If you recently purchased a home with an older exhaust hood that has seen better days, then you will be pleased to know that you can easily clean it yourself and have it looking just like the day that it was originally installed. Cleaning the exhaust hood is important so that your kitchen will have proper ventilation and it is also a safety issue because built up grease and grime can cause a house fire.

Follow these do's and don'ts for cleaning your new home's dirty exhaust hood:

Do remove each of the grease filters from the exhaust hood. The grease filters look similar to a filter that you would put into your home's HVAC system, except they are generally made of washable stainless steel. You can expect that the grease filters will be covered in grease and grime from past cooking on the stove.

Don't put the grease filters into your dishwasher to wash them. This will result in grease accumulation inside of your dishwasher. Instead, place the filters into a dishpan that has been filled with very hot water and some degreasing dishwashing detergent. For this application, you need to put at least a teaspoon of detergent into the hottest water that is generated by your home's hot water heater.

Do use a stiff brush to clean the accumulated grease off of the filters. If you need to use any abrasive cleaner, then you can use baking soda. The baking soda will make your scrubbing job easier and it will also help to boost the degreasing quality of your dishwashing detergent.

Don't use harsh chemicals or other household cleaners to clean the filters or the exhaust hood itself. These chemicals can be damaging to the filters and the surface of the exhaust hood.

Do wear gloves and use a stiff brush or scrubber sponge to apply the soapy water to both the inside and the outside of the exhaust hood. Since it has been a while since the vent hood was cleaned, you will likely need to apply a lot of soapy water and elbow grease to get the hood clean.

Don't forget to wash everything with some clean warm water when you have finished scrubbing. Rinsing your kitchen's exhaust hood and grease filters with warm water will remove any soap residue. This is very important because any soap residue that is left behind can damage their surfaces and lead to future problems.

For professional hood cleaning services, contact a company such as Missouri Kitchen Pro's & Pressure Washing.