Cooker Hood Not Extracting? Causes and How to Fix It

Why your cooker hood stops pulling air

A cooker hood that's gone quiet or weak is almost always trying to tell you something. When the steam lingers over the hob, cooking smells hang around for hours, or you can feel barely any pull at the vents, the cause is usually a saturated filter or a restriction in the airflow somewhere. The good news is that a lot of this you can sort yourself in a few minutes. The rest, like a failing motor, is where it makes sense to book an engineer.

Here's how to work through a cooker hood not extracting properly, from the easy checks to the jobs best left to us.

Start with the filters

Most extraction problems come down to filters that haven't been cleaned or replaced. Before you assume the worst about the motor, run through these.

Know your filter type

There are three filter types you'll come across, and they're treated very differently.

Filter type	What it does	Can it be cleaned?
Metal gauze (stainless steel mesh)	Catches grease as air passes through. Most hoods have two or three of them.	Yes, they clean up extremely well in a dishwasher and can be reused, or replaced if needed.
Carbon filter	Sits on the motor section to deal with odours on recirculating models. Not every hood has one.	No. A carbon filter cannot be cleaned. Once saturated it has to be replaced.
Paper gauze	Found on older extractors, usually sandwiched between two halves of a removable panel.	No. Replace it once saturated. It's sold in large sheets you can cut to size.

Clean the metal gauze filters

Greasy mesh filters are the most common reason a hood feels gutless. Air simply can't get through a clogged mesh.

• Push down on the sprung catch on either side of each filter to release the tabs. The filter will drop out.
• Pop them in the dishwasher. Stainless steel mesh comes up beautifully and the grease lifts away.
• You don't need to keep track of which one came from where. The filters fit in any of the positions, so there's no set order to put them back.

If you cook a lot, get into the habit of doing this regularly. A thin film of grease builds up faster than you'd think and it quietly throttles the airflow.

Check the carbon filter

If your hood recirculates air rather than venting outside, it relies on a carbon filter to scrub out the smells. When this filter saturates, two things happen: extraction efficiency drops, and the restriction can put strain on the motor itself.

• On the motor section, give the carbon filter a quarter turn and it will pop out.
• There's no cleaning a carbon filter. If it's saturated, fit a fresh one.
• If your extractor isn't working efficiently, this is the first thing to swap. Replace it and see how you get on before looking any further.

Not all cooker hoods have a carbon filter, so don't worry if yours doesn't.

Paper gauze filters on older models

On older extractor fans, the removable panel often splits into two halves with a paper gauze filter in between. These saturate over time and choke the airflow. They're cheap and quick to swap, and you can buy the gauze in large sheets and cut a piece to fit.

If the filters are clean and it's still weak

With fresh or clean filters, here's what else can hold back extraction.

Blocked or kinked ducting

If your hood vents outside, the air has to travel through ducting to get there. A crushed flexible hose, a build-up of grease inside the duct, or a stuck external flap can all cut the airflow right down. Check the ducting run where you can see it and make sure the outside vent is clear and opening freely.

Recirculating versus ducted set-up

A recirculating hood (one with a carbon filter and no outside vent) will never shift steam as forcefully as a ducted one. If extraction has always felt modest rather than suddenly dropped off, that may simply be the type of hood you have. A saturated carbon filter only makes it worse.

A failing motor

If the filters are spotless, the ducting is clear, and you're still getting little or no pull, the motor may be on its way out. You might also notice it struggling to switch on, or running louder than it used to. A saturated carbon filter left too long can contribute to motor problems, which is another reason to keep on top of it.

Motor faults aren't a sensible DIY job, and that's where booking an engineer is the right call.

Common cooker hood problems we're called out for

Alongside weak extraction, these are the faults we see most often:

• The light has gone
• Air isn't extracting
• The hood won't switch on
• A loud running noise when it's on

Changing the light while you're at it

If the bulb in your hood has blown, changing it uses exactly the same method as a fridge or oven. Our step-by-step guides on changing a fridge light bulb and changing an oven light bulb will walk you through it. If you've already swapped the bulb and it's still not lighting, our piece on the oven light not working after changing the bulb covers the same kind of fault.

A quick word on safety

Before you remove panels or poke about near the motor, switch the hood off and isolate it from the power. Our guide on how to safely isolate an appliance before a DIY repair explains how to do that properly.

When to book an engineer

Clean the mesh, replace a saturated carbon or paper filter, and check the ducting. That clears most cases of a cooker hood not extracting. If the motor is the problem, or the hood won't switch on or sounds rough, get it looked at.

With NAC, we quote a service charge before an engineer attends. That covers all labour, callout and VAT where applicable, with no extra labour charges added on. If any parts are needed, we'll quote those separately and get your say-so before any work goes ahead. Repairs come with a guarantee, the length of which depends on the parts fitted and is set out in our terms and conditions.

We aim to get an engineer to you the same day you report the fault, or the next day where we can. You can book a repair through the website, or call us on 0333 016 9622. We repair cooker hoods and extractors of any make, and you can check the brands we repair and our service areas to see we cover your part of the country.

Keep on top of those filters and your hood will pull cleaner air for years. When it needs more than a clean, we're here to put it right.