Although AirHood doesn’t make significant claims about the machine’s ability to substantially impact air quality, it’s important to understand what this kitchen tool can’t do: eliminate all air pollution in your kitchen.
According to the company, the AirHood 2 is ETL-certified as a “Portable Air Cleaner.” ETL certification signifies compliance to North American safety standards, according to industry standards.
Wirecutter’s home-improvement staff writer Liam McCabe says that non-vented equipment, such as the AirHood 2, won’t remove all cooking pollutants created by gas stoves. Non-vented equipment isn’t great at removing smoke, and instead it disperses it.
In an article Liam wrote about tackling kitchen pollution using a window fan, he explains that the gold standard for improving kitchen air quality is mechanical ventilation. This entails using a fan (such as a range hood) that sucks up air—filled with pollutants, steam, and odors—and blows it outside through a duct, thus eliminating the contaminants from your kitchen. He reiterates that opening a window is still better than having no ventilation at all, and he says this will also yield better results than what a portable range hood can offer.
If you don’t have access to a vented hood, Liam’s research revealed that a window fan is a cheap and effective method for optimizing airflow and extracting pollutants from your kitchen. The AirHood 2, which only recirculates air into the same environment, is likely less effective.
The AirHood 2 is equipped with an activated charcoal filter that can capture volatile organic compounds (VOCs) through a process called adsorption. (VOCs are gaseous compounds—many have odors—and some can have health effects.) But Tim said the filter is not likely to do much.
“To effectively remove a high load of VOCs, you need a lot of adsorbent material and a lot of airflow, and the AirHood has neither,” he explained. (Our air purifier pick for VOC removal has a 15-pound, two-component adsorbent filter, and it moves 400 cubic feet of air per minute [CFM]; the AirHood has a significantly smaller filter and maxes out at 96 CFM. That said, just opening your windows for a few minutes can also work.)
Although Tim said an air purifier is a lot better for removing smoke particles—and probably at least as effective (albeit not terribly effective) on odors—you shouldn’t place one right by the stove; somewhere in the general kitchen space will do. And an air purifier can’t replace the functions of a vented range hood. “Air purifiers don’t have the metal-mesh grease trap like range hoods do. The pre-filter, thin carbon filter, and HEPA filter will pretty quickly clog with grease and oils,” he explained.
Staff writer Rachel Wharton, who specializes in large kitchen appliances and has experience using the Original Airhood, said she strongly advises against using a portable range hood (wired or wireless) with anything other than portable induction cooktops—and definitely not gas stoves, due to fire-safety concerns.
Cleaning writer Caroline Mullen has owned The Original AirHood for about a year. She said she’s used it only occasionally because it’s bulky and not as effective as she had hoped. “I’ll sometimes turn it on for really smoky, stinky cooking, like searing steak or frying battered fish, but I’m much more likely to crank up the microwave fan, fling open the window, and start up the air purifier than use the AirHood,” she explained.
I currently live in a small apartment with an electric stove that doesn’t emit too much heat to its nearby surroundings, so overheating the device isn’t a main concern. And my microwave range hood is non-vented and doesn’t do much to tackle smoke. So, for me, the AirHood 2 could come in handy when I’m cooking extremely smoky foods, like burgers or steaks.
However, if I were cooking on a gas stove, I wouldn’t consider using the AirHood 2 under any circumstance, and I’d much rather rely on my crummy over-the-range microwave hood. Plus, I can always open my window.
This article was edited by Megan Beauchamp and Marguerite Preston.
