Kitchen extractor fans typically last 10 to 15 years, but grease buildup and poor maintenance can cut that in half. Learn the signs it's time to replace yours and how to pick a better one.
Kitchen Ventilation Fan Repair: Fix, Clean, or Replace?
When your kitchen ventilation fan, a device designed to remove smoke, steam, and cooking odors from your kitchen by pulling air through ducts to the outside. Also known as extractor fan, it’s one of the most overlooked but essential parts of your kitchen. If it’s loud, slow, or doesn’t pull air at all, you’re not just dealing with an annoyance—you’re letting grease and moisture build up where it shouldn’t. That leads to mold, stained ceilings, and even damaged cabinetry over time.
Most kitchen extractor fans, a type of exhaust system commonly installed above stoves or cooktops to improve indoor air quality fail for the same three reasons: clogged filters, blocked ducts, or a worn-out motor. The filter is the easiest fix—you can clean or replace it in under ten minutes. But if the grease has seeped into the ductwork behind the wall, that’s where things get messy. Many people think their fan is broken when it’s just full of grease gunk. A vent cleaning, the process of removing accumulated grease, dust, and debris from exhaust ducts to restore airflow can bring a dead fan back to life without spending a penny on parts.
But not every problem is fixable. If your fan hums but doesn’t spin, the motor’s likely gone. If the switches are glitchy or the lights flicker, the control board might be fried. Replacing those parts can cost as much as a new unit, especially if your fan is over ten years old. That’s why knowing the difference between a simple clean and a full replacement matters. You don’t need to replace it just because it’s old—but you should if it’s wasting energy, making noise like a jet engine, or leaking grease onto your countertop.
What you’ll find below are real fixes from actual jobs we’ve done in South Shields. From unblocking a fan clogged with five years of grease to diagnosing why a new fan still won’t turn on, these guides cut through the noise. No fluff. No theory. Just what works when your kitchen smells like last night’s fried fish and your fan isn’t helping.