Why Does My Cooker Hood Smell? Causes and Fixes for Home Kitchens

A cooker hood should remove cooking smells, not add its own. When a villa or apartment kitchen hood starts to smell of old oil, burnt food or something musty, the cause is almost always inside the hood. Here are the usual culprits and what to do about each.

1. Grease filters full of old oil

The metal filters under the hood trap grease every time you cook. Over months that grease goes rancid, and warm air from the stove carries the smell back into the kitchen. Soak and clean them (see how to clean grease filters), or replace damaged ones.

2. A spent carbon filter in a recirculating hood

Many apartment hoods do not vent outside. They pull air through a carbon filter and blow it back into the kitchen. Once the carbon is saturated it stops absorbing odours, and the hood just moves smelly air around. Carbon filters need replacing on the schedule the hood maker gives.

3. Grease inside the fan and housing

Grease that gets past the filters coats the fan blades, motor housing and inner panels. You cannot see it without opening the hood. A deep clean of the inside of the hood removes it, and often makes the hood quieter as well.

4. A musty smell when the hood is off

If the smell comes when the hood is not running, check for moisture in the duct, a missing or stuck backdraft flap, or air being pulled in from a shared shaft in an apartment building. A building maintenance team may need to check the shaft.

What to do

• Clean or replace the grease filters
• Replace the carbon filter if your hood recirculates
• Run the hood for 10 to 15 minutes after cooking so it clears the air
• If the smell stays, book a deep clean of the hood and fan

HoodEx cleans villa and apartment kitchen hoods and chimneys across the UAE. See kitchen chimney and range hood cleaning for homes. For restaurants with a lingering oil smell, read why a kitchen smells of old cooking oil.

Frequently asked questions