How to Clean Range Hood Motors
To clean a range hood motor or blower, remove the blower from your range hood, and then use a drill to unscrew the fan blades on each side. Soak these in warm water and soap or place them in the dishwasher for a quick, convenient clean.
The range hood motor, or blower, is what keeps the range hood running, so it’s important to keep it clean. Sometimes, removing the blower can be difficult – or even impossible. But, if you want your range hood to perform at its best and last you several years, cleaning is important to make your investment last.
Some Proline models have blowers that are screwed in, while others are fastened with rivets. The models with riveted blowers are very difficult to remove and doing so is not usually ideal.
This article, as well as the video below, explains how to clean a range hood fan. In the video, we clean the 1000 CFM blower motor that's in the PLJW 101, 108, 109, and several other models.
As long as you maintain your range hood filters, your blower won’t need cleaning for a very long time. Just wipe the outside of it with a damp cloth and you should be good to go.
What You Need
- Drill
- Drill bit to fit the screws on your blower
- Warm water and soap
1. Remove the blower from your range hood.
2. Remove the fan blade cover and the nut in the center.
Use your drill to remove the fan blade cover. Then you’ll see a nut securing the fan blade in place. One of these nuts will be thread opposite of the standard threading (clockwise to tighten), so instead you’ll need to turn it clockwise to loosen it.
You can find a drill and drill bits from Amazon by clicking on the link.
3. Remove the fan blades.
Make sure that you can identify which fan you removed from the right side of the hood and which fan you removed from the left side. The fans are directional, so they will only work when installed on the correct side.
4. Soak the fan blades in warm, soapy water – or, if they are dishwasher-safe, run them through a cycle in your dishwasher.
5. Dry the fan blades with a microfiber towel.
6. Reinsert the fan blades and reattach the fan blade covers.
7. Insert the blower back into your range hood.
After you reinsert the blower, you’re done. That’s it. Nice work!
How do I replace my range hood’s motor?
It’s unusual that you’ll need your vent hood motor replaced, but if it becomes weak or stops working, you can remove it from your range hood for replacement. Here’s how to do it:
With the fan blades removed, you should be able to see the motor when looking at the blower from either side. Remove the four nuts surrounding the motor and pull it out of the unit. If it is still attached somewhere, there may be a bolt still fastened on the opposite side of your blower. Loosen that bolt and then the motor should easily slide out.
Now you’re ready to reinsert your new motor and copy the configuration of the old motor.
Can’t find a new motor? At Proline Range Hoods, we don’t sell blower motors. But feel free to call us and we can help you find someone who does.
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How to Clean a Range Hood Duct
There are two types of range hoods: ducted and ductless. Ducted hoods vent air to the outside of your home through ductwork, and ductless hoods recirculate the air within your home. They don’t have ductwork to clean. And if you clean your range hood filters regularly, you won’t need to clean your ductwork either.
It’s not worth the time and money to clean your ductwork on your own. Instead, you’ll likely want to hire a professional.
It may take some work to find a company with the appropriate specialty equipment to clean your range hood duct. When contacting professionals, if they can’t clean your duct, always ask them for suggestions on who can provide range hood duct cleaning.
For more information on range hood duct cleaning, check out this article.
How to Clean Range Hood Baffle Filters
It is always ideal to try and minimize the amount of major cleaning that you have to do around the house, especially in your kitchen. If you clean your stainless steel baffle filters regularly, you won’t have to worry about grease and cooking exhaust accumulating in your blower, forcing you to have to clean it.
Stainless steel baffle filters collect grease efficiently thanks to the rapid change of direction of the air traveling through your range hood and up your ductwork. They then filter that grease and cooking exhaust to grease trays for easy disposal. If your filters go too long without cleaning, clumps of grease will accumulate in the baffles, inside your range hood, and inside the blower.
But, if you keep your filters clean, the inside of your hood your blower will also remain clean. Consistent cleaning every three to four weeks will keep your range hood and all its parts in good condition.
How to Clean a Stainless Steel Range Hood
Glass cleaner and acetone are great solutions for cleaning your stainless steel range hood. You can apply these directly on the hood and wipe with a towel, but it might be easier to apply the solution to the towel first.
Here’s a video that covers how to clean your hood.
We hope you were able to follow these instructions to make your range hood blower pristine. And remember, as long as you keep your filters in good condition, you can avoid this whole process. We wish you the best of luck cleaning!
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