Kitchen range hoods play an important role in the cooking process. They are needed to effectively remove bad cooking odors from cooking and to clean or remove steam outside the home. Having a well-maintained range hood in the kitchen means that your home will be free of bad odors, and a clean kitchen.
There are two main types of kitchen ventilation hoods in the market that you should be aware of. You need to find out which of these two models you have in your kitchen in order to keep them clean and well maintained. The first model is a vent hood, which connects to a duct that leads to the outside of your home. These hoods suck in cooking air and force it through ducts and directly out of your home. The second category of the hood is called a ventless or recirculation hood where it clears the cooking air before blowing the air back into the kitchen. Each of these two units has its own filter system.
The vent hood simply has a metal sheath that filters food particles and grease from cooking. They can be easily detached from the unit and cleaned in hot soapy water, and in some cases, they can even be washed in the dishwasher. It's best to read your manual before washing the filter in the dishwasher though. These filters do not need to be replaced and can last as long as the hood itself.
Ventless hoods can't remove cooking air outside the home, so it requires an additional filter to remove bad odors before the air can be returned to the kitchen. They still have a metal filter that can be washed in the same way as the vent hood, but they also have a charcoal filter. Charcoal absorbs odors and over time they need to be replaced. In most cases, the charcoal is clipped onto the main metal filter and it is an easy task to remove the clip to replace the charcoal. To know more about exhaust hoods and kitchen ventilation you can visit AOM India.
Charcoal filters are not expensive at all and once you have replaced it for the first time, it is an easy task to keep changing them over time. It is recommended to replace these filters at least every six months, but this will depend on how much you cook per day. If you have a habit of cooking a lot, you may have to replace them every three months.