Make light work of stubborn grease on your oven extractor fan with this effortless cleaning hack

Cleaning expert Mr Carrington reveals his low-effort hack for breaking through cooking grease on oven extractor fans

composite of Iwan Carrington cut out with kitchen and extractor fan behind
(Image credit: Getty Images)

There are some areas in your home that you'll not only dread cleaning but probably avoid altogether. Your oven extractor fan is one of those areas, but with this method, you'll never put it off again.

With so many things you can too easily neglect to clean in your home, it's helpful to have expert cleaning hacks to make life easier when tackling these dreaded tasks. If you can minimise the scrubbing, soaking and elbow grease that's often needed for those annoying, out-of-sight cleaning jobs, you're more likely to keep on top of them.

Mr Carrington extractor fan cleaning hack

Oven extractor fans are one of the dirtiest items in your home, and they're often forgotten about until it comes to deep cleaning.

And although they don't need to be added to your daily cleaning habits, even tackling the task with any regularity can feel like a real challenge. With stubborn grease and grime, the thought of endlessly scrubbing away is enough to put anyone off.

However, they're actually one of the surprising things you can clean with denture tablets, and Mr Carrington is here to show you just how easy it is to do.

"The extractor hood is one of those areas in the kitchen that gets a little bit neglected sometimes, and it collects a lot of grease. The easiest way to clean it is to lift it out and do it at the sink. And I’m gonna pop in a couple of these denture tablets," explains Iwan.

It's recommended you use unflavoured denture tablets for this. You can also clean your reusable water bottles with these types of tablets too.

picture of someone scrubbing extractor fan filters in sink with scourer sponge

(Image credit: Getty Images)

These will do all the hard work for me, which is really great for busy households. So this has had a good 20 minutes now, and as you can see, where it’s been submerged, all of that grease and grime has started to melt away," continues Iwan.

If you're used to cleaning your kitchen in under an hour thanks to your busy schedule, this is a brilliant method to add to your routine.

"So if I just wipe it with the sponge, you’ll see how easy this is coming off now. So much better," he finishes.

So while we're all for recommending luxury cleaning products, sometimes the cheap, low-effort options do the job just as well, if not better. You can pick up denture tablets at pretty much any supermarket or drugstore for under a pound.


Did you know you can also use a denture tablet hack to keep your cut flowers fresher for longer? The effervescent discs aren't just great for cleaning appliances.

Emily Smith
Digital lifestyle writer

Emily joined woman&home as a staff writer after finishing her MA in Magazine Journalism from City University in 2023. After writing various health and news content, she now specialises in lifestyle, covering unique cleaning hacks, gardening how-tos, and everything to help your houseplants thrive.

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