Anyone ever have their hood professionally cleaned?

[Jenise]

Mine is dripping grease. Was thinking about hiring a service to clean it. Then it occurred to me that I don't hear it flapping in the wind anymore--it's on the roof (my kitchen has an 18 foot ceiling). So maybe it's broken in some way, way way up there and the grease isn't really being pulled out. I have no idea what to do! Ideas?

Are you saying that your cooking hood, the thing that draws out the smoke, odors, grease is 18 feet above the area you cook in?

Jenise,
Will tell you my experience but don't know if it extrapolates to your situation. I have a 2 fan 42" Vent a Hood that I clean myself at least every other year. I had not done it for several years after moving in and realized that it had to be done when grease began dripping on the burners and I realized that I no longer heard the flaps open and close with operation. The first time I did it the grease cover was swimming in thick, nasty stuff. I can remove various parts and clean one side of the fan blades but the flaps are impossible to clean totally and I called Vent A Hood to inquire if there were any tricks. None offered Cleaning it is a real pain but it can be done partially and if I really work at it, can get the flaps to sound but it is obvious that they are sticky and not moving easily and their movement doesn't last long. Surprisingly they are attached by rather thin wires and are thin aluminum with a very sharp edge that shred my fingers unless I wear gloves. This means multiple sprayings with a mixture of Dawn mixed with vinegar and using an old toothbrush to get above the flap. For the easier to reach flat and curved surfaces the baking soda, Dawn paste secondarily sprayed with vinegar gets things very clean. This is after I put a board across the burners, cover it in plastic and have basins to capture any debris. The space is cramped and I have to kneel on something soft. In short, nearly impossible but it has to be done and I never thought to inquire about a professional cleaner. Wouldn't know where to start looking.

I don't have a hood. There are two small vents which have filters in them made of metal -- they can be removed and sprayed with Easy-Off. As to everything else... I remove a longitudinal vent and wipe it out. There's a red drip (I cook salmon every week...) on the inside jamb of the microwave that I just wipe from time to time. The cabinet doors above the stove are simply slowly turning orange; nothing I can do.

Anyway, Jenise, there must be a regular way to do this. You don't own the first hood in all Creation! Somebody else has had this problem before.

Mine is dripping grease. Was thinking about hiring a service to clean it. Then it occurred to me that I don't hear it flapping in the wind anymore--it's on the roof (my kitchen has an 18 foot ceiling). So maybe it's broken in some way, way way up there and the grease isn't really being pulled out. I have no idea what to do! Ideas?

Is the hood is relatively close to your stove, but the flapper itself is way up there? I'm sure you realize that no flapping sound means it's sticky with grease and the flap is stuck. Is the flapper way, way up there on the interior or exterior? On top of the roof may be easier to get to and clean. I'm a fan of LA's Awesome concentrated cleaner (found at Dollar Tree). If it doesn't get the grease off, nothing will, except maybe steam.

Google might be your friend here or perhaps mfr website.

I don't have a hood. There are two small vents which have filters in them made of metal -- they can be removed and sprayed with Easy-Off. As to everything else... I remove a longitudinal vent and wipe it out. There's a red drip (I cook salmon every week...) on the inside jamb of the microwave that I just wipe from time to time. The cabinet doors above the stove are simply slowly turning orange; nothing I can do.

I'm sorry your cabinet doors are turning Trumpian. On my hood with centrifugal fans, I have two metal filters that I wash in the DW when they start getting too greasy.

Some houses have absolutely nothing. I can't imagine trying to cook anything besides using the steaming technique.

Jenise... There are choices here: https://www.google.com/search?q=range+h ... in+Seattle (obviously, the locale may need to be adjusted....). I also see "hood cleaning" on Yelp.

Larry... Right, I really have no hood. Anything left uncovered gets greasy after a couple days. Things in closed cabinets also get greasy but it takes a lot longer.

Jenise,you might like to ask local restaurants, they have to be on top of cleaning their hoods as a regular thing.

[Jenise]

All good questions. To clarify:

I have a 48 inch Viking, IIRC it's a 1600 CFM unit--four blower motors mounted on the roof. (Three was the minimum requirement for a 48" range, so I went with four.) My kitchen has two ceilings: 9 ft and 18 ft. The stove is in the 18 ft part, with a dramatic stainless steel square tube to the roof. Bob has cleaned the part of the hood at ground level in the past, about every other year. It's been too long since he did it; and because the flappers don't flap I suspect this time it's going to take a trip to the roof which I won't let Bob do.

