The Year-Old Grease on My Range Hood: I Tested 5 Cleaning Products—This One Is Amazing

How dirty was my range hood, you ask?

Let me put it this way: last time my boyfriend came over to cook at home, seeing the range hood’s filter, he said one sentence: “How do you manage to cook in the kitchen every day but your range hood looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in three years?”

At that moment, I wanted to throw the whole range hood away.

But throwing it away meant I’d have to buy a new one, so I decided: let’s first try to save it.

Test Subjects

I found 5 of the most popular range hood cleaning products on the market:

  1. Mr. Muscle Range Hood Cleaner
  2. Kao Kitchen Foam Cleaner
  3. Dagongguan Range Hood Cleaner
  4. Tea Seed Powder (natural alternative)
  5. Baking Soda + White Vinegar (homemade)

Unified test conditions: range hood filter, same location, equal spray amount, let stand 10 minutes, then wipe.

Scoring Dimensions

  • Cleaning Effect (1-5 stars): Can it remove grease
  • Smell (1-5 stars): How irritating, less irritating is better
  • Cost Performance (1-5 stars): Price per 100ml

Test Results

Mr. Muscle ⭐⭐⭐

Cleaning effect is acceptable—spray it on, wait 10 minutes, most of the grease comes off when wiped. But the smell is really overwhelming—I had to hold my breath every time I used it.

Price: ~8 yuan/100ml

Kao ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This one I need to highlight. The foam texture has strong adhesion and can “stick” to the grease longer. The cleaning effect is better than Mr. Muscle, and the smell is a light citrus scent—doesn’t choke you.

Price: ~15 yuan/100ml

Dagongguan ⭐⭐

Honestly, a bit disappointing. The advertising was loud, but the actual effect is average. For old grease, the effect isn’t obvious.

Price: ~6 yuan/100ml

Tea Seed Powder ⭐⭐⭐

The natural contestant, no chemical ingredients. The cleaning effect was surprisingly good, but needs to be used with hot water and a brush—slightly more troublesome.

Price: ~3 yuan/100ml (cheap)

Baking Soda + White Vinegar ⭐⭐

It’s a homemade cleaning product, so I didn’t have high expectations to begin with. The result was indeed average—can remove light grease, but for the old tough grease at my place, completely ineffective.

Price: ~1 yuan/100ml (if you already have the ingredients at home)

Conclusion

If your range hood has serious grease and you want convenience: Go directly with Kao

If you prioritize cost performance and don’t mind putting in time: Tea seed powder + hot water is the best choice

If your range hood’s grease isn’t heavy: Mr. Muscle is sufficient

As for baking soda + white vinegar… I can only say: it might work for cleaning microwaves, but not for range hoods.

The Most Important Point

No matter which cleaning product you use, you must wear gloves.

I previously thought my hands were tough enough and didn’t use gloves. As a result, after cleaning the range hood, my palms felt dry for a whole day.

Don’t ask me how I know.