Every hostess needs a good and functional kitchen. A fume hood will help to protect the apartment from unpleasant smell and smoke, without which it is already impossible to imagine any modern kitchen. The variety of their choice in stores often makes them face difficulties in choosing them. Now you can find hoods of various types, functions and price ranges.
7 pictures
Benefits
When you cook, you may notice that then the whole apartment smells like what you cooked. And if the food is burnt, then the burning smell does not leave the room for a long time. Fume cupboards are specially designed to keep your apartment clean and free of any foreign odors. The fume cupboard is installed directly above the stove or hob. If necessary, you turn on the hood and it sucks in all unpleasant odors and smoke.
The fume cupboard also serves as additional ventilation in your kitchen, where windows are constantly sweating and humidity is always high. A large number of manufacturers, both Russian and foreign, allow you to choose a hood that will fit any type of kitchen and headsets of any size. Many modern hoods are equipped with a timer that will make the hood turn off after a certain period of time.
A fume hood often serves as an additional place for storing spices, cereals and small kitchen utensils.
8 pictures
With various types of hoods
Regardless of the model of the hood, they are all divided into recirculation and flow. The first type sucks in impurities and unpleasant odors, passes them through a special filter and releases them back in a purified form. The second type of hood is connected to an opening in the ventilation and, when sucking in dirt, releases it into the common house passage, which is regularly cleaned by employees of the management company.
If you prefer built-in kitchen appliances and furniture, then it is worth choosing a built-in hood. Thus, the overall style of your kitchen will not be disturbed, it will be stylish and modern. Built-in hoods are installed in a special hood with a hole in the bottom, which perfectly masks and makes the hood almost invisible.
Built-in hoods are extremely compact and save space in a small kitchen. It is enough to simply build them into one of the kitchen cabinets. Often, the panel of such a hood is equipped with illumination, which makes cooking your favorite dishes even more comfortable and eliminates the need to turn on central lighting. This is a certain energy saving, as spot lighting does not require large energy costs.
Dome
Dome hoods have a second name - chimney. Their appearance resembles the dome of an umbrella. The hoods are attached to the wall, they can be both recirculating and flowing. Flow hoods are in great demand, since after installing it you will not need to change filters, all the dirt goes into the ventilation. Dome hoods are considered to be the most effective in cleaning the air from various impurities.
Most often, dome hoods are installed in a fume hood, which perfectly complements the hood, and makes the kitchen harmonious and beautiful. Most often, a fume hood is used as a component of a kitchen set. If in the future you plan to install a hood, then plan a kitchen design with a hood above the hob.
Retractable
Pull-out hoods are considered extremely convenient and significantly save space above the stove. The pull-out hood is mounted inside the fume cupboard and has a rather interesting design. If necessary, you can extend part of the hood, which allows you to clean the air over the entire surface of the stove.
If there is no need to use the entire area of the hood, then you can turn it on without pulling it forward. The front part of the cooker hood is disguised in the color of the kitchen unit, which makes it completely invisible and allows not to disturb the color design of the kitchen. In this case, the hood must be installed together with the kitchen unit, which, in turn, is manufactured taking into account the hood's characteristics.
Fan types
The power of the hood directly depends on the type of its fan. Naturally, the more powerful the fan, the greater the volume of air in a shorter period of time it will be able to clean. Most often, the exhaust fan has two to four speeds. When cooking in normal mode, there is no need to turn on the hood at full power, because the faster the fan runs, the more noise it makes.
The number of fans in each hood can be from one to two.
Types of filtration systems
If you choose a hood with a recirculating cleaning system, then you need to pay attention to which filters are suitable for it. There are two main types of filters: oil catching filters and charcoal filters. In the first case, filters do an excellent job with various grease emissions, protecting your furniture from greasy stains.
Hoods with a charcoal filter clean the air well from harmful impurities and dust. Generic filters also exist, but are less effective than specific filters.
How to manage
The hood control system may also differ from model to model. Hoods with touch control are considered the most modern. The controls are almost invisible and appear only after the hood is switched on. It is enough just to lightly touch the control panel to activate this or that mode.
The slider type of control is already quite outdated, but it is still present on some models of hoods. To control the hood, you need to move the slider.
Push-button type of control is the simplest and most intuitive. Each button corresponds to a specific operating mode of the hood.
How to choose
The selection of the hood should take place in parallel with the selection of the kitchen unit. First you need to decide on the type of hood and its dimensions. The ideal hood size is one that is equal to the size of the hob.
When choosing a hood, you should not be tempted by cheap models with an incomprehensible filtration system. Carefully familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the selected hood, so as not to regret it later.
How to install
You can install the hood yourself without the help of professionals. If your choice fell on a built-in hood, then a separate cabinet is needed for it, which will serve as a pocket for it. You can embed the hood into the cabinet using a hand tool, preferably an electric one, which makes a lot of noise, but allows you to cope with the installation much faster. The most important thing is not to be mistaken with the dimensions of the future hood so that the built-in hood fits snugly against its walls.
7 pictures