Is it possible to wash the hood filter in the dishwasher?

The question is very hotly debated on forums: should you wash hood filters in the dishwasher or not? There are a lot of supporters and opponents of this method of cleaning filters, today we will try to reconcile both. In fact, the question is “not worth a damn.” You will see this very quickly.

What is the essence of the problem?

Any grease filter on a standard kitchen hood gets dirty quite quickly, all housewives know this. Even if you don’t have to cook very often, after a month or two the filter will be covered with a layer of fat that is not so easy to remove. The fat settles on the hood filter layer by layer, gradually polymerizing and forming a hard layer, which can only be cleaned off with a rough metal brush, and even then not always.

Dishwashing detergents like Fairy can handle fresh grease, or at least dried-on grease, but they can't handle polymerized grease.

Some housewives force their husbands to arm themselves with an iron brush and scrub the filter until it crumbles or the husband’s hands fall off. In modern conditions, this is unacceptable, which is why hood owners are looking for various detergents that can effectively dissolve and wash away polymerized fat, but “you won’t find such products during the day.” Since it is difficult to find a special product, they find an alternative - they put the hood filter in the dishwasher and run it there for 4-6 hours, but is it possible to do this?

Depends on material

hood filter before and after bathing in Fairy and lemonHood filter elements are made of aluminum or, to be more precise, of an aluminum-based metal alloy.Old units and modern budget hoods have conventional filters without special coating. They cannot be washed in the dishwasher as they will turn black and break down over time. But filters that have a special shiny coating can be washed in the dishwasher, and this is often written about in the product data sheet. If you don't understand, Why shouldn't you wash aluminum items in the dishwasher?, read the publication of the same name and everything will become clearer.

In general, before you put your hood filter in the dishwasher, you need to carefully inspect it. Well, as a last resort, if you don’t understand metals, you can google and find out more about the filter for specific hoods. There is such information on the Internet. Particularly desperate housewives check whether it is possible to wash the filter in a machine by experiment, but this method is fraught with losses, so we do not recommend it.

Even if you find out that your hood filter can be washed in a machine, it’s too early to rejoice. By putting this part into the machine, you will be able to verify this very soon. We conducted an experiment by washing the hood filter in the dishwasher for 6 hours in water at 60 degrees. There is little sense in such a procedure. The grease was only washed off halfway, but then it was cleaned up quite easily by hand, so the “dishwasher trick” either doesn’t work at all, or only succeeds every once in a while.

Cleaning without a dishwasher

What to do if the filter is aluminum and definitely cannot be washed in the car? You'll have to use your brain and figure out how to deal with polymerized fat without dishwashing equipment. Let's say right away that we will offer a method without grueling manual labor with bloody calluses.

1. Take a large basin or other suitable container that will fit the filter.
2. Pour just enough boiling water into the basin so that the filter sank flat in it.
3. Pour 50 g of citric acid, 6 tablespoons of liquid dishwashing detergent and 100 g of baking soda into a basin.

The dishwashing detergent must be well dissolved in water, the rest will dissolve on its own.

4. Rinse the hood filter and lubricate it with dishwashing detergent.
5. After a couple of minutes, immerse the filter in a basin with the solution and keep it there for about 6-8 hours, you can leave it overnight.
6. Next, remove the filter from the solution and rinse under running hot water, removing any remaining grease with a not too rough brush (not a metal one).

In this way you will save the filter from grease and yourself from problems. Please note that the longer you do not wash the hood, the longer you will have to keep it in the solution until it acidifies. It is better to wash it at least once every 3-4 weeks, this is the best option.

In conclusion, we note that after buying a dishwasher, many housewives try to wash everything in it, and then regret it, having ruined an expensive meat grinder, frying pan or porcelain set. Before putting anything into the washing baskets, you need to carefully read the instructions and understand whether the item can be washed or whether it is better to refrain from doing so. These words also apply to the hood filter. Do your research first, inspect the filter, and then experiment!

4 reader comments

1. 03/30/2018 at 14:54

   Olya:

   If the filters are made of aluminum, then you cannot wash them in either citric acid or soda! Learn chemistry (school course up to grades 7, 8, 9).

   Answer
2. 07/10/2018 at 20:15

   Dima:

   Should I throw citric acid and soda into the solution? What nonsense? Not only do they neutralize each other, but as noted here, aluminum should never be washed in citric acid.

   Answer
3. 06/27/2021 at 19:54

   Anonymous:

   You can't put it in the dishwasher, but you can put it in a lemon juice bottle?

   Answer
4. 05.12.2022 at 18:44

   Olga:

   Where can it be?

   Answer