Close view of the front edge of a stainless under-cabinet range hood below white cabinets, a single amber drop of grease hanging from the range hood's lower lip above a cold, empty cooking surface, the baffle filters above it glossy with grease.

Grease or Oily Water Dripping From the Range Hood

Range hood dripping grease shows as brown or amber drops falling from the filters or the canopy edge onto the burners, a sticky trail down the chimney cover, or oily water beading under the hood after long boiling.

(844) 398-3217

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

5 checks before you book
5 questions that narrow it
6 causes, cheapest first

Book a visit

Three short steps, about a minute.

or call (844) 398-3217

What it
usually means.

Cooking fat that reaches the hood is meant to stay there: baffle filters channel it into a gutter or a small cup, and mesh filters hold it until they are washed. When those fill, the grease has nowhere to go. It runs to the lowest edge of the canopy and drips back onto the burners, where it can smoke and flare, and onto the cooking surface or the counter. Water joins it too. Long boiling or steaming sends warm, wet air up the duct, and in winter that air condenses on a cold duct, especially one running through an unheated attic or a long level run to an outside wall; the water collects grease on the way down and drips out of the hood as brown, oily drops. A damper that does not close lets cold air sit in the duct and makes that condensation worse, and a missing or poorly sealed outside cap can let rain run in. A hood that drips grease is also telling you there is more of it inside, in the blower and the duct, and that is fuel above a flame.

A set of clean stainless baffle filters drying on a folded towel on a kitchen counter in a US home, a stainless range hood above with its filter openings empty and its lamps lit, the range hood filling the upper half of the frame, a technician's hands in gray sleeves sliding the last baffle filter back into the range hood.

The 6 causes, cheapest first

Answer these first

Is it thick grease, oily water, or clear water?

Does it drip from the filters, the canopy edge, or the chimney cover above?

Does it happen mostly in winter, after long boiling or steaming?

When were the filters last cleaned, and do they have a grease cup or gutter to empty?

Does the duct run through an unheated attic, a cold wall or a long level stretch?

Check these
before you book.

Range hood dripping grease: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything.

Take out the filters, empty any grease cup or gutter, and wash the filters in hot water with degreasing soap.

With the hood off and cool, wipe the underside of the canopy with a degreaser and look for grease pooling at the edges.

Run the fan for ten minutes after long boiling or steaming, so wet air clears the duct before it cools.

Also worth checking

Keep grease from dripping onto a lit burner: turn the burner off, wipe the drip and clean the filters before cooking again.
Book a visit with the model number from behind the filters if the dripping returns with clean filters, and say where the duct runs.

How soon does it need a visit?

Not urgent, but grease falling onto a lit burner can smoke and flare. Clean the filters and the canopy before the next pan of hot oil, and keep a lid at hand until the drip is fixed.

The causes,
cheapest first.

6 things grease or oily water dripping from the range hood turns out to be, from filters or grease cups full to a duct sloped back toward the hood.

The cost guide

01 no repair

Filters or grease cups full

Baffle filters feed a gutter or cup that needs emptying; mesh filters hold grease until they are washed. Full ones overflow at their lowest edge.
Fixed by range hood filter and baffle service
02 low

Grease built up inside the canopy

Fat that gets past the filters coats the inner walls and runs down to the edge. A deep clean of the canopy and the blower housing ends the drip and lowers the fire load.
Fixed by range hood filter and baffle service
03 low to moderate

Condensation in a cold duct

Warm, wet air from the pans condenses on a duct in a cold attic or wall and runs back into the hood. Insulating the duct or shortening a cold stretch is the usual fix.
Fixed by range hood damper and duct repair
04 low to moderate

A damper that does not close

When the backdraft flap stays open, cold outside air sits in the duct and the next batch of steam condenses there. The damper is freed or replaced.
Fixed by range hood damper and duct repair
05 moderate

Rain entering at the outside cap

A missing flap, a cracked cap or a gap in the roof or wall flashing can let rain run down the duct. The cap is repaired; roof work is arranged with whoever handles the roof.
Fixed by range hood damper and duct repair
06 moderate to highest

A duct sloped back toward the hood

A duct that runs downhill toward the hood carries every drop of condensation and grease back into it. It is rerouted with a slope toward the outside where the route allows.
Fixed by range hood damper and duct repair