Cooker hood cleaning in South Benfleet

You can soak light aluminium mesh in hot water and washing-up liquid, with the fan isolated and the hob cool. That is the DIY limit for most homes. Do not put thin mesh in a dishwasher if it can bend. A dishwasher can also darken aluminium. Do not use oven cleaner or caustic gel on stainless or glass. Do not spray into a running fan. Do not wash charcoal, and do not soak paper or fleece filters. Baffle filters, fan housings, ducts, and commercial canopies are the professional visit.

If you cook most days, check the mesh every few weeks. Hold it to the light. If you cannot see through it, it is loaded, and a home wash of light mesh is reasonable then. The fan housing and the canopy lip are a longer job: about every 6 to 12 months in a normal home, and closer to 3 to 6 months if you fry most nights. A filter warning light is usually a timer, not a grease sensor. Reset it only after the filter is actually clean. Charcoal is replaced every few months, not washed. A café canopy loads in weeks. Grease starts again with the next meal.

Old-oil smell as soon as the fan starts is grease in the filter or the housing, not “just cooking”. Weak suction with a dirty mesh is a blocked filter. Weak suction after the filters are genuinely clean points at the duct or a tired fan. Drips on the hob mean the filters are saturated. A burning smell at the lamp is grease on the hot metal near the bulb. A fan that does not turn at all is a repair, not a clean.

We do not replace motors, rewire switches, install hoods, or deep-clean ovens. We do not certify a commercial extract system for an insurer. If that is the job, we say so before you book.

Grease is fuel. A thick layer in the filters or above a gas flame can ignite. Cleaning takes that buildup off the hood. It does not make a commercial kitchen compliant, and it does not replace a certificate if an insurer has asked for one.

Washed aluminium mesh usually lasts a few years. Replace it when it is torn, crushed, or so packed that water will not pass. A dishwasher can darken it before that. Stainless baffles last longer than mesh. Charcoal in a home is spent in months. Washing it finishes it. Paper and fleece grease filters are replaced when they look saturated. A long-life odour filter follows that model’s own instructions. Leaving grease in the fan inlet makes the motor work harder. Cleaning does not repair a motor that has already stopped.

When the canopy is dry and the filters are refitted, usually the same day. Leave it until the metal is dry so you are not cooking into standing degreaser.

Wall, chimney, canopy, integrated, island, recirculating, and commercial canopies are listed as their own visits. Tell us the type when you ask for a quote so the time and filters are right.