Soak the filters flat rather than replacing them, because a Kleenmaid filter may not be obtainable after the brand's 2009 administration. Never put aluminium mesh through a dishwasher, and treat every filter as one you will have to keep rather than one you can renew.
Kleenmaid hoods from before the 2009 administration are still working in Sydney kitchens, and the usual advice about filters does not entirely apply to them.
The filter you have may be the filter you keep
On any current brand, the honest answer to a mesh filter that will not come clean is to replace it, because replacements are inexpensive and widely stocked.
On an orphaned Kleenmaid, a model-specific filter may simply be unobtainable. That inverts the usual advice: rather than soaking once and replacing if it fails, it is worth soaking a Kleenmaid filter twice, changing the water, and giving it considerably more patience than you would give a filter you could renew for a small amount.
It also makes routine maintenance disproportionately valuable here. A filter soaked every couple of months never reaches the state where its interior loads solid, which on this brand is a state you may not be able to recover from.
If a filter is genuinely finished, measure it. Standard rectangular mesh sizes are more interchangeable than model-specific ones, and there is a reasonable chance yours is a common dimension in a Kleenmaid frame.
The rest of the method
Filters out, soaked flat in hot water with a non-caustic degreaser, then the impeller housing behind them. Never a dishwasher for aluminium mesh, which alkaline detergent oxidises grey permanently. Our rangehood cleaning guide covers the full method and the power isolation this job requires.
Age
Almost every Kleenmaid hood is fifteen years or older, which means the ducting above it has never been inspected and the impeller housing has probably never been opened. Both are worth establishing.
What actually goes wrong
A filter thrown away that could not be replaced.
Grey mesh from a dishwasher cycle, which on this brand may be terminal rather than annoying.
Fifteen years of ducting nobody has looked at.
Should you do it yourself?
Do it yourself for the filters, patiently and regularly, because on this brand prevention genuinely is better than replacement.
Get someone in for the impeller housing, or alongside the Kleenmaid oven and Kleenmaid cooktop.