Hood not extracting properly — poor suction
Steam and cooking smells linger in the room, condensation forms on windows and walls, and the hood seems to be running but achieving nothing.
Extractor Hood Repair
Cooker hood and extractor repair across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire — motors, fans, switches, lighting and ducting problems diagnosed and fixed with a 6-month guarantee.
£110Call-out
labour included
labour included
10–15 yearsTypical lifespan
with maintenance
with maintenance
12Common faults
diagnosed below
diagnosed below
6 moGuarantee
parts & labour
parts & labour
Extractor hoods are the most neglected appliance in the British kitchen. They run in a hot, greasy airstream, they are mounted where nobody looks at them closely, and the majority of the ones we attend have never had their grease filters properly cleaned. That single omission causes most of the faults in this category — a saturated filter chokes airflow, the motor works harder against the restriction, bearings wear, and the whole appliance becomes noisier and less effective long before anything actually breaks. The second big issue is ducting, and it is very often an installation fault rather than an appliance fault. A hood rated at 600 m³/h will deliver a fraction of that through 5 metres of 100mm flexible concertina hose with three tight bends and a spring-loaded wall flap that barely opens. We see this constantly in new-build kitchens across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, where the hood was specified properly and the duct run was not. If your hood has never worked well since the day the kitchen was fitted, the duct is the first place to look. The third is recirculation. A great many hoods in flats and internal kitchens have no external duct at all and instead pass air through a charcoal filter and back into the room. Charcoal filters are consumables with a three to six month life, and once saturated they do nothing whatsoever except restrict airflow. A recirculating hood with a two-year-old charcoal filter is an expensive fan making noise. We repair chimney, integrated, canopy, downdraft and island hoods across Bosch, Neff, Siemens, Elica, AEG, Zanussi, Hotpoint, Cooke & Lewis, CDA, Lamona and Smeg. Our charge is a £110 call-out that covers the visit, the diagnosis and the labour, plus any parts, which are quoted for your approval before we fit them. Twelve months parts and labour. Domestic appliances only.
What the call-out costs
| Cooker hood, any type | £110 |
| Parts, if any are needed | Quoted before fitting |
| If we cannot repair it | Call-out only |
£110, whether the hood is integrated, chimney or visor. No separate integrated surcharge on top. It is more than the standard £90 because a hood means working at height over a hob, and the ducting usually has to come apart to reach the motor.
The 12 faults we see most
If one of these sounds like your machine, we have almost certainly fixed it before. Tell us which and we will bring the right parts.
Book a repair
Pick your own slot in the diary — appliance, address and a time that suits you, in about a minute.
Book online (opens in a new tab)or
07849 033758Same-day slots when we have one. Call-out from £90, labour included.
Straight answer on price
£110 call-out — that covers the visit, the diagnosis and the labour. Parts are the only extra, quoted for your approval before we fit anything. No hourly rates. 6 months guarantee on parts and labour.
Extractor fan won't turn on at all
Pressing the switch does nothing — no fan noise, no movement — though the lights may still work.
Extractor extremely noisy
A roar, whine, rattle or grinding that has got noticeably worse over time, sometimes changing with fan speed.
Hood lights not working
One or both lamps stay dark, or LEDs flicker, dim or change colour.
Grease dripping from the hood
Sticky brown droplets falling onto the hob or worktop, and a visible film on the underside of the canopy.
Controls unresponsive or fan stuck on one speed
Buttons don't respond, the fan runs at one fixed speed regardless of setting, or the hood turns itself on or off unpredictably.
Cold draught blowing back into the kitchen
Cold air, and sometimes outside smells, coming down through the hood when it isn't running — worse on windy days.
Hood vibrating or humming loudly
A low hum or buzz through the chimney and wall, or visible shaking of the canopy when the fan runs at speed.
Downdraft hood won't rise or lower
The retractable panel sticks partway, refuses to rise, or rises and immediately retracts.
Hood trips the electrics
The RCD trips when the hood is switched on, when the lights are used, or intermittently while cooking.
Filters won't stay in or keep falling out
A grease filter drops or hangs down, or the retaining clips no longer hold it against the canopy.
Recirculating hood not removing smells
The fan runs and airflow feels fine but cooking odours persist throughout the house.
Is it worth repairing?
Extractor hoods split by value like microwaves do. A basic canopy or visor hood costs £110–£180 new, which makes almost any motor or control repair uneconomic, and we'll tell you that honestly. A chimney, island, integrated or downdraft hood is a different matter: £350–£1,200 to replace, plus the ducting reconnection and making good the wall, ceiling or cabinetry — so a £110 call-out plus the part clears the 50% rule easily. Typical lifespan is 10 to 15 years, with the motor as the limiting component and its life determined largely by how hard it has worked against restricted airflow. Before replacing any hood, it's worth checking whether the real problem is the appliance at all. A very large share of the poor-extraction complaints we attend turn out to be saturated filters, an exhausted charcoal filter, a stuck external flap, or a duct run that was compromised when the kitchen was fitted. Buying a more powerful hood to overcome a bad duct is a common and expensive mistake — the duct simply throttles the new one too. Environmentally, a hood is a modest appliance but replacement often means disturbing ducting and cabinetry, generating far more waste than the appliance itself. Repairing and re-ducting properly is almost always the better outcome, and we'll set out both options with real numbers.
If it's time to replace, see what we sell
Brands we repair
We work on every major manufacturer, and our vans carry spares for the ones we see most in this area.
First-time fix
Our vans carry a wide range of extractor hood spares so most jobs are finished on the same visit. If we need to order a part, it's usually fitted within a couple of working days at no second call-out charge.
