Cooker Hoods – What They Are For And Which To Choose

Cooker Hoods – What They Are For And Which To Choose

Getting steamy in the kitchen might sound fun, but sometimes clearing the air is the best thing for you while you’re cooking up a storm – this is where your cooker hood comes in.

It’s the one kitchen appliance that’s always overlooked in kitchen fitting, though it’s just as important. Without it you run the risk of getting too hot under the collar, as well as causing yourself more headaches from a cleaning perspective too.

In short, cooker hoods draw in the dirty air from your kitchen. What you do with the air after that is entirely up to you, though it often depends on your kitchen layout as to which is the best method. Either clean the air with a metallic grease filter and blow it back in to the room – known as recirculation – or just vent it through an external wall straight outside; this is known as extraction. It’s as easy as that.

The golden rule when it comes to cooker hoods is that they have to be at least the same width as your hob, if not wider. If you’re hob measures 60cm across, so should your cooker hood. Any smaller and you’re not going to get the most effective ventilation, as the dirty air from your cooking escapes around the sides and out in to the room. It’s particularly bad if you’re cooking with a lot of oil, as this will leave a greasy film on all your surfaces – not good for hygiene.

It’s also important to make sure it’s at least 65cm above the top of your hob too. This is the ideal height for getting the best extraction performance, without risking any heat damage from the hob.

Of course there are different cooker hood styles to choose from and picking the right one will reap big benefits in your kitchen:

Island Cooker Hoods

Designed to be suspended from the ceiling in the centre of the room, this models are usually big and offer serious extraction power. Best suited to a larger kitchen, these are a real statement piece for your space.

Chimney Cooker Hoods

Install them on an external wall and fit the chimney section to run up to the ceiling. Available in straight glass, curved glass or angled as shown here. These are by far the most popular hood as they tend to be the most versatile too.

Integrated Cooker Hoods

These are built right in to your kitchen cupboards and they stay mostly out of sight. Ideal for above range cookers and also smaller kitchens they won’t ruin the look of your fitted units, though they tend to offer less extraction power.

Canopy/Visor Hoods

The most basic kind of hood, as they simply fix to the wall above your hob. Nothing fancy, no complicated installation, just simple ventilation best suited to smaller rooms.

There’s plenty of colours, sizes and shapes out there so take a little time finding the right match for your space. Remember, a clean and clear kitchen is a happy kitchen.

For more information or cooker hoods, call us at My Beautiful Kitchen, on 0141 771 3640.