Christina, you said: "I had not done it for several years after moving in and realized that it had to be done when grease began dripping on the burners and I realized that I no longer heard the flaps open and close with operation". That's where I am now.

Yesterday I talked to a professional restaurant kitchen cleaning service. In addition to the giant vacuum (the part I was interested in), they use caustic chemicals which wouldn't be suitable for residential applications. Nor could he get his van with the vacuum in it close enough to the location of my rooftop installation.

I'm wondering about calling someone like ServPro. They only advertise themselves for emergency restorations, but they'd be the ones to have the right kind of equipment to do this (I think).

Awesome .....yes ! Getting a gallon for the summer cleaning. Hope to hear the flaps again. Thanks for the idea Larry.
Will also check with our restoration service, another good idea.

[Jenise]

Jenise... There are choices here: https://www.google.com/search?q=range+h ... in+Seattle (obviously, the locale may need to be adjusted....). I also see "hood cleaning" on Yelp.

I looked at some of those before I posted here about it. What I found is that some are maid services, and this is probably beyond what they do (especially the part about going up on the roof). Others look like they offer a service but that's just Google parroting your search criteria back at you. And the restaurant guys in my area (I'm 100 miles north of anything listed here) are so far no bueno because what they do involves giant machines and hoses suited to commercial kitchens with drains in the floor. What I probably need is a handyman type who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty.

Did you try just looking up chimney sweep? This doesn't require specialized skills, just someone comfortable on roofs.

If there is enough grease to gum up flap (and drip on other end), this could be a fire hazard.

Our vent has the washable metal filters, and I try to do every few months (either by hand with soapy water, or just dishwasher ), The vent is on outside wall, I can reach to clean, but with filters cleaned regularly there's usually little there.

[Jenise]

Dale, yeah, I'm very concerned about the fire hazard.

This morning I talked to the people I bought the hood from. Of course, first thing out of their mouths was to warn me that if anything was broken there would be hell getting Viking to cooperate on parts etc--nobody up here sells Viking any more, they're so impossible to deal with. They made an appointment in two weeks to check it out. Then they called back to say no can do, won't put a guy on the roof no matter how flat and accessible. My response: "Really? You sold it to me for remote installation and put it up there in the first place...."

I'm going to call ServPro.

Uh oh! Stood at the gas cooktop a lot today and felt a very cold draft from the right side of my hood......I assume that this means the flap is stuck in the open position. Have never felt this before and not about to start cleaning in the upcoming sub zero weather.

I get a professional oven-cleaning outfit to come round every 12 months and clean my oven, cooktop and range-hood. They do a much more thorough job than I ever could, and save me from having to do a job I hate. The whole set-up looks like new when they have finished.
They come round with a van that parks in the driveway, dismantle the various parts that need cleaning and carry them out to the vehicle. No doubt the inside of the van is fitted with bubbling cauldrons of corrosive liquid of some kind, that dissolve grease and cooked-on gunk. I stay well out of the way.
Are there businesses like this in your area, Jenise?

[Jenise]

Uh oh! Stood at the gas cooktop a lot today and felt a very cold draft from the right side of my hood......I assume that this means the flap is stuck in the open position. Have never felt this before and not about to start cleaning in the upcoming sub zero weather.

Your blowers are roof-mounted as well?

[Jenise]

I get a professional oven-cleaning outfit to come round every 12 months and clean my oven, cooktop and range-hood. They do a much more thorough job than I ever could, and save me from having to do a job I hate. The whole set-up looks like new when they have finished.
They come round with a van that parks in the driveway, dismantle the various parts that need cleaning and carry them out to the vehicle. No doubt the inside of the van is fitted with bubbling cauldrons of corrosive liquid of some kind, that dissolve grease and cooked-on gunk. I stay well out of the way.
Are there businesses like this in your area, Jenise?

I haven't been able to find any, Matilda!

Blowers not roof mounted. After several uses the flap closed and cold air ceased but cleaning definitely on the calendar for summer

I think the chimney sweep idea is probably your best bet.

-Paul W.