I have a 36" range hood with 4 baffle filters. Every 2-3 weeks, I'll put it in the dishwasher to clean. It's been about a year now, and as time goes on, the baffles come out of the dishwasher not as clean as they did after washing when I first got the hood.

It's all bc of the grease, smoke and heat from cooking and after a while, that stuff really gets harder and harder to remove completely.

The first time I washed the filters, they looked brand new. Now, there's still a residue. To get them sparking clean again, I scrub them by hand with a hardback sponge and then throw them in the dishwasher. I'm unable to clean the inside part of the baffle and just have to rely on the dishwasher or perhaps an overnight soak in boiling hot water and soap.

In any event, they come out clean enough and I'm still satisfied with them over the mesh filters. Those, after about a year or so, are so sticky and grease-laden, even after washing, that you'd have to continually replace them.

My suspicion is that we should wash the baffles more often than when they look dirty. The grease film on them will slowly change into a hard film. At that point, it may take more than one pass in the dishwasher to let the enzymes in modern detergents play pacman.

kas

I lay them flat and use the maximum options - pot scrubber and extra hot water and they come out good enough.

It's not always about the amount of the grease on them, it's about the age of the grease on them. Old grease hardens into a shellac hard coating, even with "light" use. You've got to clean it off before it does that. "Every couple of months" isn't nearly enough. Yes, even if you're a light user. If you don't clean the grease before it hardens, a small almost invisible layer starts to not be removed and will build up over time. If you develop a schedule based on time rather than use, you'll end up much happier. The 1st and 15th, put them in the DW. That makes it easy to remember.

I've been cleaning them once a month. I'll try a shorter interval, and will also try laying them flat in the DW next time. I also need to look for a scrub brush that will let me get into the areas inside the baffles.

I have struggled with an easy way and the easiest I have found for my SS Baffles is using Oven Cleaner. Make sure you are in a ventilated area (I use the no oder version).

- Wear Gloves - Very Important!!

- Lay baffles in sink and spray well.

- Flip and spray again

Let sit at least 15 minutes

Rinse with a strong stream of water, I also wipe down with regular cleaning pad to get edges. Let sit out and dry.