A range hood’s filters exist to capture grease-laden air before it reaches the blower and duct, and grease dripping visibly from the hood onto the range below or the countertop around it means those filters have reached, or passed, their capacity to do that job.
The Most Common Cause by Far
Filters that have not been cleaned or replaced on a normal schedule simply fill up with more grease than they can hold, and once saturated, they stop capturing new grease and start shedding what they already caught instead. This is the ordinary, expected reason for dripping in the great majority of cases, and it is fixed by cleaning or replacing the filters rather than by any repair to the hood itself.
Why It Is Worth Acting On Quickly
Grease that gets past saturated filters does not stop at the filter — it continues into the duct and toward the blower wheel, where it contributes to exactly the kind of buildup that throws off the wheel’s balance and causes vibration, and to the residue that can glue a backdraft damper shut. Dripping filters are an early warning for two other problems down the line, not just a cleaning inconvenience on their own.
Cleaning Metal Mesh Filters
Most range hood filters can be washed in warm water with a degreasing dish detergent, or in many cases a dishwasher, and should be fully dry before being refitted. How often that is needed depends heavily on how the range is used — a household that cooks with high heat and oil frequently needs to clean filters far more often than one that cooks lightly, so a fixed schedule is a starting point rather than a rule.
When Dripping Continues After Clean Filters Are Fitted
Grease still dripping with clean, properly seated filters in place points toward a filter that is not sealing correctly against its frame, letting grease-laden air bypass it rather than pass through it, or toward buildup further along in the duct or housing that a filter change alone will not clear. That is worth having looked at rather than assuming the filters simply need cleaning again.
Charcoal and Ductless Filters
A hood set up as ductless, rather than vented outside, adds a charcoal filter behind the metal mesh that captures odor rather than grease and is not washable the way the mesh filter is — it is replaced on its own schedule instead of cleaned. Confusing the two, or assuming a charcoal filter slows any grease reaching the blower, is a separate mistake from simply skipping a cleaning, and it is worth knowing which filter setup your hood actually has before troubleshooting a drip.
A Word on the Housing Underneath
The area behind the filters, where the lighting and blower wiring live, is not somewhere to reach into with a cleaning cloth while chasing a drip — that housing is sealed for a reason, and any cleaning or inspection back there is done by a technician with the power isolated.
If grease continues dripping after your filters are clean, a La Cornue range hood repair visit checks the filter seal and the duct beyond it.