The kitchen hood produces too much condensation, what should I do?

Your range hood seems to be suffering from the heat; it sweats profusely. As a result, your hob is sprinkled with drops of water! Let’s take a look at the reasons that can cause these water or grease leaks from the duct of an extractor hood.

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

• Non-compliance of the installation

• Improper device use

• Absence or blockage of the check valve

• Failure to insulate the exhaust duct

WARNING
Before you do anything to your appliance, make sure you disconnect it from the power supply.
There is a risk of electric shock.
Wear suitable protective gloves if you need to dismantle anything.
There is a risk of getting cut or injured.

The hood is not installed correctly

To install a range hood, there are a few rules to follow. First of all, the volume of the room in question expressed in m3 should be taken into account when selecting a model with the right power. Then, the suction appliance must respect a certain distance from the cooktop: not too high, not too low. If you have a problem with excessive condensation, check the installation instructions in the appliance’s instructions.

The device isn’t being used properly

If your hood tends to condense, it may be related to the temperature difference of an unheated room and the cooking giving off a lot of heat. We recommend that you start the hood about ten minutes before starting to cook in order to activate the air circuit, and thus avoid this thermal shock effect.

The exhaust duct check valve is blocked or missing

This check applies only to hood models with an external exhaust. In this case, the air drawn in by the hood is discharged outside through a duct. Thermal shock can occur, especially in winter, if the duct is facing north or if it isn’t equipped with a non-return valve. The meeting of cold and heated air can produce water vapor. This will accumulate in the duct and eventually drip onto your countertop. If you cannot change the orientation of the duct, equip it with a non-return valve at the inlet and outlet. Sometimes, the valve may be locked in the open position. All you have to do is unlock it to resolve the anomaly.

Buy a check valve for your hood

A defect in the exhaust duct

In some cases, the exhaust duct of an exhaust hood passes through poorly insulated attics. Due to this part of the drain pipe remaining cold there is excess condensation. The solution in this case is to insulate the duct with glass wool or, even better, install a duct that is already insulated.