Consider Remodeling Your Kitchen With Used Appliances

The vent above your stove helps capture those all those wonderful smells and steam when you're cooking, pulling them out of your house. The vent can accumulate with dust, dirt, grime, grease and other debris, making it filthy and full of bacteria - not exactly something you want near the food your cooking for your family. Cleaning the vent is an essential maintenance task in order to keep it running like new. See below for cleaning instructions for your hood vent.

Here's What You'll Need:

• Borax
• Hot water
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup dish soap
• Sponge
• Spray bottle

Instructions:

1. Find the vent filter beneath the hood. This filter can be changed to a completely new one, or you can save money by cleaning the one you have. Remove this filter gently so you don't bend or crease it, as it is fairly flimsy.
2. Take your borax and add about 1 tablespoon to a sink half full of hot water. Then add the vent filter to the sink. If it doesn't fit in the sink entirely, set it inside and then turn it around after letting it soak for at least 15 minutes.
3. If there is still residue on the filter you can use your sink sprayer to help remove it, or use a soft sponge to gently remove the grime.
4. Next, use the dish soap and vinegar and combine them into a spray bottle along with warm water.
5. Spray the top of the vent hood and wipe it down with a sponge to clean up any grime and grease.
6. Wipe down the areas beneath the hood around the vent filter area as well. 
7. Remove the light bulb inside the hood and gently wipe it down. If it's in bad shape or corroded, replace the bulb entirely.

For hoods that are stainless, use stainless steel cleaner to keep the stainless shiny and to remove smudges, grease and fingerprints. Wipe it with a microfiber cloth and wipe the cleaner with the grain. Stainless steel cleaner can be found at your local hardware store. Never use anything abrasive on your stainless, as it can cause fine scratches. These fine scratches can be removed with a piece of fine grit sandpaper. The fine grit sandpaper will help blend scratches with the rest of the stainless. Be sure to wipe the sandpaper along the grain, rather than against the grain, or you will scratch the stainless further.

Clean your hood vent to keep it looking like new and working properly. Visit an appliance store when it is time to upgrade.