My apartment rangehood has never been cleaned. Is that unusual?

Not at all. Apartments change hands every few years and each buyer reasonably assumes the last owner maintained the kitchen, while a hood never fails outright and so never forces the issue. Fifteen years and three owners later nobody has opened it, which is the predictable result of an appliance that never asks for anything rather than negligence by any individual.

Does my Baumatic rangehood have a charcoal filter?

If it recirculates rather than ducting outside, yes, and in an apartment that is likely because ducting through a multi-storey building is often impossible. It sits behind the metal grease filters and is replaced every six to twelve months rather than washed. On a hood this age it is very likely still the original, meaning the hood has done nothing about odour for over a decade.

When should I replace rangehood filters instead of cleaning them?

When a flat soak in hot water and non-caustic degreaser will not clear them. Hold a filter up to a light after an hour's soak and a brush: if the middle stays dark while the edges clear, the interior has loaded solid and no further soaking reaches it. Replacement is inexpensive next to letting a loaded filter push everything into the fan.

BaumaticUnited Kingdom (AU-distributed)

How to Clean a Baumatic Rangehood

Fifteen years in an apartment, two or three owners, and not one of them has ever dropped a filter out.

3 min read · Written by Oven Valets, cleaning rangehoods across Sydney and greater NSW for 15+ years

Soak the aluminium mesh filters flat in hot water with a non-caustic degreaser rather than a dishwasher. Check for a charcoal filter behind them, since apartment installs frequently recirculate and that filter is replaced rather than washed.

A Baumatic hood came into an Australian apartment as the third item in a developer package, and it is almost always the appliance in that kitchen with the longest untouched history.

The chain of assumption

An apartment changes hands every few years. Each buyer walks through, sees a kitchen that looks acceptable, and reasonably assumes the previous owner maintained it. Meanwhile the hood never fails outright, it simply extracts a little less every year, so there is no moment at which anyone is forced to look.

Fifteen years and three owners later, nobody has opened it. That is not neglect by any individual, it is the predictable result of an appliance that never asks for anything.

If you have inherited a Baumatic kitchen, treat the hood as untouched rather than as maintained, and the Baumatic oven and Baumatic cooktop as being in similar condition.

Recirculating is likely

Ducting to the outside of a multi-storey building is frequently impossible, so many of these recirculate and carry a charcoal filter behind the metal grease filters. Charcoal is a consumable replaced every six to twelve months and never washed.

On an apartment hood this old, the charcoal filter is very likely the original, which means the hood has been doing nothing about odour for well over a decade.

Filters past saving

On a hood untouched for fifteen years, aluminium mesh frequently loads solid through its interior layers where no soak reaches. Hold one to a light after an hour's soak and a brush: if the middle stays dark while the edges clear, it is finished, and replacement is inexpensive next to letting the fan do the filtering.

The full method is on our rangehood cleaning guide.

What actually goes wrong

A hood never opened across three owners.

An original charcoal filter, fifteen years old.

Filters loaded solid, past any soak.

Should you do it yourself?

Do it yourself for the filters, starting with whether there is a charcoal one behind them.

Get someone in for the impeller housing, which on a hood this age is where the smell and the noise both come from.

Baumatic rangehood questions

My apartment rangehood has never been cleaned. Is that unusual?: Not at all. Apartments change hands every few years and each buyer reasonably assumes the last owner maintained the kitchen, while a hood never fails outright and so never forces the issue. Fifteen years and three owners later nobody has opened it, which is the predictable result of an appliance that never asks for anything rather than negligence by any individual.
Does my Baumatic rangehood have a charcoal filter?: If it recirculates rather than ducting outside, yes, and in an apartment that is likely because ducting through a multi-storey building is often impossible. It sits behind the metal grease filters and is replaced every six to twelve months rather than washed. On a hood this age it is very likely still the original, meaning the hood has done nothing about odour for over a decade.
When should I replace rangehood filters instead of cleaning them?: When a flat soak in hot water and non-caustic degreaser will not clear them. Hold a filter up to a light after an hour's soak and a brush: if the middle stays dark while the edges clear, the interior has loaded solid and no further soaking reaches it. Replacement is inexpensive next to letting a loaded filter push everything into the fan.

How Oven Valets cleans a Baumatic rangehood

Our products are non-caustic and biodegradable, so coatings, trim and seals are not at risk and the appliance is safe to use as soon as we leave.
Removable parts come out and are cleaned separately rather than wiped in place, and every piece goes back where it belongs.
We tell you what we find, including when a part is past saving, rather than cleaning around it.
Fully insured, with fixed GST-inclusive pricing and no call-out fee.

Rather have someone else do it?

Fixed, GST-inclusive pricing with no call-out fee. Non-caustic and biodegradable products, so the appliance is safe to use as soon as we leave. Rated 4.9 from 88 Google reviews.

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Oven Valets is an independent cleaning service. We are not affiliated with, authorised by, or endorsed by any appliance manufacturer named on this page. Brand names are used to identify the appliances we clean.