Why doesn't my range hood ventilate well?

There are different reasons that can cause the range hood to exhaust less well. Go through the following 5 tips to find out what the problem is:

• Tip 1. Replace the carbon filter.
• Tip 2. Clean the grease filters.
• Tip 3. Ensure more ventilation.
• Tip 4. Check the exhaust pipe.
• Tip 5. Check the distance to the cooktop.

A recirculation range hood uses carbon filters to clean the air. A carbon filter filters the cooking fumes and blows clean air back into your kitchen. When the filters are full, they no longer filter air and the cooking fumes stay in the room. That's why you should replace your carbon filter on a regular basis. This is often between 3 and 12 months. Check the manual of the filter to see how often you should do this exactly.

When the grease filter of your range hood is filled with grease and dirt, this has a negative effect on the extraction rate of your range hood. The air can't get through the filter as easily, so it's more difficult to exhaust. You can prevent your filters from getting dirty by cleaning them once every 2 months.

A range hood processes hundreds of cubic meters of air per hour. But this air has to come from somewhere. When the air supply is insufficient, the range hood won't work properly. This is often the case in new homes, because they're so well-insulated. So always make sure there's more than enough ventilation. Fresh air makes your range hood exhaust better. You can open the window in the kitchen, for example.

A ventilation system range hood exhausts cooking fumes outwards via the exhaust pipe. For proper exhaustion, the pipe should be as short as possible and preferably without many corners. Each corner causes a significant loss in extraction rate. A flexible exhaust pipe also results in a lower extraction rate. Make sure to check the diameter of the exhaust pipe as well. A large, wide exhaust pipe can exhaust the air more easily than a narrow pipe.

Both with a gas and electric cooktop, it's important that the distance between the cooktop and the range hood isn't larger than 80cm. Is your range hood placed higher? The range hood won't exhaust enough to get rid of all the cooking fumes.