This modern kitchen design features an elegant dual cooker hood over the stove.
This is one of the simplest and also most overlooked tips. When you’re in the preparation stage of a meal (chopping the vegetables, peeling the potatoes, etc.), turn on your stove hood at its lowest setting. This should not generate much noise and it will allow the air in the kitchen to begin circulating. Once you start cooking, the airflow should be moving well and there is no real need to increase the hood’s setting, unless of course you overcook the food. Try it now and you’ll almost certainly see a real difference in the air quality in the home after cooking.
Check the bottom of the cooker hood for the grease filters. This is where the majority of grease will end up and it is essential to regularly clean the filter to prevent clogging. Common sense dictates that if the holes of the hood get blocked, it will not be able to filter air effectively. In many cases, grease filters can be cleaned in the dishwasher though you will need to check the instruction manual to ensure this is advisable.
These come with range hoods which are not ducted out. Charcoal filters are located either behind the grease filters or else they are attached to the hood motor. When you shop at reputable online sellers such as Ship It Appliances, your hood will have a detailed instruction guide, which tells you how often the filters have to be replaced. If you own a range hood where the air is ducted out, you won’t need charcoal filters at all.
A cooker hood’s performance will depend on the type of ducting used. For example, using ducting of the wrong size will seriously hinder its extraction rate. Ducting shaped like a concertina will also impair performance. Look at your hood and see if it is possible to change the ducting to enhance performance.
A common mistake made by people is to turn off the extractor as soon as cooking has been completed. Leave it turned on at its lowest setting for several minutes after cooking, as this helps to remove all residual smells. State of the art cooker hoods come with a timer that automatically switches off the hood after a certain period of time. You should also look at models with advanced sensor control that detects smells and switches itself off once all traces have been removed.
Before spending a small fortune on an expensive new range hood with an exceptionally fast extraction rate, follow the above tips on getting the most out of your existing model and you may be pleasantly surprised with the results.
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