Cooking without an extractor hood?

[Ahleckz]

We’re putting a new kitchen in, and for purely aesthetic reasons I’m considering getting rid of the extractor hood. It won’t quite fit where I want my new range and would look better without it. The kitchen designer suggested getting rid, but I’m not convinced…
Will my house smell awful, all the time, and will my walls be covered in grease?

Or, can I crack the window open and live a grease free existence whilst tempting my neighbours with my delicious culinary scents?

Not having to replace the sodding bulbs also has to be a plus…

So, has anyone got rid?

 

[LuckyBenski]

According to building regs any "new" kitchens (in England at least) have to have an extractor. That doesn't mean it has to be a hood AFAIK, could just be a fan at the exterior end of the kitchen.

My landlord replaced our entire kitchen in 2019, back to plaster/brick and some structural work. Cowboy builders though so didn't put a fan in... We use the bathroom extractor to try and manage it.

I've never had a proper extractor but the more I think about it, the more I wish we did. I think just to encourage smells not to travel backwards into the entire house.

Edit: regarding neighbours... Ours bought next door and are renovating the entire place. The wife came and asked me if I cook a lot because smells are drifting in... I said text me next time you smell it. Sure enough we were making curry that day

 

[b0rn2sk8]

It’s not just about the smells, but also consider the humidity from boiling water etc. which can lead to damp.

 

[bazzabear]

We rarely ever remember to turn ours on anyway. It's just there to **** me in the head if I forget and move my head in the wrong direction when working on the counter next to it.

You can get hobs with a built in extractor these days - would that be any use to you?

 

[Semple]

Was debating getting rid of ours, as we have a hvac system in the house and that can extract from the kitchen as well.

 

[thezappa]

We moved in to a new house and had to buy a range cooker. The previous owner was a chef and had one and didn’t have an extractor.
I was pretty adamant we should have an extractor as the kitchen is open (albeit round a corner) to the lounge. Since cooking with it though the smells haven’t been that bad at all. Windows are open most of the time admittedly but I thought it was going to be a lot worse than it is.

I should add, we will likely get a vented extractor at some point but we will have to wait until we do the kitchen.

 

[Derek W]

We’re putting a new kitchen in, and for purely aesthetic reasons I’m considering getting rid of the extractor hood. It won’t quite fit where I want my new range and would look better without it. The kitchen designer suggested getting rid, but I’m not convinced…
Will my house smell awful, all the time, and will my walls be covered in grease?

Or, can I crack the window open and live a grease free existence whilst tempting my neighbours with my delicious culinary scents?

Not having to replace the sodding bulbs also has to be a plus…

So, has anyone got rid?

Don't, is my advice. As Luckybenski says, up here the regs read the same. If your current kitchen has an extract at the very least you shouldn't be making it any worse than it already is in terms of regulations. As Bazzabear suggests there are some counter mounted extracts which get ducted below the units to the external air to do the same job albeit they are pricier. The other alternative is to have a wall mounted extract however the extraction rate is doubled from 30l/s to 60l/s as its not directly above the cooker.

 

[Molep]

Had a new kitchen fitted last year, no extraction. have a back door to let out any steam.

 

[ristac]

We switched our kitchen around and had one of those cooker hoods that recirculate the air through carbon filters, what a waste of time. Condensation when boiling veg, the house stinks every time you cook and the entire kitchen needed a fresh coat of paint 12 months on. We put a hole through the wall and got a proper hood back in, never again.

 

[Steampunk]

We’re putting a new kitchen in, and for purely aesthetic reasons I’m considering getting rid of the extractor hood. It won’t quite fit where I want my new range and would look better without it. The kitchen designer suggested getting rid, but I’m not convinced…
Will my house smell awful, all the time, and will my walls be covered in grease?

Or, can I crack the window open and live a grease free existence whilst tempting my neighbours with my delicious culinary scents?

