Grease dripping back onto the hob, a fan that roars but pulls nothing, a kitchen that smells of old frying. All three usually come from one place: filters full of fat. An extractor clean is £28.
The visit, in order
- First the metal mesh filters are unclipped and put to soak.
- If the hood has a charcoal or paper filter, that comes out too. Those cannot be cleaned. We read the model number off the label so you know which replacement to order.
- Inside the canopy: the underside, the light covers and the fan housing, where it can be reached without tools.
- The outside. Stainless steel is degreased and wiped along the grain. Glass or painted canopies get a soft cloth and a non-abrasive cleaner.
- Filters come out of the soak, are dried, and are refitted. We run the fan on each speed with you.
A standard hood takes about half an hour.
Hood types
Chimney hoods, slimline hoods under a wall cupboard and integrated hoods hidden behind a slide-out front are all £28. On an integrated hood the pull-out visor is cleaned on both sides, because grease settles on the back of it. Before we arrive, clear the hob top below so there is somewhere safe to stand the filters for a moment.
Charcoal filters
We do not carry them. There are too many sizes, and you can order the right one online for a few pounds once you know the model. Fitting it takes a minute. On a recirculating hood, a clogged charcoal filter is the usual reason it stops clearing steam, so change it even when the mesh is clean.
Costs
| What | From |
|---|---|
| Single oven | £77 |
| Double oven clean | £110 |
| Wide single oven | £114 |
| 90cm range cooker | £143 |
| Master range, 100cm | £167 |
| AGA (two ovens) | £143 |
| Glass or ceramic hob | £23 |
| Hob, gas | £28 |
| Cooker hood | £28 |
| Oven alongside an end of tenancy | £31 |
A hood is £28 with its metal filters. A range hood with the hob below it is £48. With a single oven and a hob, the three together are £117, and with a double oven £143. Booked alone, a hood is below our £67 one-off minimum, which is why it is usually added to an oven clean.
Student-house extractors
In the shared houses around Egham and Englefield Green, the extractor is often the part nobody has touched all year. Filters go twelve months without a change while one hob cooks for five or six people. By the June and July handback the mesh is usually solid with fat, and a long soak is what clears it. Where the house also has an end of tenancy clean booked, adding the oven to it costs £31.
If the hood is over a gas hob, the hob is worth doing in the same visit, since the grease on one came from the other. For the whole list, see prices.
Questions we get asked
Grease drips from the hood onto the hob. What causes that?
Saturated filters. Once the mesh is full, fat condenses on it and runs back down. A proper soak clears the mesh and the drips stop. On a recirculating hood, change the charcoal filter at the same time.
Can you clean a hood over an island?
Yes, if it can be reached safely from a step ladder. Island hoods often hang higher than wall ones, so tell us the ceiling height when you book.
What about the pipe that goes through the wall?
That is ducting, and we leave it. Cleaning inside it needs specialist equipment, and in a house kitchen with clean filters it seldom builds up enough to matter. We clean everything up to where the duct starts.
The hood light is out. Can you fix it?
A blown bulb we can swap for £8, provided you have the replacement. Hood bulbs vary a lot, so read the size off the old one or the manual first. Wiring faults are for an electrician.