The previous owners of my house remodeled my kitchen almost 25 years ago. They brought the 100-year-old galley kitchen into the start of this century with the finest contractor-grade fixtures available. Among them is one of the most useless range hoods known to humankind. Yes, it has a fan and a filter and it vents outdoors, but mostly, it just makes noise and provides us with a Southern night light. We leave the light on for when we stumble into the kitchen before dawn and to keep our cats from being in total darkness. 

What my range hood doesn’t do is remove smoke or odors when cooking. To remediate this, I tried the AirHood, a portable range hood with a charcoal filter that promises to control smoke, odors, and airborne grease. I was game to find a better solution than what I currently have, so I used the AirHood for a month, turning it on when cooking particularly smokey things, like searing steaks and cooking bacon, and stashing it away after. 

The Tests

• Steak Test: Typically, searing steaks in my kitchen requires removing the smoke detector and opening every window in the house. My dogs stay low to the ground and sneeze profusely during this process. I often, out of an abundance of caution and sympathy for them, just use the grill outside. To see if the AirHood could mitigate this unfortunate situation, I set it next to the stove, heated a cast iron skillet, and added two seasoned steaks, searing them for three to four minutes per side. I wanted to witness how much smoke accumulated, whether the smoke detector went off, and whether there were any lingering odors.
• Fish Test: Who doesn’t like the smell of pan-roasted fish lingering in the house? I seared some skin-on snapper fillets with the AirHood perched nearby. While fish doesn’t typically produce as much smoke as searing a steak, there is plenty of grease sputtering and popping, spreading the joyous odor of cooked fish throughout the house. I exited the house and reentered a few minutes later, to see how well the AirHood worked.
• Bacon Test: Bacon provided the best-case scenario for testing the grease and odor containment. I laid out a package of bacon on a griddle to see how much grease flew onto my stovetop and how long the hickory-smoked aroma lingered in the air.
• Usability Test: I monitored how easy the AirHood was to get started with and use in various positions around my stove. I also checked how effective it was at different speeds. I took into account placement and noise in my observations.

What We Learned

It Was Extremely Easy to Use

I tested the wired AirHood (there is also a rechargeable wireless model), which is compatible with both electric and gas stoves. It requires an outlet, a countertop large enough to accommodate its 8.5- by 5.5-inch footprint and cabinet clearance for its 13-inch height. I plugged the AirHood into the never-used second outlet behind my refrigerator and set it on an otherwise fairly useless strip of counter next to my stove, and I was ready to go. Well, almost. 

The operation is somewhat self-explanatory, but I didn’t find the quick start guide useful. It explains that preparing the AirHood involves plugging the power cord into an outlet. The next step says, “Don’t forget to place a charcoal filter inside before using.” The following note in the guide is on safety, which explains you should never disassemble or clean the AirHood with the cord plugged in. Let’s put the steps in order, okay? Another lapse in the quick start guide is the fact that AirHood requires two filters, a detail only revealed in the online user manual. Inserting one filter as originally directed led to disappointing results in the first test round. 

After finding properly setting it up, I pointed the AirHood toward my stove and selected the fan speed. There are three speeds, so you can choose a quieter, slower operation, a balance between volume and effectiveness, or let it rip on the loudest setting. 

It Removed Smoke and Smells

After I managed the proper filter arrangement, I was impressed by my first run with the AirHood. While searing steaks, smoke was relatively minimal. By minimal, I mean there was smoke in the air in the kitchen, but not enough to set off the smoke detector or spread to other rooms. I’ll take that as a clear win. There was a minor odor in the air, but not so much that it would permeate fabric in the house, as it had with my built-in range hood. But here’s the caveat: A second attempt at smokey cooking didn’t fare as well. But that was on me. Cleaning the grease filter in the AirHood is essential to good performance since that filter is the first line of the AirHood’s defense. If it’s even remotely clogged, the performance deteriorates significantly. Follow the cleaning recommendations, and the AirHood does very well. 

It Was Loud, Though

There’s no way of getting around this: The AirHood is loud. At its lowest setting, it’s louder (yet much more effective) than the high setting of my range hood. The medium setting is the best balance between efficiency and volume, but I needed the very loud high setting to keep smoke from accumulating during the steak test.

It Was Easy to Store and Clean

If you have an otherwise non-functional strip of countertop like me, the AirHood can live there without taking up too much room. It can also be tucked away in a cabinet if you have space. There’s also a hook for hanging the AirHood if that’s more convenient for your situation.

The full user manual recommends cleaning the grease filter on the AirHood’s front after every use and tidying up the unit’s body too. Don’t sleep on cleaning the grease filter, as it does its job well, but accumulated grease quickly reduces the AirHood’s airflow.  The charcoal filters are long-lasting and good for 100 hours of use between changes.

The Verdict

Pros

The ease and efficiency of the AirHood sold me. Given that I’ve heretofore had to sear steaks outside for the health and safety of my furry kids, I’m pretty happy that I can have a smokeless, somewhat odor-free house and not have to brave heat, insects, or rain. I’ve got a small kitchen, and the AirHood’s footprint is entirely unobtrusive. With it, I gain efficacy and lose almost nothing. You can always hang your AirHood up or stow it in a cabinet.

Cons

It’s most recommended for use with electric ranges or induction burners. You can use it with gas burners, but the brand stresses you should ensure proper distance from the burner’s flame to avoid damage to the unit from the heat. My chief complaint, which I can balance with the AirHood’s effectiveness, is how loud it is. But to put that into perspective, the AirHood is far from deafening. You’ll have difficulty conversing with someone in another room or might have to turn your music up to hear it, but it won’t hurt your ears. While the AirHood does minimize smoke and odors, it was still clear that I’d been cooking smelly food when I walked back in the house. But hey, my house smelled faintly of bacon. What’s wrong with that?

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 13.15 x 8.70 x 5.51 inches
• Power: 100 to 240 volts
• What’s included: AirHood, five charcoal filters, oil filter

FAQs

How does a charcoal filter work, exactly?

Carbon filters work via adsorption, which is almost the direct opposite of absorption. If you blot up some spilled water with a sponge or towel, they draw the water inside, but it doesn’t become part of the towel; rather, it just occupies space between the fibers. Carbon, the main component of charcoal, forms a lattice of atoms. In adsorption, the smoke and noxious smells cling to the outside of the carbon lattice, cleaning the air until there aren’t any more surfaces to cling to, at which point it’s time to change the charcoal filter.

Can you use the AirHood outdoors?

It would seem like the AirHood would be effective at removing excess wood or charcoal smoke during cooking. However, the manufacturer states that the AirHood is only for indoor use.

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