“Most clients think of the hood as a noisy light bulb,” said Ellen Cheever, a residential-kitchen designer based in Wilmington, Del. “They do not realise how important it is.”
Whenever food is heated in a pan, particles of grease, water, smoke and food are sent into the air, and they land everywhere, which explains the grime that accumulates on furniture, fabrics and floors, damaging finishes and surfaces, Cheever said. Then there’s the odour. “Clients plan all these wonderful open loft living spaces,” she said. “And if they don’t pay attention to ventilation, they end up with a wonderfully open smelly space.”
There are also health concerns, said Richard Shaughnessy, Ph.D, director of research and manager of the Indoor Air Program at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. “Any time you’re cooking or searing something in a pan, you’re producing ultra-fine particles in the air that are not just particles, but coated with all sorts of other chemicals that you don’t want to be breathing.” The best way to vent a stove, said Shaughnessy, “is to vent to the outside. You’re looking for a range hood that’s going to sufficiently exhaust it right out of the home.”