What Is The UK’s Best Cooker Hood?
A cooker hood is a vital kitchen appliance, efficiently removing odours, steam and grease from the air in the kitchen. Cooker hoods help to maintain a more pleasant atmosphere in the home overall. But, with so many different models to choose from, it can be difficult to know which extractor to choose. That’s why we’ve put together this article on the best cooker hoods currently available, so you can have peace of mind when making your decision.
Cooker Hood Reviews
Cooker Hood Buyer’s Guide
Nobody enjoys having steam fill his or her kitchen, or in the home, when cooking pasta. Or how about the lingering aromas of a good homemade curry? Our first suggestion is to measure the cubic meters of your kitchen, which will give you a baseline for where to start for sizing; all reputable cooker hoods have m3 rating. Then, it’s a case of the more powerful and efficient cooker hood the better. A cooker hood is a necessity, not a luxury, in the kitchen. When it comes to buying one however, there are a few points to consider:
Ventilation Settings
The biggest question here is whether or not you can duct the moisture outside with an extractor. That’s certainly the preferred method of dealing with condensation build up, and a great way of getting rid of strong odours.
But, if that’s not possible, then recirculation is your best option. This means that the air is filtered through the unit, grease removed, and the clean air put back into the room. Unfortunately this does not remove all the moisture though, so it won’t be as effective as a ducted system.
Control Panel
This needs to easy to operate with buttons that go in and pop back out easily. If it’s a ‘touch’ style, then the screen needs to be easy to read and that does not fog over when in operation. Look for controls with a minimum of; on/off, light on/off, and fan speed selection.
Design
Here you have two main choices; flat-box, or a chimney style. The chimney style also comes with either a flat filtration hood, or a domed hood. Both will do exactly the same thing, it’s just a personal styling difference. All of them should be made with a reliable steel body construction, and be easy to clean, preferably with dishwasher safe grease filters.
Lighting
The more lights, the more you’ll be able to see what you’re cooking. Make sure you have a minimum of 1 x 2w light, less than this will be pointless. The number of lights is entirely personal preference, and should be considered along with existing kitchen lighting. Some hoods even come with LED lighting for added wow factor.
FAQs
How to clean a cooker hood?
Many new cooker hoods come with dishwasher safe grease filters. In this case, pop the filters out, stand them vertically in your dishwasher and follow the manufacturers instructions for exact cleaning products and programs.
For those with replaceable filters, the process is slightly more complicated. You’ll need to detach the horizontal filters from above your cooker, then either replace with factory approved filters, or hand wash in hot soapy water until you’re satisfied they’re clean.
How to fit a cooker hood?
Check the measurements according to the manufacturer for optimum height and extraction power, mark on the wall and follow the directions for drilling holes etc. When it comes to connecting the power, unless you’re a qualified electrician, this is best left to professionals.