The Ultimate Cooker Hood Buying Guide

Are you looking for a way to make cooking and cleaning in the kitchen a more seamless activity? Perhaps you are hoping to find a way to filter dirty air or grease whilst you cook. If so, then you are probably considering a cooker hood or a fan. In this article, we will give you all of the essential information that you need if you want to buy one. That way, you can make an informed decision and buy the best style for you.

Simply put, a cooker hood is like a filter for your kitchen. It removes grease, steam and smoke from the air whilst you are cooking so that you and your kitchen environment are kept as clean, tidy, and healthy as possible. They are a staple in the modern kitchen and are a great way of keeping your walls, ceiling, and appliances grease-free, or at least a lot more grease free than usual. It also reduces steam which stops the warping of your kitchen cupboards, helping to keep your kitchen looking its best for as long as possible. If you have a cooker or hob in your kitchen then we would recommend installing a cooker hood over your cooking area.

There are a variety of different cooker hoods available, and you can buy one that will fit seamlessly into your kitchen or one that will stand out. The collection of cooker hoods we sell is detailed below, so check out the different hoods we have on offer and see what style suits you.

While there might be a number of different styles, shapes, and sizes of cooker hoods, there tend to be two types of hoods, which is to do with how they utilise the air they filter. The two types of hood are extraction hoods (most popular) and recirculation hoods. Let’s discuss the differences between the two:

Extraction hoods- If you have come across a cooker hood in an Irish home, it is likely to have been an ‘extraction fan’. The beauty of an extraction fan is that they take any smells from your cooking (good or bad, we don’t judge here) and remove them or ‘extract’ them from the air. They can be a little bit if a challenge to install because they tend to require a large enough hole in your wall.

Recirculation hoods – Recirculation hoods look to do exactly what they say on the tin: they suck in the air through filters, clean it, and then recirculate the air back into your kitchen. They tend to have more heat efficiency but can often be harder to clean and will require more maintenance.

We believe there are three reasons why having a cooker hood is a great investment for you and your kitchen.

• 
   Less Cleaning – We all want to keep our homes clean, and anything that we can do to help us make that cleaning a little easier should be welcomed with open arms. With a cooker hood, you will spend less time scrubbing stubborn grease and more time doing things you enjoy. Why? Well, cooker hoods and extractor fans can remove grease particles and smoke and steam, making it less likely to settle and cling to your surfaces.
  
• Energy Efficiency – There is a commonly held belief that cooker hoods use a lot of energy, and whilst they do use energy, as long as the filters are kept clean, they can last for years, which in the long run makes them very energy-efficient. They are also not an ‘always-on’ appliance; you will only need to use your hood when you are cooking on your hobs, so you will not need to keep it going the whole time.
• They eliminate unwanted particles – If you have a smaller kitchen, then a recirculating hood will benefit you because they require less wall space to operate, but regardless of your kitchen size or the type of fan you have, each cooker hood will remove unwanted greasy or dirty particles from the air while you cook and will make your job of needing to clean a whole lot easier. Many heavy and dirty particles can take a long time to make it to the window and leave the kitchen when you cook, so having a device that attracts and gets rid of or redistributes the particles will be greatly beneficial.

1. Visor cooker hood - This style of cooker hood is usually attached to the underside of the cabinet above your cooker or hob. It is a discreet way to bring a cooker hood into your kitchen. It can also save some of your valuable storage space, making them a great choice for smaller kitchens.
2. Island cooker hood - These cooker hoods are designed to be installed above a kitchen island, usually in the middle of your kitchen. These can create a focal point for the kitchen if you opt for a bright colour or modern design. 
3. Chimney cooker hood - These are probably the most popular types of cooker hoods. These chimney hoods are standalone units so you don't need to have a cupboard to house them. It can sit snugly between two cabinets or on its own as a feature piece. They came in many styles and colours. 
4. Canopy/ integrated hood - This style of hood is integrated into a cupboard making it 100% discreet and seamless. They look just like another cupboard at first glance. Unlike the visor hood, these units will take up the space within the cupboard so you will lose the storage space. 

Top Tip - You can also consider a hob with a built-in ventilation system. These vented hobs have an extraction fan built into the centre of the unit. 

We stock a range of cooker hood brands and styles in-store and online at unbeatable prices. So you are never too far away from the cooker hood of your dreams. Keep your kitchen and cooking areas clean with brands like Bosch or Neff, or perhaps avail of one of our visor cooker hoods, island cooker hoods, or chimney cooker hoods. Whatever suits you and your style of kitchen best.

If you are a little stumped as to what style or type of cooker hood might suit you and your home, then do not hesitate to contact your local store, where one of our store assistants would be happy to help you out. Alternatively, call our online sales team, who will gladly assist over the phone!

Cooker hoods are designed to clean up your kitchen environment by removing airborne grease, smoke, steam and odour whilst you cook. They can either extract or recirculate air; each has its own benefits.

Many cooker hoods have one or more aluminium plates that act as grease filters. These are spring-loaded and should be easy to remove. If there’s only a light grease build-up, wash out the filter in the sink using hot water and washing-up liquid.

It’s a good idea to clean a cooker hood made from stainless steel with a specially formulated product. Stainless steel cleaners are equipped to degrease and remove dirt and can help ensure that your cooker hood gleams as though it’s brand new.