0
$\begingroup$

My grandparents physically can't remove their Sakura R-727II range hood that lacks any filter. Because of COVID-19, no handyperson can visit their house. But their range hood is now clogged and failing to suck out fumes, so they must de-grease their range hood's interior that hasn't been cleaned in 4 years.

Please see the pictures below. They wonder if they can de-oil their range hood by adding dishwashing liquid to boiling distilled water, then boil this mixture to evaporate the dishwashing liquid that will rise into and de-grease their range hood.

  1. Does the dishwashing liquid vaporize as they think? Or does it remain in the saucier?

  2. Can the resultant evaporated dishwashing liquid + steam combination de-grease their range hood? I wonder if this dishwashing liquid + steam will have enough pressure.

enter image description here enter image description here

The two pictures above are like their range hood. Theirs isn't a Samsung range hood pictured below, but I used it to devise my collage for it shows steam. enter image description here

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
12
  • 6
    $\begingroup$ This is not going to work. $\endgroup$
    – Ivan Neretin
    Commented Jul 26, 2020 at 22:50
  • 6
    $\begingroup$ Dishwashing liquid cannot be evaporated. It cannot work. It should not be suggested. Wait for a professional service. $\endgroup$
    – ACR
    Commented Jul 26, 2020 at 22:54
  • 7
    $\begingroup$ There must be a way to remove and exchange the filter from the hood, if not, the thing has been worthless from the very start. $\endgroup$
    – Martin - マーチン ♦
    Commented Jul 26, 2020 at 23:21
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ What is that nonsense that no handyman can visit their home? Just stay outside while the man is at work. $\endgroup$
    – Karl
    Commented Jul 27, 2020 at 8:47
  • $\begingroup$ @Martin-マーチン Please see the second picture that I just added. $\endgroup$
    – user7952
    Commented Jul 27, 2020 at 14:38

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
2
$\begingroup$

Any time a piece of equipment goes down, you cannot get a repair person, and you are not sure what to do, try to call or email the manufacturer. This is the US contact information for Sakura. They know their product better than anyone on this site and will probably know about common issues.

Steam will loosen, but will not get hot enough on a stove to remove grease. The only safe way to remove grease is to get long gloves and scrub it.

Have you ever seen the mess dish liquid makes when put in a dishwasher? The results of what is suggested more likely transport the soap all over the counter-tops instead of to the grease.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ I like this answer. It's like: Read the directions first. If you don't have a manual, contact the company for directions. Maybe there is a fault that they will compensate you for. Only then should you do it yourself (if there is no official help available). $\endgroup$
    – James Gaidis
    Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 13:24
1
+50
$\begingroup$

Clogged? Failing to suck out fumes? Quantitatively, how bad is it? And in what manner did this situation arise? Slowly, over time? Or suddenly? Can you hear a fan running?

Grease has a high boiling point, and while it is theoretically possible to clog some fine filter, it is doubtful that 4 years of home cooking could stop a hood fan from operating. In commercial practice, hoods over grills are cleaned frequently from spattered grease, not so much for better air flow, but more for sanitation and prevention of possible fires from leaping flames.

If no filter is accessible from the stove end, perhaps the exit end is the cause for blockage. Exit openings frequently have flaps to prevent rain entry. Two possibilities: 1) the flap is stuck down and hinders airflow, or 2) the flap is stuck up and the tube is blocked by a bird nest or a pile of acorns. (Of course, this exit end will be so high that it is not accessible for cleaning, but that's another problem.)

There is a third situation. In my former house, the builders omitted an outdoor exit pipe for the microwave and fume hood. There was simply a fan which sucked the steam/vapor up off the stove, thru the filter and back at the cook. We generally turned the fan off. The idea of a fume hood was nice, but not really necessary.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
$\begingroup$

First off, let's clarify something:

When you boil water in a pot, hoping to carry whatever is dissolved within the pot in the steam, that thing should have a lower or the same boiling point as water (100 ℃).

A possible slution:

As grease and other fats gets carried up into the hood it usually cools down and the polymerizes and gets denser and harder to remove. You could, however, heat up the grease and fats again by using either a steam-cleaner or boiling some water very close to the hood for a couple of hours. The heat will "soften" up the grease thus leading it to eventually loosen the hood. (ONLY TURN ON THE HOOD ON THE LOWEST SETTING TO GUIDE THE VAPOR INTO THE GREASE - A higher setting will suck the grease further into the hood).

When the heating is done, you should be able to remove the hood fairly easily without the grease holding anything into place as it is more or less "melted".

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
$\begingroup$

There is a way to achieve a result strictly within the bounds of your question, but it's just as insane as these bounds.
Boil a solvent, not dishwashing liquid.
Say, gasoline. Or much better dichloromethane (sold as paint remover), if there is not much plastic at the kitchen.
Don't turn fans on. Hood must act like reflux condenser. Let dichloromethane fumes condense inside, flow through it and drip.

Needless to say, it's a way to turn the kitchen into hell and is completely insane for health and fire danger :)

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
5
  • $\begingroup$ By the way, you couldn't boil the dishwashing liquid because of the huge amount of foam :) $\endgroup$
    – sa7
    Commented Aug 4, 2020 at 23:40
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Are you out of your mind? You suggest someone to boil dichloromethane in his kitchen. While you briefly point out the health hazards, I still don't think that justifies that answer. You don't know how well the questioner, or other people who read this thread, can assess the dangers of such an undertaking. This answer is really reckless! $\endgroup$
    – Sam
    Commented Aug 5, 2020 at 9:54
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I strongly believe that any filtering of knowledge is evil. My answer is pretty anecdotal, but demonstrates probably the only way to remove polymerized clogging "remotely". $\endgroup$
    – sa7
    Commented Aug 5, 2020 at 11:02
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Instead of boiling CH2Cl2, which probably wouldn't condense in the filter because the vapor would be diluted with too much air, or wouldn't even get into the filter if there is NO air flow, consider a safer method: squirt it in with a garden sprayer. This is safer because it would use less CH2Cl2 and direct it more toward the problem. But then, go even safer: squirt dishwashing solution instead of CH2Cl2. Put a big pan on the stove to collect drippings. Color the liquid with food color to see where it leaks into the house - or where it exits outside. $\endgroup$
    – James Gaidis
    Commented Aug 5, 2020 at 13:52
  • $\begingroup$ Solvent will work (if you manage to spray it inside), but not dishwashing solution $\endgroup$
    – sa7
    Commented Aug 6, 2020 at 8:47

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.