There’s nothing like a well-furnished kitchen to complete your dream home.
Get in the hood with us! We share about what to look out for when getting a hood for your kitchen so that you can keep it fresh and clean.
1. TYPES OF HOODS
The first order of business is to understand the types of hoods out there so you can get the right fit for your kitchen.
A. Slim-line/Retractable hoods
These hoods are ideal for small cooking spaces and can be retracted when not in use to save space.
B. Under-cabinet/Powerpack hoods
Also ideal for small cooking zones, these hoods are applicable to living spaces in Singapore, especially with our HDB and apartment buildings.
Installation of such hoods are usually found below the cabinetry and they help to ventilate the air by circulating the dirty air through a filter before returning it back to the kitchen.
C. Island/Chimney-type hoods
These hoods are larger and you can consider getting one if you own a landed property and have heavy kitchen usage. Like industrial hoods, they ventilate the air through ducts where the smokes and fumes from cooking are directed out of the house through a duct pipe.
The need to install duct pipes along with such hoods makes them unsuitable for HDB and apartment buildings as there is simply no available space for you to install duct pipes.
2. FUNCTIONALITIES TO CONSIDER
There are many functions attached to a hood and we picked out three features that you should pay close attention to.
A. Ventilation fans
Always remember to check if there are variable fan speed options available! This comes into handy on days where only light cooking is done or on days when you feel like deep-frying items.
B. Lighting
Are there lighting installations on my hood? Hood lights come into handy when you need a bit of extra illumination to aid you in cooking.
C. Noise
What are the noises that the hood makes? The noise that comes from the hood’s ventilation air might not be a pleasant sound to everyone’s ears. Always ask if there can be a demonstration of the hood to gauge how noisy the hood will be. You won’t want to end up with a rattling loud hood to work with while whipping up dishes for your loved ones.
3. DESIGN
Just because it’s hanging above your head, doesn’t mean any design goes. It is still important to consider its aesthetic and ergonomic design.
A. Aesthetic
Before rushing in to get just any model, consider if the look of the hood suits the design of the kitchen and the hob. One hack is to observe how showrooms pair up their hobs and hoods to serve as the first indication of which models would work together.
B. Ease of cleaning
Is it easy to clean? Avoid designs with crevices as it would mean that the oil and grease that comes with cooking will be trapped there. Reaching into these tiny spaces to clean it up can be tiring and time consuming.
C. Controls
Finally, look out for the controls! Are they easy to reach or are they hidden in some obscure corner? On first look, can you figure out which buttons are for what? All these are crucial to having a seamless cooking experience so make sure to take this into consideration.
4. FITTINGS AND MEASUREMENTS
Last but definitely not the least, always go hood shopping prepared with measurements and fittings on your hand! You wouldn’t want to end up getting a hood that doesn’t fit well and end up having to get the model changed. A general rule of thumb is to choose a hood with a width that is equal to or greater than the width of your hob, this helps to ensure that odours can be effectively removed.
We hope you are one step closer to completing your dream kitchen!
Check out our hob and hood SALE packages here.