I was reading an article the other day about places and things most people don't clean. Like an iPhone. Yes, I carry my iPhone with me everywhere and no I don't really clean it. The article was right, I think most of the things it listed I really don't clean. They didn't list the stove fan but that could definitely be on my list of things I don't clean that often.
Every once in a while I look down there and am horrified. I have a really old downdraft range with a big fan. It's really annoying because while I am cooking I sometimes drop food down the fan hole. A spaghetti noodle, a little bit of ground beef, a green bean, you name it and it's down there. As you can imagine with all that food my fan filter gets pretty dirty really quick. So when I take the time to clean the food out I usually try to clean the stove filter too.
Whether you have a downdraft or a hood above your stove the fan filter tends to get dirty and needs to be cleaned every now and then. I have noticed that most filters get a large amount of grease in the filters. Luckily, instead of spending money on a new stove filter you can easily clean it. Plus, if you are like me and like to clean gross stuff there is a great feeling of satisfaction watching all the grease get cleaned off.
Start by getting a large pot of water coming to a boil. After the water is boiling carefully dump the boiling water in a sink with a drain stop. Add two heaping tablespoons of baking soda to the hot water and then add the stove filter.
The hot water starts to melt the grease and within a few minutes the water will start to get brown and dirty looking. Let the stove fan filter sit in the hot water for about 20 minutes. Then you can drain the dirty water and wash off the filter.
If your filter is still dirty then you may want to do the process one more time. Usually, one time soaking is enough to get most of the grease and grime off for me.
I love the satisfaction of having a clean and grease free fan filter without spending the money to buy a new one. With just a few minutes of your time, you can have a clean filter and have it working better too!