Not having to replace the sodding bulbs also has to be a plus…

So, has anyone got rid?

Get an extractor, preferably one that vents to the outside. Otherwise your kitchen will get steamy, and that steam will carry grease around, and dust will stick to that grease, giving you a grubby, greasy, dusty surface all over everything. Opening a window will not do anything, as you've got no idea what that will do to airflows, it's just as likely to push the kitchen air into the house. Your house will likely smell of food all over.

I've experienced kitchens without extractors, with filter extractors, and piped to the outside extractors. The latter is far, far better, just make sure you get one that can shift a lot of air.

There are plenty of extractors with different aesthetic designs (such as vertical extractors, ceiling extractors or on the worktops, not just hoods or boxes), so maybe you could find something you like the look of instead, while keeping the practicality of having an extractor in the kitchen.

 

[{SAS}TB]

We had a false "chimney breast" built to house the hood extractor in our new kitchen

 

[a1ex2001]

I wouldn’t have a kitchen with no extraction the damp, smell and grease isn’t worth it. Due to pay out constraints we couldn’t have one over our cooker so we have a wall mounted one instead and it is a definite improvement on the previous vintage kitchen that had none!

 

[SoliD]

Had a recirculator with a tiny extractor on the opposite wall in our old kitchen which was dreadful, changed that when I redid the kitchen, couldn't imagine not having an extractor of any sort. I have a 90cm Elica one now and even when cooking/searing at very high temps it takes a few minutes to get rid of all the smells/smoke/vapour, smaller stuff obviously not a problem, but would be horrific with some meals!

 

[Simon]

Proper extractor is what you need to pull smell and steam out. Opening a door isn’t the same.

 

[psd99]

When you go in and open an extractor vent that's been there for years only then you'll understand just how important the extractors are
I would suggest you get one installed, save you problems for the long term

 

[Ahleckz]

Thanks for all the feedback. We've decided to get one.

The trend at the kitchen shops we've been looking at seems to be huge glass things which are horrible. She also hates the 'chimney' style ones but quite likes the look of a simple bar one (https://ao.com/product/ch9t4bxuk-hisense-chimney-cooker-hood-stainless-steel-83424-5.aspx this looks like it'll pass her test!).

I think the feeling is that there's a reason they are there, and opening a window isn't a true replacement. Mainly concerned about steam rather than grease. Plus, there's a slight concern around carbon monoxide.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Depending on the style of kitchen you could get one built into a top box so it’s relatively hidden and blends in with the rest of the kitchen.

 

[Salsa]

Will it actually be ducted and extract to the outside? If not then all it will do is pass the air through a metal then charcoal filter and recirculate back into the room and while that will help remove some smells/grease/moisture won’t be nearly as effective as a vented extractor. Might be worth looking at a continuous extraction (trickle) wall vent instead if you’re concerned about steam, we have one in our kitchen and it does a much better job than our unvented extractor.

/Salsa

 

[JRJ]

Approved document F I believe is the right read for this, any new kitchen/toilet/bathroom/utility must have an extractor. Any refurbishment where one is present it must be retained or if there isn't one at all there's no requirement to add one.

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

We (well I) fitted something like this, seems they changed the design a little but its great, pull it out when needed and push it in when not (has to be pulled out fully to switch it on)

https://ao.com/product/sklockled90-elica-integrated-cooker-hood-silver-68513-6.aspx

I always bang my head on cooker hoods as they stick out too far and sit just above my eye line typically

I modified the cupboard above the hood so it still has as much space as possible inside. Refitted the shelf and boxed in the outflow to outside.

You can at least on ours if you want add cupboard trim to the front so it blends it with other cupboards (assuming you have trim round the bottom) but we liked the stainless front, its only like 4cm deep. As we didnt add trim we have ours sitting a few cm behind the bottom of the cupboard when pushed fully in, as we liked the look that way, more than setting it so its level with the cabinet.