A kitchen hood is a useful appliance that takes care of any smoke and grease in the air when you cook, but the grease doesn't just disappear. Inside the hood, an exhaust fan uses a filter which collects the grease. To keep your exhaust fan running properly and your cooking space sanitary, you should clean your kitchen hood's filter every month or two, depending on how often you use your stove. According to these easy instructions from thekitchn.com, all you need is hot water, dish detergent, 1/4 cup baking soda, a soft scrubbing brush, and a cloth or a couple paper towels. Follow these 5 steps to clean your kitchen hood's filter in just 15-20 minutes.

1. Fill a bucket or stoppered sink with very hot, even boiling, water — the hotter, the better!

2. Mix in 1/4 cup baking soda and a squirt of dish soap. Use a brush or wooden spoon to stir and blend the mixture.

3. Dunk the filter in the mixture and let it soak for about 10 minutes.

4. Use a soft cleaning brush (avoid abrasive scrubbers) to knock off any residual gunk still attached to the filter. Feel free to add more dish detergent to the brush to help loosen tougher grease.

5. Take the filter out of the mixture and rinse it thoroughly, again using hot water. Dry the filter with a cloth or paper towels, and voila! Put the filter back in place, and you're good to go!

For a clean sweep of the whole hood, use a soft towel and soapy water to wipe down the outside of the stainless steel hood — dish detergent works great for this, too.

To check out more tips and tricks for cleaning and maintaining your kitchen, check out our blog! The RTA Store is here for all your kitchen needs. Ready for an upgrade? We can build your dream kitchen with designer-quality cabinetry at a fraction of the retail cost with our RTA (ready-to-assemble) cabinets, pre-assembled cabinets, and top-notch accessories. Bring your ideas to life with our free kitchen design tool, stop by our website, or give us a call at 877-992-2246.