How to Clean Your Range Hood Duct

Range hood duct cleaning shouldn’t be necessary. As long as you maintain your range hood, your ductwork will not require cleaning. But, if you need to clean your range hood duct, call a duct cleaning company in your area.

Range hood duct cleaning is a specialized service that requires equipment that most HVAC companies don’t have. Many of these companies clean heating and air ducts, but not ductwork in your kitchen.

You’ll need to do some research on duct cleaning companies in your area to find a reliable business. Your local HVAC companies should be able to refer you to a reputable duct cleaning business.

Check out the step-by-step guide below, designed to help you find the right company for the job.

If you are unsure whether you should clean your range hood duct, we’ll go over a couple of reasons why it might be a good idea. But it is important to note that duct cleaning is entirely preventable. At the end of the article, we’ll cover how to maintain your range hood so that you can avoid paying for this service.

What You Need

• At least $300 - The price will vary depending on the size of your ductwork.
• About 30 minutes of your time

Compile a list of duct cleaning services in your area.

First, do some Google searching to find a list of duct cleaning services in your area. Unfortunately, there’s very few, if any, companies dedicated to range hood duct cleaning. The most popular type of duct cleaning is air duct cleaning, so that’s where you’ll start your research. You can also search for HVAC companies, as they are valuable resources for references.

HomeAdvisor is a great tool to find local companies of any kind. You simply enter your zipcode as well as a few specific questions about the project you are looking to complete, and the site will process that data and return a list of relevant results to you.

Check out several duct cleaning companies near you on Homeadvisor here.

Google is also a great tool for this research.

Contact each one of these companies by phone, email, or through their contact form.

Once you’ve found a list of duct cleaning services near you, visit the company websites and look for their contact information. You’ll most commonly find a phone number – and that’ll be the quickest way to get in contact with someone during the week.

But if you prefer not to call or you’re doing this research over the weekend, fill out their contact form or see if you can find an email on their main site.

When you contact the company, explain that you own a ducted range hood and the ductwork requires cleaning. Ask if they provide the service, or if they know anyone who does. Write down any referrals.

Await responses.

Wait a couple of business days for responses – or if you called every HVAC and duct cleaning company and they all picked up, no need to wait!

Follow up with companies that offer duct cleaning services.

If a company gets back to you saying they can clean your duct, you’re in luck. If not, hopefully you received some referrals.

Ideally, more than one company will refer the same duct cleaning service to you, which indicates that they are reputable.

No luck? Contact the references you’ve gathered.

Don’t worry if the companies you reached out to can’t provide the service you need. If they haven’t already suggested someone who can provide duct cleaning services, ask them for suggestions. Then, contact those companies.

Request a quote for duct cleaning.

Now that you’ve found a company or companies that can clean your range hood duct, it’s time to request a quote. If you’re happy with the price, great! If not, continue to ask around for affordable recommendations on duct cleaning.

Do I need to replace my range hood ductwork?

If your hood is not venting air outside your home efficiently, your ductwork may be too small in diameter and no amount of cleaning will fix this problem. With small ductwork, the airflow is too restricted.

Additionally, excess grease can build up. Or, you may start to notice that unwanted air and smoke remain in your home, even after your range hood has been running.

In both of these cases, upsizing is probably your best option. Duct size is based on the CFM of your range hood; we have a sizing chart here that will help you make an informed decision when replacing your ductwork.

Larger ductwork will give your kitchen air more room to move outside of your home. You’ll enjoy clean and fresh kitchen air.

Should I really clean my range hood duct?

It is not recommended to clean your range hood duct, as there are several measures you can take to keep your range hood efficient.

Also, as mentioned above, if your ductwork is too small, cleaning will not provide a solution.

However, there are a couple of scenarios where cleaning your duct might be appropriate.

1. Your recently-bought house includes a range hood that was poorly maintained over several years, so the ductwork is very grimy.
2. You weren’t aware of how to properly maintain your range hood so your hood, and consequently your ductwork, both require cleaning.
3. You produce an unusually high amount of indoor air pollutants, including smoke, dirt, grease, and chemicals such as carbon monoxide.

There are several causes for this – for example if someone in your home smokes indoors often – or if you’ve had multiple kitchen fires.

What’s a good place to get my range hood duct cleaned in Salt Lake City?

I followed the step-by-step process above and, after contacting several air duct and HVAC cleaning companies, two recommended the same company for range hood duct cleaning: Crystal Clean Vents.

Unlike most HVAC companies, this company uses a high-powered 16,000 CFM vacuum truck to rid your air vents of dirt and grime. The thorough nine-step process is outlined in detail on their website.

How can I maintain my range hood to avoid purchasing duct cleaning services?

Maintaining your range hood primarily involves cleaning the outside of the hood, the filters, and the blower. If your range hood is dirty, it can’t do its job effectively.

Glass cleaner works great for a light clean on the outside of your range hood. Check out the video below for a couple more strategies on cleaning your range hood.

Along with the range hood, you’ll need to maintain the filters. These can be washed by hand with warm water and soap or tossed in the dishwasher for a quick clean.

Finally, you should also occasionally clean your blower. This is the lowest priority, especially if you are following our other recommended maintenance.

Learn more about how to clean your blower in the video below.

How do you clean the inside of a range hood?

Glass cleaner or liquid dish soap is great for the inside of your stainless steel range hood just like the outside. For a detailed step-by-step guide, check out this article.

Can you clean a charcoal range hood filter?

I mentioned above that the key to maintaining your range hood is to frequently clean the outside of the hood, the filters, and the blower. But if you own a ductless range hood, you’ll have charcoal filters, not baffle filters. So how do you clean those?

The short answer is: you don’t. Charcoal filters are replaced after about 150 hours of cooking, or every 3 to 6 months – whichever comes first. For more information on filters, check out our range hood filter guide.

Thanks for reading this article on how to clean your range hood duct. Don’t forget to inspect your hood every few weeks to see if it needs cleaning. Then you can avoid duct cleaning altogether.

If you have found any of our blog content helpful in any way, please leave us a review on Yelp or Google. It only takes 10 seconds.