Cooker hood, fan or both ?

Hi Mike,

Purely from a numbers perspective the most issues landlords seem to have property related is with damp/condensation.

On that basis I would strongly consider the cooker hood extractor option as on a visual reminder basis and habit I would say that is far more likely to be used when the hob is than a separate fan with no visual reminder.

I always go for a cooker hood that vents to the outside; recirculating hoods (and no hood) do nothing for condensation.

Your comment regarding the cooker hood and the suggestions to date are very sensible.
It could depend if the refurbishment is under Building Regulations as that will make a extracted system [hood or other type] to be vented to the outside probably compulsory.
As for tenants responsibilities well that is the type of person involved [someone who cannot keep a kitchen clean has possibly the same attitude throughout?

Agree that damp/condensation is the no.1 enemy – most newbie landlrods don’t realise this (I didn’t).

And frankly, most tenants under 40 don’t give a monkeys about damp either. you can’t rely on them to switch on the cooker hood.

For that reason, you should take the choice out of their hands by fitting a fan with a hydrostatic switch – it’ll switch on automatically when there is a certain amount of moisture in the air. Ask the electrician to install it without a user-operated switch, otherwise your tenants wil just turn it off when it start making a noise during their NetFlix session.

Fit more than one – bathroom & kitchen are your minimum starting points.

Maybe someone makes a hood with a hydrostatic switch? If not, fans all the way. Good ones start at about £100 – check the decibel rating on each one, and don’t forget that decibels are logathrimic: 11 decibels is not 10% louder than 10 decibels; it is in fact muc louder, so seemingly small differences in decibel ratings can add up.

Many thanks to all for your helpful comments. Completely agree that hoods that just recirculate are a waste of time. Building control not involved (just replacing existing kitchen which has no ventilation). Yes have already fitted a fan in the bathroom. I’m inclined to agree with Jims that even many of the best tenants don’t give a monkey’s about ventilation, especially the younger ones. I’ve previously made the mistake of buying the cheap fans via ebay/amazon which are a fraction of the price of the well known makes – great to begin with but they either get louder and louder (so switched off) or conk out within months.Thanks for the decibel explanation, I’ve never really understood that before and wondered why manufacturers boasted about one decibel improvement ! With the hydrostat/humidistat fans, I wonder if they can have a timer as well so that they come on when the light is switched on whatever the level of humidity ? Then if they are having a fry up with not much steam you still get extraction.
Mike

Why not fit a Positive Input Ventilation fan which circulates fresh air throughout the property and is designed to counteract condensation. As a retired ventilation specialist I swear by them and automatically fit them when I acquire a new property, and they are set up so that they run automatically and are beyond the tenant’s control. All my properties have these fans, but not all have cooker hoods. None of my properties have condensation problems. Google PIV fans for suppliers

Thanks Bill. Yes I have heard PIV fans are brilliant so it’s good to hear another positive (no pun intended) opinion of them. However, in this case as a listed building we still have open fireplaces and sash windows so in most of the flat there should be enough natural ventilation – it’s just the kitchen which probably needs extra help.
Mike