How to clean chimney filter at home without spending money
This post is also available in: हिन्दी
The kitchen chimney is one of the most important parts of our kitchen. They keep our kitchen clean and grease-free bypassing cooking steam, and smog out of the kitchen.
In this post, I will show you how to clean chimney filters at home.
How much does it cost to clean chimney?
The cost of cleaning a chimney is around ₹ 1500 for a package. In this package, they will clean filters twice a year and two times full chimney cleaning.
Chimney cleaning charges in western countries may be high.
But in three months it becomes too dirty. So why spend money on cleaning it? You can clean the chimney at home with the methods I mentioned below.
How long does it take to clean chimney
It takes around 25-30 minutes to clean chimney filters. And another 15-20 minutes for cleaning from outside.
Drawbacks of dirty and greasy chimney filters
- Over the period of time filters are blocked from oil and grease. And due to that sucking power of the chimney will reduce.
- Grease/oil may drop from the filters on the stove. Due to that, it can ignite a fire in the house.
- Sometimes due to the less effectiveness of the chimney, smoke and steam showing in your kitchen. And the surrounding area near the stove also gets dirty.
- It does not look good. It completely ruins the look of your kitchen.
- If you are using a mesh filter and not cleaning it regularly. The filters can be blocked with oil and grease. And you need to replace it with new filters.
That’s why it’s important to clean filters regularly.
There are many types of filters present in the market. But mesh filters over baffle filters are more common in the Indian market as they are cheap. For Indian kitchens, baffle filters are more suitable.
I would suggest that use the baffle filter in your chimney.
Charcoal filter chimneys cannot be cleaned. They need to replace every six months. So, it is not suitable for the Indian kitchen.
How often you should clean the chimney filters
You should clean chimney filters every 15 days. Otherwise, once a month cleaning of chimney filters is a must.
In the Indian kitchen scenario, cleaning chimney filters every 15 days is suggested. In other countries, you can clean it according to your cooking style etc. If you are using fewer oils and do less cooking then once a month is suggested.
In a simple way, look at the filters and check how dirty are they. If they are dirty and cleaning is required. Then, clean it, otherwise, use it for a few more days.
6 Methods for cleaning chimney filters
There are five methods for cleaning chimney filters at home. I tried some of the methods. But, I use the boiling water and detergent method for cleaning the chimney filters.
This method I found this on my own. I have provided a video demonstration also of it.
1. Cleaning with detergent powder and boiling water
My Recommended method is best for those filters which has all metal parts
Requirement: detergent powder and boiling water.
Steps for cleaning filters with detergent powder and boiling water:
1. Removal of filters from the chimney: First of all we need to remove filters from the chimney. Most of the filters have a lock for removing them from the chimney. Just use that lock for removing it.
2. Take a big stockpot or metal tub (patila in Hindi). Fill it with water. Put it on the gas stove and boil the water. I used an aluminium pot (patila) for it.
3. Cover it with a lid(or steel plate) to speed up the boiling process.
4. Add 3 tablespoons of detergent powder to it. Boil it once again after adding detergent.
5. Put filters in boiling water. Do not turn off the gas stove. I have a chimney with a baffle filter. But for demonstration purposes, I borrowed a mesh filter from my neighbours.
6. Increase the flame of the stove some time and lower the flame some time. Due to the boiling of the water. Oil and grease will remove themselves from it.
7. If your pot is a little small like mine then turn the filters and do steps 5 and 6 again. Use the cloth for picking the filters. As it becomes hot as the flame is on.
8. Use your waste toothbrush to clean the oil and grease if required. Otherwise, there is very less requirement to scrub it.
9. Clean it with hot or cold running water.
10. Use a cloth to clean the water from it.
11. Put these filters in their place.
How to clean chimney filter at home video – Baffle filter and Mesh Filters
Pros:
- It takes only a few minutes to clean it. No wastage of time.
- All ingredients are easily available at home. No need to spend money on it.
- Less work is required. It cleans itself in boiling water.
- No harmful chemicals are required for cleaning it.
- Easy to clean chimney filters.
- It is a very cheap method to clean filters. No need to spend money on buying costly ingredients.
- It is not harmful to us. It does not release any gas or is hard on our hands.
- This method takes very less time.
