I'm trying to clean the grease off the range hood. Even using a "pro 409 degreaser" (main ingredient is 2-butoxyethanol), the dried and sticky grease still isn't coming off easily.
Is there an even heavier duty grease cleaner?
Ammonia water, detergent, and alcohol work pretty well, at least when I mix them up myself. You could always try simple green, which works pretty well also.
Beyond that, lye or mineral spirits.
Jon
The "purple" industrial degreaser (Zep found at Depot, among others) is very heavy duty and works very well. I strongly recommend wearing nitrile gloves when using it unless you like to dissolve your hands. It took the heavy grease buildup off a Hobart commercial mixer in seconds flat when other cleaners wouldn't even touch it.
It is also pretty good dissolving soot buildup on glass fireplace doors.
Fantastic and mineral spirits (NOT MIXED) work well, and the m.s. probably is less damaging especially to painted surfaces or glass. A razor blade scraper for really heavy gunk - toothpicks or wood skewers work nicely for the built-up stuff in edges and corners.
What's the hood made of?
On 1/4/2011 2:11 PM Pete C. spake thus:
Instead of using strong strong caustics to cut the grease, I agree with the previous poster: just wash it off using solvent. Either paint thinner (mineral spirits) or naphtha (like charcoal lighter, close enough for gov't work). Of course, you'll need "adequate ventilation" and all, but it will simply soften and dissolve the grease, allowing it to be wiped away. After that, of course, you'll need to use a strong cleaner to remove the last of it, but you'll be able to get 90% of it easily with solvent.
Oh, and don't try lacquer thinner, acetone, etc.: while that'll work great, it's overkill, and is bad stuff (give me headaches). Stick to safer oil-based solvents.
if it's stainless, then ezoff oven cleaner. and not that lo-oder crap.
if it's aluminum or painted, then i don't have a suggestion.
On 1/4/2011 4:49 PM snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net spake thus:
Ugh: all good, except for ixnay on the razor blade scraper. Why should you have to scrape grease? It won't be hardened like it will on a range top; after softening with solvent (mineral spirits, etc.), you should be able to just wipe it off.
Well, depending on it's history and previous cleaning, there could be gunk in corners or along moldings....lots of globbies can hide on the underside of a range hood....razor blade scrapers are my favorite tool ...good for built-up grease, stuff burn onto inside of oven window, paint splatters, cutting a smooth edge on windows painted by shaky hands, etc. I ruined two ranges before I figured out that lye was pretty bad for appliances. When I repainted my 35 y/o range hood, I used the razor to make a quick job of cleaning it - it was worn through the original paint in places, so there was no damage to be done. Some Rustoleum primer and enamel in my handy Preval sprayer made it look like new.
Hot water and washing soda (not baking soda) and a plastic scrubby is next. Then full strength sudsy ammonia. Next is non-lye (amine) spray oven cleaner. The strongest is lye or caustic oven cleaner (same thing.) These may not be good for the enamel paint.
-Bob
On 1/5/2011 5:15 AM snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net spake thus:
Well, that's why [insert name of deity here] made toothbrushes, to have old ones around for getting gunk out of corners.
If it were me, I'd really rather not be scraping the metal surface of my range hood with a razor blade. (It's true that they're great on glass, as you say, so they're good for getting hardened gunk off oven doors, etc.)
Wow! 409 is the monster of degreasers, IMO. If the grease is so old and dried, etc, move up to Easy Off oven cleaner. Make sure there is no exposed alum, as EO will etch it away. For ss and enameled surfaces, it will do the trick. If not, buy new hood or call in a sandblaster! ;)
nb
I luse Greased Lightning.
HB
Mean Green
scotto
Never tackled a range hood, but first thing that came to mind was Goop or Go-Jo, which I use to clean my hands of all sorts or automotive grease. But maybe it won't work on dried vegatable/meat oils.
--Vic
Steel wool with m.s. also works well...gotta balance the potential damage against how badly the stuff is caked on.
Dried oil is basically varnish...think linseed/oil paint.
Isn't this what those shoulder-bag steam cleaners were marketed for? Do they still sell those?
If it is really bad, rent a steam jenny, and have a helper hold a long-wanded wet-dry vac near the work surface? Protective gear is called for- you can cook with those things. A diner I use to eat at had a big exhaust hood over the grill that looked copper plated or painted. One day, it suddenly looked like stainless steel again. I asked if they got a new one, and they said that somebody (Insurance company? Fire marshal? Health inspector?) made them get it cleaned.
Does "purple" Zep work on walls (near the range) without damaging the paint?
Simple Green works for me.
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