I clean my baffles in the DW. That's the easy part. The hard part is all the stuff around them that I can only assume at least some hood designers didn't think you would need to clean. We take the thing apart about once a year and there are parts that I can only get to with Qtips and toothpicks and paper towel bits. Taking the light bulbs out and cleaning the rims and around them is a pain but not that difficult.

This was the first time I had shopped for a vent hood. If I had it to do again, I would consider how it cleaned, beyond the baffles, and the more you can clean, the better I would think. If they didn't make something accessible, it doesn't mean you won't need to or want to clean it. The steam and vapors take everything up and through all the parts they pass.

We have a Tradewind 1400 cfm 54" wide hood liner with a remote blower. There are 3 baffles. I clean them each week. It takes less than 10 minutes to clean them in the sink. I do not put them in the dishwasher as they are really large...note the size of our hood liner and it is simply easier for me to spray them lightly with degreaser and then brush down and rinse and replace. I never need to clean any other parts as there are none ! None...every single thing goes up and out. I have never even had to wipe off the light covers or the wooden surround except for dust. Lest you think we don't use the hood , believe me we do. Lots of stir fry and deep fry . The baffles are really a mess each week...a great thing as it proves that the HOGS are going where they should . Please look at the Tradewind link and talk to them. There are a couple other folks on GW that have purchased their liner due to my comments and they are also happy with theirs. We have had ours in hard use for 7 years now so I can tell you truthfully ours looks like it did when installed. Here is a pic of the liner. If you click there are lots more in the photobucket albums. c

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg0921322624387.html ( link to a discussion I posted and pics )

Here is a link that might be useful: Tradewind liner

We are looking at a much smaller hood--a standard 30" rather flatish chimney type--and I have heard other stories like lascatx's about the PIA that cleaning hoods can be. That is why I wanted to look into this before I purchase. Perhaps it is a matter or design that some hoods are much easier to clean than others.

Thanks to you both. Anyone else with other comments?

We have baffle filters that also go in the dishwasher and are super easy to clean. Our hood's design is such that the lightbulbs, etc. are slightly forward of the cooking area so we haven't had problems with grease on them. Have never had mesh filters, so can't compare, but we did choose our particular model because of the filters.