What the call-out is
£110, whether the hood is integrated, chimney or visor. No separate integrated surcharge on top. It is more than the standard £90 because a hood means working at height over a hob, and the ducting usually has to come apart to reach the motor. Parts are on top and quoted for your approval before anything is fitted.
Domestic only
We do not work on commercial or coin-operated machines.
Maintenance
Make your extractor hood last longer
Water across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire runs around 280–320 mg/l. That limescale is the single biggest reason appliances die early here.
Wash the grease filters monthly
Put mesh or baffle filters through the dishwasher on a hot cycle once a month, or soak them in very hot water with soda crystals if they're heavily loaded. A saturated filter is the root cause of most extractor faults — poor suction, motor wear, noise and dripping grease all start here. If yours has never been cleaned, expect two or three cycles to get it back.
Replace charcoal filters every three to six months
On recirculating hoods, the charcoal filter is a consumable, not a permanent part. Once saturated it absorbs nothing and simply restricts airflow. Three months for heavy cooking, six for light. Write the date on the filter with a marker, because nobody remembers otherwise.
Check the external flap opens
Once a year, run the hood at full speed and go outside to look at the wall or roof terminal — the louvres should be visibly open. Broken flaps, painted-shut louvres and birds' nests are all common, and all reduce a properly specified hood to a noisy fan. Spring is the time to check for nesting.
Run the hood before you start cooking, and after
Switch it on a couple of minutes before you begin so it establishes an airflow pattern, and leave it running for ten to fifteen minutes after you finish to clear residual steam and odour. Many hoods have a run-on timer for exactly this. It's more effective than running it at maximum for the last two minutes.
Use the boost speed sparingly
Boost speeds are noisy and no more effective than a medium speed run for longer, unless you're searing or wok cooking. Running at speed one or two continuously through a cooking session captures more than intermittent bursts at maximum, and puts less wear on the motor bearings.
Degrease the canopy and impeller annually
Filters catch most but not all of the grease, and what gets through coats the impeller and the inside of the canopy. Uneven grease on a spinning impeller unbalances it and causes noise and vibration. A proper degrease once a year — as part of a service visit if you can't reach it safely — keeps the hood quiet.
Don't leave the hob burning under a hood unattended
Accumulated grease in a hood is flammable, and an unattended pan fire under a greasy hood is how a kitchen fire spreads. This is another reason to keep the filters clean. Never run a gas hob at high output with no pan on it beneath a hood.
Wipe the touch panel with a damp cloth, never spray
Cleaning spray aimed at a touch control panel wicks behind the membrane and, combined with the steam and grease the hood lives in, destroys the module. Spray onto a cloth and wipe. Touch modules are among the more expensive parts on a hood and this is how most of them die.
Questions
Extractor hood repair FAQs
How much does an extractor hood repair cost?
A £110 call-out covering the visit, the diagnosis and the labour, with parts charged on top and quoted for your approval. Lights, switches, flaps and filter clips are inexpensive; motors, touch modules and downdraft lift mechanisms cost more. Access varies enormously between hood types, but the labour is the same £110 either way.
Is an extractor hood worth repairing?
It depends on the hood. A basic £120 canopy hood isn't worth a call-out plus a replacement motor. A chimney, island, downdraft or integrated hood costing £350–£1,200 to replace and fit certainly is, particularly since replacement often means new ducting connections and making good the wall or ceiling.
How long does an extractor repair take?
Most repairs take 45 to 110 minutes in one visit. Motors and control modules on chimney hoods take longer because the chimney sections have to come down and the hood be partly dismounted. Downdraft lift mechanisms are the longest jobs in this category.
What guarantee comes with the repair?
Twelve months on parts and labour, directly with us, on every repair. If the same fault recurs within six months we return at no charge. That covers motors, controls, lighting and mechanical components alike.
Can you improve the extraction on a hood that's never worked well?
Often, yes — but usually by addressing the ducting rather than the appliance. We measure actual airflow, inspect the duct diameter, length, bends and terminal, and tell you specifically what's limiting it. Replacing concertina hose with rigid ducting, or restoring a duct to its intended diameter, frequently transforms performance.
Do you supply and fit replacement filters?
Yes, both grease filters and charcoal recirculation filters for the main brands. Charcoal filters need replacing every three to six months and are the most commonly neglected consumable in the kitchen. We'll fit the correct type and show you where they go so you can do it yourself thereafter.
Can you convert my recirculating hood to ducted?
Where a practical duct route exists, yes, and it's usually a substantial improvement — ducting removes moisture as well as odour, which charcoal filters cannot. We assess the route, the wall or roof penetration required, and the duct diameter needed for your hood's rating, and quote before proceeding.
Which extractor hood brands do you repair?
Bosch, Neff, Siemens, Elica, AEG, Electrolux, Zanussi, Hotpoint, CDA, Lamona, Cooke & Lewis, Smeg, Faber, Baumatic and Caple among others. We work on domestic extraction only and do not service commercial kitchen ventilation.
How long should an extractor hood last?
Typically 10 to 15 years, and considerably longer if the filters are cleaned monthly and the impeller is degreased annually. The motor is the limiting component, and its life depends almost entirely on how hard it has had to work against restricted airflow over the years.
Do you carry extractor parts on the van?
We carry lamps, LED modules, switches, capacitors, non-return flaps and common grease and charcoal filters, so many jobs are first-visit fixes. Motors, touch control modules and downdraft mechanisms are model-specific and typically ordered in within two to five working days.
Extractor hood playing up? We'll take a look.
Call-out from £90, labour included. 6 months guarantee.