. You may have to do one half of the filter at a time if it's a large filter and a smaller pot.

After boiling the filter, rinse it in warm water and inspect to see if any grease and grime are left. If the range hood filter isn't completely clean, perform the above steps again, and then replace your clean filter in your kitchen's range hood.