A rangehood filter is a grease trap that lives above a heat source, and it fails quietly. The airflow drops, the kitchen starts to smell of old cooking, and by the time anyone notices, the filter is carrying a layer of polymerised fat that water alone will not touch.
What the filter is actually made of
Domestic rangehoods use aluminium mesh filters, which can be soaked and washed. Commercial hoods use stainless baffle filters, which are designed to be cleaned in a dishwasher or a dedicated wash sink and then refitted wet. Both are cleaned with an alkaline degreaser, not with acid.
Prices are Freshway catalogue prices as at 16 September 2026 and are subject to change. Confirm the current price, and whether GST applies, before quoting.
Metal mesh: the soak method
Mesh filters respond to heat, alkalinity and time. The method that works in a domestic kitchen:
- Remove the filter and shake off loose debris outside.
- Fill a sink with the hottest water the filter can take, add the degreaser at label dilution, and submerge the filter completely.
- Leave it for 15–30 minutes. Grease that has baked on for months may need a second soak rather than a stronger mix.
- Agitate with a soft brush, rinse under hot water, and check the light through the mesh. If you cannot see daylight through it, it is not clean.
Two mistakes cost filters their life. The first is using a wire brush, which deforms the mesh and changes the airflow. The second is caustic oven cleaner, which darkens aluminium and can pit it.
Baffle filters: the dishwasher question
Yes, stainless baffle filters can go in a commercial dishwasher, and that is how most kitchens handle them. Three caveats matter: pre-rinse the heavy grease off first, because it will otherwise redeposit on everything else in the load; run them upright so water can drain; and check the wash-arm clearance so the filter is not blocking the arm through the cycle.
Which degreaser, and how strong
| Product | Where it fits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy Duty Degreaser 395 | Soak tanks and general hood cleaning | A$60.00 |
| Quick Break Solvent Degreaser 426 | Carbonised grease on hood canopies and ducts | A$74.00 |
| Agar HF Detergent | Heavy-duty detergent degreaser for floors and equipment | A$39.00 |
| Whiteley Tile Plus | Concentrated degreaser for hard surfaces around the hood | A$62.31 |
Buy on dilution economics rather than on concentration claims. A degreaser that costs more per litre but dilutes 1:40 is cheaper per soak than a ready-to-use bottle.
How often, in a real kitchen
There is no single interval; there is a rule that scales with the cooking. Domestic kitchens: monthly, or every second week if you fry often. Commercial kitchens: baffle filters weekly at minimum, and daily where chargrills or woks are in constant use. Canopies and ducting follow a scheduled clean, and in many Australian jurisdictions that clean is also a compliance record — a fire risk that grows silently if the schedule slips.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand sets the cleaning and sanitation expectations for food premises in its food safety material, and SafeWork NSW covers the chemical handling side in chemicals and other substances.
When to replace rather than clean
Replace the filter when the mesh is physically deformed, when the frame is cracked, when the aluminium has been discoloured black by caustic, or when a clean filter no longer removes cooking smells. Discoloured mesh is not just cosmetic: a filter that has lost its internal structure cannot hold grease in the same way, and the fire load in the hood goes up.
The three-part kitchen routine
Filters, canopy and floor are one system. If the filter is clean but the canopy is not, grease drips back into the next meal service. If both are clean but the floor under the range is not, the kitchen never smells clean. Our cleaning chemicals and Agar degreasers ranges cover the three steps, and our own degreasers are the ones most kitchens start with on cost.
Questions we get asked most
- How do you clean a metal mesh cooker hood filter?
- Soak it in hot water with an alkaline degreaser at label dilution for 15–30 minutes, agitate with a soft brush, then rinse hot and check daylight through the mesh. Do not use a wire brush or caustic oven cleaner on aluminium.
- Can range hood filters be washed?
- Yes. Aluminium mesh filters are designed to be washed by hand, and stainless baffle filters can go through a commercial dishwasher after a pre-rinse. What they cannot survive is deformation or caustic attack.
- Can I use Napisan to clean rangehood filters?
- Some kitchen staff use nappy soaker and report results, because it is an alkaline soak. We do not recommend it as a primary method: laundry products are formulated for fabric, and a purpose-made degreaser gives more predictable results at a similar cost per soak.
- What is the best degreaser for cleaning a range hood filter?
- An alkaline, dilutable degreaser. In our range, Heavy Duty Degreaser 395 at A$60.00 for soaking and Quick Break Solvent Degreaser 426 at A$74.00 for carbonised grease on canopies.
- How often should filters be cleaned in a commercial kitchen?
- Weekly at minimum, daily in high-production kitchens using grills and woks. Treat the filter clean as part of the hood and duct schedule rather than a separate task; it is the same fire risk in a different place.
References
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand — cleaning and sanitation in food premises.
- SafeWork NSW — chemicals and other substances.
Setting up a hood cleaning routine?
Tell us how many hoods, how busy the kitchen is and whether you have a soak sink or only a dishwasher, and we will build the routine and the dilution chart around it. Browse degreasers or ask our team.