There’ll be a lot of work for cooker hoods in the coming festive weeks, but have you been caring for her correctly?
A well looked after cooker hood will ensure odours and grease are dispelled quickly after cooking. If you feel that yours hasn’t been taking care of odours and grease properly, here is my guide to helping her do her job well.
Weekly: A quick wipe down of your cooker hood with a microfibre cloth and warm water will remove grease build up on her surfaces and fittings. As the hood attracts airborne grease every time you cook, it will build up quite quickly. This can affect buttons, switches and also discolour surrounding cupboards. A frequent wipe down will keep this at bay and ensure you never have to do a massive deep clean. Trust me, it's never pretty.
Every 2-3 months: All hoods have a grease filter that the air hits upon entry and it is vital that this is maintained properly. Their job is to trap the grease and ensure it doesn't travel further up into the hood or linger on nearby surfaces. As you can imagine, this can pose a fire risk if left to clog over time and of course, a dirty filter will also mean the hood can't do its job fully and grease will gather on walls, tiles and ceiling. Mon Dieu! Have a scan over your manual to see how to clean or change yours today. If you cook a lot you'll need to do this more often to keep it clear.
Every 8-10 months: Next is the carbon filter though not all homes will have these. You see, there are two main types of hoods; extractor and recirculation. Extractor hoods carry the air right out of the building. Recirculation hoods on the other hand, purify it, remove odours from it and then send it back out into the room. These gals are the ones that will have a carbon filter, as this is what purifies the air. When these aren't changed for a long time, they wear out and the air being sent back into your room will still have the odours from cooking. Again, your manual will guide you on how to change these and ensure your hood can carry out her work well and leave you with cleaner air after cooking.
Lights: Cooker hood lights are an absolutely glorious addition to toiling over a stove but many people will avoid changing the bulbs when they wear out. These are actually really inexpensive and easy to change. The bulbs are usually universal and screw in easily. Your manual will have a full guide and this is your nudge if you've been living with worn out bulbs.
