Appliances
Cooker hood doing nothing? Filters first
The cooker hood is the most neglected machine in the kitchen: it eats grease for years without a word of thanks, and its filters get changed roughly never. If yours is loud but useless, or the kitchen smells of Friday’s fish on Sunday, start with the filters before blaming the motor.
By the Tickover team · Published 23 February 2026 · 4 min read
First, know which kind you have
Hoods come in two temperaments. A ducted hood pushes cooking air through a duct to the outside, and only needs its metal grease filters kept clean. A recirculating hood pulls air through grease filters, then a carbon filter to strip smells, and returns it to the kitchen; it lives or dies by that carbon.
Not sure which is which? Look above or behind the hood for a duct run, or hold a tissue to the grille outside while the fan runs. No duct anywhere means recirculating, and it means there is a carbon filter in there, almost certainly overdue.
| Ducted | Recirculating | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the air goes | Outside, via a duct | Back into the kitchen |
| Filters fitted | Metal grease mesh only | Grease mesh plus carbon |
| Carbon filter | Not needed | Replace every 6–12 months |
| Strongest at | Steam and moisture | Homes with no outside route |
The filter service
Twenty minutes, most of the cure
Switch it off at the plug or its wall switch
Isolate the hood before your hands go up there. If it is hard-wired, use its fused switch on the wall.
Drop out the metal grease filters
They release with a clip or latch under the canopy. If they drip or smell, they have been full for months.
Degrease them properly
Through the dishwasher on its hottest cycle, or a long soak in very hot water with soda crystals. Repeat monthly; a saturated filter blocks airflow and sends grease onward to the motor.
Date and replace the carbon filter
Recirculating hoods only. Most are round cassettes that twist off around the fan. They cannot be washed; fit new ones every 6–12 months and write the date on the rim.
Test lamps and every speed
Replace a dead bulb like-for-like once the hood is isolated. Then run each fan speed and listen: smooth hum good, grinding or roaring-but-weak bad.
Why it matters beyond the smell
Every pan you boil sends litres of moisture into the house, and the hood is the first line of defence against it ending up on cold glass as condensation. It is the kitchen sibling of the bathroom extractor fan, and neglecting either shows up on the windows by November.
There is a fire-adjacent reason too: a mesh dripping with old grease sits directly over your highest heat source. Clean filters are cheap insurance. The hob below is separate territory; if yours is gas, any work on it is for a Gas Safe registered engineer, not a hood-cleaning afternoon.
Hood upkeep rhythm
- Grease filters through the dishwasher monthly
- Carbon filters replaced every 6–12 months, dated
- Canopy and controls degreased when the filters are out
- Outside duct flap checked yearly on ducted hoods
- Spare bulbs of the right type in the drawer
When the hood itself has failed
Clean filters, fresh carbon and still no suction leaves three suspects: the switch pack (greasy fingers wear them out), the duct itself, or the motor. Years of grease getting past saturated filters is what usually kills the motor, and by then the hum tells the story. All of it lives inside the casing, and the casing stays shut: this is repair-engineer or electrician work.
Getting it fixed
Repair visit, typical
appliance call-out norms
Electrician, hourly
switch and wiring faults
Typical UK ranges, mid-2026, as a guide only. Your home, your area and the job itself all move the number — always compare real quotes.
Hoods run 10–15 years when the filters are kept clean, so a mid-life repair usually beats replacement; a seized motor on a twenty-year-old hood does not. The repair or replace guide has the full decision maths.
Hood still doing nothing?
Self-Diagnose in the Tickover app takes your hood’s symptoms through a few questions and tells you whether it is a filter, a switch or a motor, and who should fix it.
Quick answers
How often should cooker hood filters be cleaned or replaced?
Metal grease filters want a hot dishwasher cycle or a soda-crystal soak monthly if you cook most days. Carbon filters in recirculating hoods cannot be cleaned and need replacing every 6 to 12 months; write the date on the new one, because nobody remembers. Ducted hoods have no carbon filter, so the mesh is the whole job.
Why does my cooker hood run but not clear steam or smells?
Airflow is blocked somewhere cheap. Saturated grease filters are the usual cause, followed by a carbon filter years past its lifespan, then a kinked or disconnected duct above the hood. Clean the mesh, replace the carbon and try the tissue test: a healthy hood holds kitchen roll against the filters by suction on high speed.
Can I wash a carbon filter instead of replacing it?
Generally no. Standard carbon cassettes work by adsorbing grease and smell molecules onto activated charcoal, and once it is full it is full; water does not empty it. A small number of models sell regenerable filters that recover in a hot oven, but unless the manual says exactly that, treat carbon as a consumable with a 6 to 12 month life.
Is a noisy cooker hood worth repairing?
It depends what the noise is. Rattles are often loose filters or housing screws, fixed in minutes. A grinding or roaring motor on a hood past its 10 to 15 year span usually is not worth an engineer visit, since repair costs sit near the price of a replacement hood. Mid-life hoods with switch faults are better candidates for repair.
This guide is general information for UK homes, not advice about your specific property. Anything involving gas must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and notifiable electrical work by a qualified electrician. If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency line on 0800 111 999. If you’re ever unsure, stop and get a professional in — that’s exactly what Tickover is for.
Keep reading
Appliances
Oven not heating evenly (or at all)?
Lopsided bakes, cold air from a running fan, or an oven that trips the electrics mid-roast: here is how to read the symptoms and what an element repair costs.
4 min read
Damp, mould & air
Bathroom extractor fans: the unsung heroes
The toilet-paper test for suction, why a dusty grille halves performance, ducting rules, and what a replacement fan costs installed.
4 min read
AppliancesFull guide
Repair or replace? The appliance decision guide
A broken appliance forces a fast decision. Use the 50% rule, typical UK lifespans and honest repair costs to choose repair or replacement with confidence.
6 min read