When it comes to cooking, especially if you’re in a small space with limited ventilation, extractor fans can make a world of difference. Designed to help remove steam and odours, cooking without one can make for quite an uncomfortable, and hot, experience. They should be cleaned every six months, and if you notice that steam or odours from cooking are lingering in your kitchen, it’s probably because your extractor fan needs a scrub.
While they work at removing steam and odours from the room, they also pick up a lot of grease from cooking while doing this which can actually make your kitchen smell worse when they’re switched on. Many of us likely avoid cleaning them as frequently as we should as removing them can be quite the task, and while removing them from above your oven might require a bit of elbow grease, there’s an easy method to remove grease that doesn’t require any scrubbing.
In a video posted on TikTok, @rebecca_oshea shared her method for lifting grease that’s built up in extractor fans over time. Using one item that costs less than £2 and that you probably already have stored in a cupboard, the grease will lift in minutes with no need to scrub it off either.
While some recommend using dish soap to remove grease from extractor fans, Rebecca uses a combination of bicarbonate of soda and boiling hot water to give them a deep clean that “takes the minimal time and effort”.
Also known as baking soda, the household essential is a mild abrasive which effectively removes food particles and grease that’s collected in your extractor fan with use. It also neutralises odour, meaning your kitchen won’t be left with any lingering smells after cooking.
In the video, Rebecca places her extractor fan in an empty sink and sprinkles it with bicarbonate of soda until it’s completely covered.
She then adds boiling water directly from the kettle, which works to form a paste with the bicarbonate of soda to unclog grease that’s built up in the fan. Leaving it to work for 20 minutes, Rebecca says it will “sizzle away and the grease will pour off it”.
Once it’s soaked, give it a rinse and your extractor fan should look brand new, with Rebecca showing how her extractor fan went from a yellowish colour to a sparkling and shiny siliver after being left to soak in the solution.