Cleaning a kitchen chimney is not an easy task. It takes time and little skill to do so. Cooking will naturally generate a lot of smoke. The kitchen chimney removes the smoke, oil, grease produced due to cooking. The air passes through the filters inside, which may also get dirty after a certain period. Cleaning your chimney once in a while increases its efficiency. If you do not know how to clean it or where to start, take help from the manufacturers manual that comes with the chimney.
 However, cleaning the kitchen chimney is not so easy and so most people prefer hiring a professional cleaner to clean the kitchen including chimney. But if you are a do it yourself person like me, then you can clean kitchen chimneys easily on your own. If you are not sure about how to clean the kitchen chimney on your own, then read this article.
Some of the Top Selling Kitchen Chimneys
Why Is It Necessary to Clean Kitchen Chimney in a Timely Manner?
The function of a kitchen chimney involves removing smoke, airborne grease, vapours, fumes, and steam from the kitchen and venting it outside. It has several working components such as meshes, filters, and baffles that trap airborne substances such as grease droplets, soot particles, and steam. These eventually get deposited as thick layers of grime that block the flow of gasses through the chimney; therefore it’s necessary to clean them periodically to keep the chimney functional.
How Often Should You Clean the Kitchen Chimney?
Depending on how much load your kitchen handles and the type of food you prepare, chimneys should be cleaned once in 2 months at the least. If you prepare a lot of oily and spicy food, it’s best to clean the meshes and filters once a month. If you have a charcoal filtered chimney, however, you will have to replace the filter once in 6 months.
We have listed some efficient methods to clean your chimney.
Use the dishwashing liquid to keep your chimney clean
We all use certain liquids to wash the dishes and you can easily use it to clean your chimney. It is readily available as well as effectively cleans up the oil and the grease stains from it.
Simply take out the filters and apply some dishwashing liquid on it. After that take a big bucket and fill it with boiling water. Immerse the filters completely in the water. Let it stay for 1-2 hours. After that, remove it and scrub properly using a non-abrasive scrubber. However, if you have got a big steel container then you may immerse the chimney filters in water and let it boil for 30 minutes. This is better as boiling helps you to get rid of the grease and the other stains easily.
Use baking soda to clean kitchen chimneys
As we already know that baking soda is the most commonly used kitchen ingredient and it is actually considered to be an all-purpose cleaner. The mild abrasive nature is excellent in removing the stubborn stains easily. I have personally used baking soda to clean my kitchen chimneys and I have mixed it with the other cleaning agent vinegar and salt to add up to the good benefits. And, let me tell you that the results were amazing. Moreover, vinegar and salt are also great disinfectants that keep your entire kitchen germ free.
Take a big tub filled with hot boiling water. Add 2-3 tablespoon of baking soda, 2 cups of vinegar and 2-3 tablespoon of salt into it. Immerse the filters into the solution for around 1-2 hours and then scrub it with scrubber. You may also boil it just as I instructed in my previous point. All these ingredients together will easily remove the dirt and make the chimneys new as before.
Use vinegar to clean kitchen chimney easily
See the mixture of baking soda, salt and vinegar works great but in case you do not want to use all of them or do not have all of them in your home at the time of cleaning, then you may use vinegar only as well. Besides, baking soda, it is another widely used natural cleaning ingredient that is used as an all-purpose cleaner and thus using it is one of the best tips on how to clean kitchen chimney easily. It is also mildly abrasive which helps removes the stubborn stains. Also, as you know it is a great disinfectant and so there will be no chance of the occurrence of germs there.
The method of using vinegar is all the same. You have to take a tub of boiling water and add adequate vinegar in it. Immerse the chimney filters in to it and keep it for 1-2 hours. You can also boil the water as per your wish. After that scrub the filter using a good soft scrubber and then wipe with a cotton cloth and let it dry naturally.
How to use paint thinner to clean kitchen chimney
Paint thinner is a good option for you to try as it effectively removes the stubborn oil and the grease stains easily. The process of using it is also very simple and so you must try it out once whenever you are free to clean your kitchen chimneys. And, in case you don’t have the paint thinners at home, you can also use the nail polish removers to clean kitchen chimney. The removers also give similar effective results and hence it definitely is one of the easiest ways to clean kitchen chimney at home.
Take a piece of cloth and soak it in the paint thinner or the nail polish remover. Now use it to scrub the chimney filers and the other parts of the chimneys. After you are done with the scrubbing, wash the parts thoroughly in water and then keep them in the sunlight to naturally dry.
Use caustic soda to clean kitchen chimney
If your kitchen chimney is too dirty and cannot be removed with the above-mentioned ingredients, then caustic soda is a good option for you try. Caustic soda is acidic in nature and hence it easily removes the stains in just one use.
In order to clean your chimney using caustic soda, take a tray and place the filters there. After that, sprinkle some caustic soda on the filters. Then pour boiling water on them. You will see fumes coming out. Let it stay for 2-3 hours and then remove them, scrub to clean it and then let it dry.
You must be careful while using caustic soda to clean kitchen chimney. When the fumes start coming, stay clear from that and prevent inhaling those fumes. Also, you should not touch caustic soda with bare hands as it may burn your skin. Use gloves throughout the cleaning process.
Why clean kitchen chimney frequently?
Kitchen chimneys have become a necessity nowadays provided the amount of smoke that occurs while cooking most Indian dishes. Such smokes can affect us physically and so it is best to have chimneys in kitchen. However, cleaning of chimney may seem quite difficult but if it is done on a regular basis, then it won’t be tiring. This is because too much accumulation of dirt, oil and grease makes chimney cleaning difficult. No matter how much you try, the oiliness remains. Also, if your chimney is filled with too much of oil and grease, it will not be able to perform properly. There will be more chances of getting damaged easily.
Moreover, whenever there is excessive dirt, there is the chance of accumulation of germs which may cause health issues. And, since kitchen is where the foods are cooked, it must be cleaned very frequently. Also, if your kitchen chimney is not cleaned for long, it will make your kitchen stink. That is why I recommend getting it cleaned on a monthly basis so that they do not get too much dirty.
You must also keep a thorough check that your chimney is performing perfectly. Note whether all the smoke is effectively cleared by it. Check out if there is any abnormal noise or any sign of malfunction. If you notice any such things, then immediately consult the manufacturer or an expert and get it fixed.