Cons:
- No cons to this method.
2. Clean the chimney with dishwashing liquid
Required: Dishwashing liquid, scrub brush and boiling water. You can use baking soda also in it. It is completely optional.
Steps:
- Removal of filters from the chimney: First of all we need to remove them from the chimney. Most of the filters have a lock for removing them from the chimney. Just use that lock for removing it.
- Fill a bucket with boiling water: You need a bucket with boiling water. The hotter the water, it will be more effective.
- Pour dishwashing soap: Pour 4-5 tablespoons of dish soap into it and mix with the help of a scrub brush. Do not mix with hands as water is hot
- Soak filters in water: Soak filters in the hot water and cover it completely. Let them be there for 10 minutes.
- Scrub the filters: After soaking them, scrub them with a scrub brush. And add more dish soap if required on the dirty area and scrub it again.
- Rinse and dry: Rinse filters with hot or cold water. And after drying it fit back in their place.
Pros:
- All the material is available at home.
- No need to spend money on buying stuff for cleaning filters.
Cons:
- If your chimney is very dirty, then this method may not work.
- You need to do hard work on it. You need to scrub it thoroughly.
My Recommendation: You can try but hard work is required in it.
3. Cleaning with baking soda, salt, and vinegar
Required: Baking soda, salt, vinegar, and water. Apart from that, you required a scrub brush or waste toothbrush. You can use boiling water also.
Steps:
- Remove the filters from the chimney.
- Fill a bucket with boiling water.
- Put 3 tablespoons of baking soda and salt and 2 cups of vinegar in boiling water.
- Soak the filters in it for 1 to 2 hours.
- Scrub with the scrub brush.
- Clean it with water. And put the filters back in their place.
Pros:
- No pros to this method.
Cons:
- All the materials are not available at home. Some people do not use vinegar and baking soda in their kitchens.
- You need to spend money on buying stuff for cleaning filters like baking soda and vinegar. It is a costly method to clean filters.
- Time-consuming method. It takes 2-3 hours to clean filters.
- You need need to do hard work on it. You need to scrub it thoroughly.
My Recommendation: Not recommended
4. Clean chimney with caustic soda
Required: Caustic soda, tub, hot boiling water, gloves
Steps:
- Remove the filters from the chimney. And put these on the tub.
- Sprinkle caustic soda on top of the filters.
- Put boiling water on top of it. Maintain a little distance from the tub. As caustic soda will release fumes from it.
- Soak the filters in it for 2 to 3 hours. Use gloves while dealing with caustic soda as it can cause a chemical burn in your hands.
- Scrub with the scrub brush if required.
- Clean it with water. And put the filters back in their place.
Pros:
- No pros to this method.
Cons:
- Fumes released from caustic soda are not good for health.
- It can cause a chemical burn on your hands if you are not using it with gloves
- You need to spend money on buying caustic soda and gloves.
- It is a time-consuming method and takes 2-3 hours to clean filters.
My Recommendation: Not recommended
5. Cleaning with paint thinner
Required: Paint thinner
Steps:
- Remove the filters from the chimney.
- Apply paint thinner on it with the help of a brush
- Scrub with the brush.
- Apply paint thinner again on the dirty area and scrub it again.
- Clean it with water. And put the filters back in their place.
Pros:
- No pros to this method.
Cons:
- It is a costly method. You need to buy paint thinner from the market.
- It is a time-consuming method and takes 1-2 hours to clean filters.
- You need to do hard work on it. You need to scrub it thoroughly.
My Recommendation: Not recommended
My Recommendation:
Cleaning with detergent powder and boiling water is the best method to clean the kitchen chimney filters. As it has many pros compared to other methods.
You can further read my method to clean copper utensils, clean the burner of a gas stove and a clean tea strainer.
From the above methods I mentioned, we can clean chimney filters at home. But the chimney gets oily and greasy from the inside over a period of time. For cleaning chimneys from the inside you need the help of professionals.
They will remove the whole chimney from its place. They will disassemble it and remove the motor, electronic buttons, filters etc. Then they will clean it from the inside.
Cleaning from the inside is required once a year. So, it is advisable to take the help of professionals. As it is not easy to install and disassemble for cleaning and reassemble it. This service is also not costly.
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