No Extractor Fan? Here’s What You Need to Know About Ventilation Problems

When you have no extractor fan, a mechanical system designed to remove moist, stale, or odorous air from rooms like kitchens and bathrooms. Also known as extractor hood, it’s not just about comfort—it’s about stopping mold, protecting your walls, and keeping the air safe to breathe. If your kitchen smells like last night’s curry all day, or your bathroom stays foggy long after your shower, you’re not imagining it. That’s a sign your home isn’t ventilating properly.

Most homes in the UK are built with extractor fans for good reason. Kitchens produce grease, steam, and cooking smells. Bathrooms generate humidity that leads to damp and mildew. Without a working fan, moisture builds up on windows, peels paint, and creates the perfect environment for black mold. You don’t need a degree in engineering to spot this—just look for condensation on mirrors, peeling wallpaper, or a musty smell that won’t go away. These aren’t just annoyances. They’re warning signs that your home’s air quality is failing.

People often think, "I can just open a window." But in colder months, that’s not practical—and in high-rise flats or terraced houses, it might not even help. Extractor fans work by pulling air out, not letting it drift. A broken fan could be as simple as a clogged filter or as serious as a dead motor or faulty wiring. Some homeowners ignore it until the ceiling starts to sag. Others replace it with a new unit without checking if the ducting is blocked. That’s like putting a new battery in a car with a broken alternator. The problem doesn’t go away.

What you’ll find in the posts below are real fixes from people who’ve been there. You’ll see how long it takes to fix a extractor fan, a device that removes air from enclosed spaces using a motor and fan blade in an average UK home. You’ll learn what causes them to fail, whether you can replace one yourself, and how to tell if your issue is actually the fan—or something deeper like a blocked vent pipe or poor duct design. Some posts cover kitchen hoods, others focus on bathroom units. All of them are based on actual repairs, not theory.

If you’re dealing with no extractor fan right now, you’re not alone. And you don’t have to live with damp walls or stale air. The solutions are straightforward—if you know where to look. Below, you’ll find practical advice from people who’ve fixed these problems themselves, and from professionals who’ve seen it all. No fluff. Just what works.