A chimney is an important part of any modern kitchen. They help to get rid of excess smoke and steam while you create a culinary masterpiece for your family.
A kitchen chimney can also help keep unwanted odors out of your home. But chimneys can get clogged with sticky dirt and they need to be deep cleaned regularly. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to clean your chimney.
Here’s how you can clean your kitchen chimney easily and effectively.
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Top 4 Tips to Clean Your Kitchen Chimney
The products and the methods used to clean your kitchen chimney will depend on the part you want to clean and the kind of stains. There is no need for you to completely disassemble the parts of the chimney to clean it. The four basic parts you need to clean include the chimney filter, mesh, baffles, and hood.
Here’s what you can do.
Distilled White Vinegar
White vinegar can clean grime and stains that collect on the chimney’s exterior, such as the panels and the hood.
Make a vinegar solution, dip a paper towel, and wipe the surfaces clean. Wipe through every corner of the panel using the soaked towel.
Allow it to sit for a few minutes, and then wipe it with a clean paper towel dipped in water.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is another great cleaning agent found at home. It is one of the components of many cleaning kits. Baking soda is called sodium bicarbonate and is abrasive. It helps scrub away tough stains using a paste made from water. You can use baking soda in multiple ways to clean your chimney.
To remove grease deposits on the hood, make a paste of baking soda and water. Apply the cleaner over the hood surface and leave it for 5 minutes. Then, wipe it off with a moist cloth to remove the grease. For a stronger paste, replace water with vinegar.
For meshes and filters, use a big tub and pour hot water into it. Place the filter or mesh in it, pour two cups of vinegar, and sprinkle some baking soda in it. Leave it like that for about 2-3 hours. Then, rinse the filters and wipe them clean.
Dishwashing Liquid
Dishwashing liquids are excellent solutions to remove oil and grease from utensils. But they can also be used to clean kitchen chimney filters.
Apply some soap to the filters and scrub them gently. Then, fill a tub with hot water and immerse the filters in it. Leave it like that for 2 hours. Take out the filters and scrub them with a scrubber till all the grease is gone. Wash them with clean water and dry them.
For tough grease deposits, you can use a large stew pot. Repeat the same process but place the pot on a burner and boil it for about 30 minutes. Boiling will help with removing tough grease on the filters or mesh. Not only is it more effective, but it is faster as well.
Paint Thinners
Paint thinners contain solvents such as toluene, acetone, and turpentine. These solvents evaporate quickly and can be toxic if inhaled. Instead, just use it on the most stubborn grease and hard-to-reach places like the folds and crevices of the filters.
Paint thinners work instantly to remove tough stains and grease from chimney filters and mesh. But, it is best to use it outside where there is enough airflow to disperse the vapors coming from the product.
Take cotton or cloth, dip it in the paint thinner and scrub the grease with it. You can also pour some onto the grease and leave it for a few minutes. Then, scrape it with a blade or knife.
Why Should You Clean Your Kitchen Chimney Regularly?
Your kitchen has to withstand all types of mishaps. The chimney mesh and filters contain oil stains, grease, and residues that it collects from the vapors, smoke, and steam coming out when you cook.
A greasy and dirty kitchen not only ruins the look of your kitchen but is also unhygienic. Grease deposits can block the passage of gases via the chimney and ultimately become a fire hazard. This is why it needs to be cleaned frequently to keep it in good working order.
How Frequently Should You Clean Your Kitchen Chimney?
It is important to clean the kitchen chimney every two months, depending on the amount and the type of food cooked. For spicy and fatty meals, it is essential to clean the filters and meshes monthly. If you have a charcoal-filtered chimney, you will need filter replacement once every six months or so.
How Do Auto-Clean Chimneys Work?
Most modern chimneys have an auto-clean feature that does not require interventions. These work with a touch of a button. These chimneys come with a non-stick turbine blower from which the oil and grease are forced toward the blower wall. These get collected in an oil collector. You can easily remove this collection bowl and clean it.
Depending on your usage, you need to clean the bowl once a month or even less frequently. One of the biggest advantages of such chimneys is that the filters usually remain pretty clean, and the performance is never compromised.
We understand cleaning your kitchen chimney is something you may dread doing. All it takes is some common kitchen products to make your chimney look as good as new. With the help of the tips mentioned above, you should be able to keep your chimney well-maintained and efficient for many years.
