Any professional or amateur chef will tell you how important a quality range hood is for cooking. With so many different types of range hoods on the market, you may be asking yourself which is best. Let us show you the pros and cons of the most popular range hood styles to help you decide which suits your needs!

A range hood is one of the most necessary kitchen essentials, though it’s often overlooked as an appliance underdog. Tasked with filtering odors, heat, and smoke, it’s a maintenance must-have that cleans beyond the visible surface mess. Plus, with a variety of range hood styles from island hoods to wall-mounts, they can please in both functionality and aesthetics.

In regards to types of kitchen ventilation, a range hood’s multi-fold effectiveness is unrivaled. Their primary duty is to improve air quality. It breathes in contaminated air through a motorized fan and either re-circulates it or filters it outside. Without this process, you’d be inhaling your dinner’s aftermath, which can lead to possible eye, nose, and throat irritation. Worse, non-filtered air can make you more susceptible to carbon monoxide poisoning. A lack of kitchen ventilation options can also exacerbate asthma, kitchen odor, stove and surface clean-up, and discomfort from heat overload.

A wall-mount range hood is one of the most common hood styles. Hovering about 28-36 inches between the hood’s bottom and the stove’s cooking surface, it holsters the most cooking fumes. Wall-mount range hoods also come in various shapes, with the pyramid chimney style leading the pack. 

Aptly named, an undercabinet range hood camps directly beneath an over-the-range cabinet, blending into the design of the surrounding cabinets, range, and cooktop. When accurately measured before installation, this type’s less imposing design can accurately flush with your cabinet landscape.  

Island range hoods make ideal centerpieces for your kitchen. Rather than situated against your kitchen’s perimeter in a wall-mount fashion, an island hood is mounted to your ceiling. This means that they demand additional CFM (cubic feet per minute) to effectively filter as much polluted air from your kitchen as possible. 

When it comes to different range hood styles, the over-the-range microwave type is the leading space-saver. Cooperatively used in place of a traditional hood fan, a fog-free kitchen is at your disposal with a simple button push on your microwave. It is a wonderful convenience in smaller homes and apartment units where low-lying ceilings don’t harness smoke as efficiently as more spacious homes. 

A downdraft range hood looks like something plucked from a futuristic film set. Integrated into the cooktop, its complexity frosted with a simple design can gift any run-of-the-mill kitchen a slick look. They’re a popular option for islands as they pop up when in use and don’t call for conventional installation. 

Having trouble with your existing range hood? Contact the kitchen appliance repair professionals at Reliable Appliance Service today!