My kitchen extractor hood isn't pulling smoke or smell anymore — how do I fix the suction?
The extractor hood over the hob has basically stopped doing its job — the fan still runs and sounds normal, but smoke and cooking smells just hang in the kitchen now instead of being pulled away. It used to clear the air fast.
What makes a hood lose suction like this, and is it something I can sort before calling someone? Cooking smell lingering is a real problem for me.
4 answers
If the fan still runs normally, the motor's probably fine — you've almost certainly got a restriction, and it's usually one of these, in order:
- Greased-up filters. The metal mesh filters underneath clog with cooking grease and choke the airflow. Pop them out and either put them through the dishwasher or soak in hot water with degreaser. If they're the disposable type, replace them. This alone fixes most 'lost suction' cases — and in a kitchen that cooks a lot, they need doing monthly.
- Recirculation with a dead carbon filter. Many hoods here aren't ducted outside at all — they filter the air through a charcoal/carbon filter and blow it back into the room. Those filters saturate and stop absorbing smell after a few months. If yours recirculates, replace the carbon filter.
- Blocked or crushed duct / outlet. If it is ducted outside, check the run isn't kinked and the wall/roof outlet isn't blocked (grease, or a bird's nest — it happens).
Work through 1–3 first — all cheap or free. If the fan runs but pulls nothing after clean filters, clear ducting and a fresh carbon filter, then it's the motor/impeller or a collapsed duct, and that's when to call a kitchen-equipment specialist to look at the fan itself.
The recirculation thing surprises a lot of people — mine looked ducted but was actually just blowing filtered air back into the room through a charcoal filter I didn't know existed. Swapped it and the smell-clearing came back instantly. Worth checking which type you have.
Filters were solid with grease — degreased them and it's pulling properly again. Turns out mine recirculates too, so ordering a carbon filter. Monthly filter clean is going on the kitchen checklist. Thank you!
If you're sorting the hood as part of a wider kitchen update, worth deciding the hob at the same time: switching a gas hob to induction changes both the ventilation and the electrical picture (cleaner cooking, but you still want a working extractor, and it needs a dedicated circuit). Easier to plan both together than redo the extraction later.
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