Do You Really Need Kitchen Ventilation?

If kitchen remodeling near you is something that you’re thinking about, one of the questions you may be looking at is using a range hood and ventilation in the kitchen. There are still many kitchens throughout America that don’t have a range hood or any kind of ventilation installed. What’s more, range hoods and the outdoor ventilating systems that come with them take up a sizable amount of space in a kitchen and aren’t the cheapest additions to kitchen remodeling near you. So if you’re thinking of trimming things from your remodeling budget, could kitchen ventilation be one of those things?

What It Actually Does

As the name implies, kitchen ventilation, and the range hood that sits over a stove, are all about moving air within a kitchen to the outside. A range hood has an extractor fan that, when turned on, sucks up the air, smoke, and grease particles coming from the cooking food below and quickly moves it through the ventilation system and out into the air just outside the home.

The goal of kitchen ventilation is air purification. Moving smoke and other cooking residues outdoors means it doesn’t stay in the kitchen. Generally speaking, the cooking residue is not toxic or harmful to residents, so some may think this is a luxury item that’s not really necessary in a home.

Do You Need It?

While it’s not necessary to have a range hood in the kitchen the way it is to have plumbing for water or electricity to operate appliances, there are many advantages to having a range hood. For most homeowners, it’s a practical addition to your kitchen if you’re subject to any of the following factors:

You Cook At Least 4 Times A Week

Cooking residue is not like pure oxygen. Even though it seems like it vanishes, the smoke from cooking carries food and cooking oil particles. Without ventilation, these particles remain in the kitchen and settle down on everything, especially walls.

Unless walls are cleaned regularly, a layer of cooking particulates will build up there, eventually changing both the look and smell of the kitchen walls.

Your Food Has A Strong Aroma

In some cases, people love to cook dishes with especially strong aromas. These smells can linger for a long time in the home unless ventilation is there to draw up the aroma and take it outside quickly. If some of the dishes you like to prepare have strong odors, a range hood is the best way to minimize their impact.

Air Quality Is An Issue

If residents of your home have respiratory issues, or you are simply concerned with maintaining decent air quality within the home, kitchen ventilation is essential. This is especially true for accidents, such as food burning on the stove. Actual smoke from burning food is thicker and more noxious than typical cooking smoke and can stain and damage walls.

However, a range hood can dramatically minimize the damage from smoke as well as ensure that air purity remains at a good quality even when cooking. Kitchen remodeling near you can add this feature if your kitchen doesn’t already have it.