How often should you clean the range hood filter?
Updated July 2026
Clean your range hood's metal grease filter monthly if you cook most days, and every 2–3 months for lighter cooking — a dishwasher cycle or a hot degreaser soak does the work. The reason to care is blunt: the filter's job is to trap grease, which means a neglected one is a mat of concentrated fuel suspended directly over your stove — and cooking equipment is the leading cause of US home fires (NFPA). A saturated filter also stops capturing, so the grease starts condensing on your cabinets instead.
What changes the interval
| Your situation | Interval | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Daily cooking, lots of frying or wok work | Monthly | High-heat oil cooking loads a filter fastest — and is the likeliest to flare |
| Typical household (dinner most nights) | Every 1–2 months | The standard recommendation for a hood that gets real use |
| Light cooking (a few meals a week) | Every 2–3 months | Slower loading, same failure mode — set the date and forget deciding |
| Recirculating (ductless) hood | Metal filter monthly + charcoal filter every 6–12 months | Charcoal odor filters can’t be washed — they’re replaced |
| Filter looks dull, sticky, or drips | Clean now | Visible grease means it stopped trapping and started accumulating |
| Hood barely moves smoke anymore | Clean the filter, then check the duct | A clogged filter is the usual cause; a greasy duct is the follow-up |
The cost of skipping it
What skipping it costs: the tail risk is the one that matters — a stovetop flare-up reaching a grease-saturated filter has ready fuel, and kitchen fires are the most common home fire there is; even a "minor" one runs $1,000s in cabinet, hood, and smoke remediation. The everyday costs are smaller but constant: a blinded filter can't capture, so grease films your cabinets and walls (repainting a kitchen: $500–1,500), odors linger, and the hood motor works against a clogged screen. The fix costs a dishwasher cycle.
How to do it (15 minutes (the dishwasher does most of it) · DIY)
- Pop the metal mesh or baffle filters out — most release with a latch or slide.
- Run them through the dishwasher on a hot cycle, or soak 15–20 minutes in very hot water with degreasing dish soap and a scoop of baking soda, then brush.
- Heavily caked filters: repeat the soak — years of polymerized grease may take two rounds or a purpose-made degreaser.
- Dry and reinstall. While they’re out, wipe the hood’s underside and fan intake.
- Recirculating hood: check the charcoal filter’s date and replace every 6–12 months (it can’t be washed).
- Once a year, glance at the duct and exterior vent flap for grease buildup and confirm the hood actually moves air (a sheet of paper should stick to the running filter).
Knowing the interval is the easy half. OnOtto reminds you at the right interval — and won't let you snooze it into next year. Tasks persist until they're done, and completing the filter cleaning schedules the next one automatically.
Put this on autopilot — free for 30 daysFrequently asked questions
Can I really just put range hood filters in the dishwasher?
Aluminum mesh and stainless baffle filters — yes, that's the standard method; run them alone on a hot cycle. One caveat: harsh detergents can discolor bare aluminum (it turns dull or dark). It still works fine; if the look bothers you, use the soak method instead. Charcoal filters never go in — replace those.
How do I know if my hood is ducted or recirculating?
Look above the hood: a duct heading into the cabinet, ceiling, or wall means ducted (vents outside). No duct, with vents at the hood's top front edge blowing air back at you, means recirculating — and that hood has a charcoal filter behind the metal one that needs replacing every 6–12 months, a task almost nobody knows exists.
Does the microwave over my stove count as a range hood?
Yes — over-the-range microwaves have the same grease filter underneath (usually two small aluminum panels) on the same monthly-to-quarterly schedule, plus a charcoal filter if they recirculate. They're the most-neglected filters in the house because nobody thinks of the microwave as a hood.