to think extractor fans are bollocks

[LaurieFairyCake]

Unless you live in an enclosed space with no windows ?

In the last 3 houses I've lived in they've all had them and they were just dust collectors or needed polishing with baby oil

I've never used them and instead have one of the windows or doors open if I need to.

Or maybe I don't really care about cooking smells - I have the windows open all year round anyway

We have one in a bathroom that has no windows. It IS crap.

I just got rid of mine as I only ever used it to bang my head on or to use the integral lights that were only required due to the enormous fucking shadow it cast. My kitchen diner now looks about 75 times the size.

I haven't got one in my new kitchen but wish I did even though I never turned on the old one. Somehow it was still catching fumes as the difference is quite noticeable.

My kitchen extractor fan vents to outside I love it. It stops the whole house smelling like bacon or onions and other strong smells.
But mostly it's to vent out moisture from cooking like boiling potatoes or other stuff. Thats more a problem in most houses than smells.
The bathroom one has made a big difference the bathroom no longer steams up and if it does it's gone in a minute or two.

We moved our kitchen last week. When we disconnected the extractor we realised it wasn't actually connected to the pipe properly.

We always thought it was crap and pointless

Now is in the new kitchen and connected properly and it's fantastic.

Mine just made a noise. When it did finally pack up properly, I realised I was right. DH still insists we need one, though.

What do you call somebody who used to like tractors?

Boom boom

Yep I agree. Mine is a noisy grease trapping shadow caster too.
I had a whole house ventilation system in a previous house- it was wonderful, silent and kept the whole house airy- guests often asked if we us air con on hot days.
We're remodelling the kitchen and I'm trying to work out whether it would work on just a bit of the house- it would be kitchen diner/ utility room/ bedroom shower room.

Mine only exists to stop me from listening to The Archers properly, it seems.

Our new build house has a central air circulation/extraction system installed in the loft which runs constantly and draws air from the bathrooms and kitchen. It works really well and the windowless ensuite gets properly dried out after use. It's much quieter than individual extractor fans in each room.

Ours is great. Fitted new about three years ago and actually works. We nearly ended up with a head banging one, but dh sensibly changed the spec for a sleeker one. You can see all the steam getting sucked up into it when cooking.

Mind you, this is the very first one I've ever had that does work.

Yep, everyone in every rented kitchen or bathroom hasnt worked despite me cleaning them etc.

YANBU, never understood them, why would I want to get rid of "cooking smells"? If all goes well, I usually like what I'm cooking!

We have one in our tiny bathroom with no windows. One of those that turns on automatically when you switch the bathroom light on and then seems to remain on, making a racket, for AGES after the light is switched off. I suppose it helps with smells and condensation but I'm sure the time it remains on increases depending on how desperate I am to get some sleep

I have a cooker hood in the kitchen that is worth its weight in gold.
It vents outside and prevents cooking smells and steam escaping to the rest of the house.
Some cooking smells are nice- baking etc. But frying fish , cooking mussels, or lamb chop smell can linger for days

I also have an extractor in the downstairs loo, on a timer with the light switch, it vents outside ( no windows).
DD has an extractor in her shower, her shower room would become very damp without it.

YANBU - extractor fans have no redeeming features.

crap ones are crap, good ones are good

Nope I love mine.

I had really bad damp until the council installed a really good extractor fan and I always opened my windows every morning, left the toilet one open all year round ect ect before that.

Now I don't have any damp.

We rented a hovel where the extractor seemed to be pumping steam into the attic...

I read somewhere if you've a gas stove it's as bad for your lungs as smoking unless you use an extractor fan. Started using mine then!