Some range hoods are better lived with than examined.
Like one stainless steel model in a central Denver apartment, where residents simply pretend the setting is a French country bistro, where the hood’s scalloped trim would be more natural than a madeleine in the morning, instead of a city home situated uncomfortably close to neighbors with woodworking hobbies and barking beasts.
Look closer at the edge of this range hood, and that red geranium daydream disappears completely. A community of fuzzy residents with ladybug-spot grease droplets comes into view. A yellow- brown film clings to the silvery surface above, making the hood’s patina look like a sidewalk after a flood.
This fixture needs more than routine cleaning. It needs to be unscrewed from the wall, taken out back and shot!
All-purpose cleaners drip and run down the hood like they have someplace better to be. Standard degreaser tries to bully the grime but succeeds only in getting the fuzzy- grease beings together into thick gooey mobs.
And so four products are out for a round of hood-cleaning heroics. The challenge? Most stainless steel cleaners shine and protect the surface but lack the muscle to pry away left-behind cooking slime.
One product that’s up for the fight is the Scotch-Brite Stainless Steel Starter Kit. It comes with several treated cleaning pads and an easy- grip plastic handle. The handle’s flat face is ideal for rubbing grease, “Karate Kid” style, from the hood’s flat top. But the pads are less effective on the hood’s scalloped edge.
Next up, Weiman Stainless Steel Wipes, which smell like vanilla and wildflowers and claim to remove fingerprints without leaving streaks. These get into the hood’s greasy crevices but fail to remove built- up muck.
Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish is foam that sticks to the grime. It grabs loose clumps of food from the hood but has trouble cutting through oily residue.
In the end, success requires a combination of tactics. First, a spray of Flitz Stainless Steel & Chrome Cleaner with degreaser, a product sometimes suggested for car care, followed by a hearty scrub with the Scotch-Brite pads. Using the handle’s hard edge to scrape away layers of greasy hood film after treating the hood with Flitz begins to do the trick. Several treatments later, the stainless steel is finally grime-free.
Elana Ashanti Jefferson: 303-954-1957 or ejefferson @denverpost.com
