COOKER HOODS BUYING GUIDE

If you are looking to choose a cooker hood that is more on the show than an integrated model, you should consider what finish will complement the rest of your appliance choices and the overall aesthetic of your kitchen. You have the option of three finishes; there is a traditional white or a modern update natural or dark stainless steel.

When upgrading your kitchen, one thing to note is, just as there are 52 shades of white, same goes for appliance finishes. For the best results, purchase your appliances from one brand to make sure all your appliances seamlessly complement one another.

You have two circulation options when choosing a range hood, ducted or recirculating. A ducted cooker hood means it will remove the air out of your kitchen and send it outside via piping.

If you can't send your cooker hood fumes outside, you will need to look for a recirculating cooker hood which recirculates the air via a filter and cleans the air before sending it back into the kitchen. However, recirculating is not as powerful as ducted, as you will need to replace filters more regularly.

When looking at the power or extraction rate, it is measured in m3/hour. The higher the rate, the greater the amount of air that will be removed from your kitchen. You will need to consider the type of cooking you do; if you do a lot of cooking on the wok, you should consider a high extraction rate of over 700m3/hour.

Suppose your home has an open plan living design where cooker hood noise whilst cooking may impact others who are watching TV. In that case, you might want to consider looking at a cooker hood with the ability for its motor installed in the roof rather than it being with the cooker hood unit in the house. By choosing a cooker hood with this design, you will significantly reduce the noise in your kitchen.

Whilst all cooker hoods come with filters, they are not the same filters across every cooker hood. Most ducted models will have Aluminum filters. These need to be cleaned by hand or in a dishwasher regularly to ensure your cooker hood is working as hard as it can be.

Carbon filters in recirculating cooker hoods are used to remove impurities from the air. Once they have reached the end of their lifespan, you will need to replace them with a brand new carbon filter.