NC regulations requiring kitchen exhaust vents - Help!?

[Cathy Draper]

I?m new to NC and I?ve been told by my apartment manager that my kitchen exhaust fan doesn?t need to be vented outside. I?ve never lived in an apartment that WASN'T vented outside. Can someone tell me if this is true?

Thanks in advance!

Cathy Draper

[Brian Hannigan]

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[Jerry Peck]

You are referring to your range hood, I presume.

There are two types of ranges hoods: a) recirculating (which circulates the air through a grease filter type of filter and back into your face); b) exhausting to the outdoors (which sometimes circulates the air through a grease filter and sometimes not, then blows it through a duct to the outdoor air.

Outdoor exhaust is not required by any major code that I can think of.

Is a) better than b) for venting out kitchen cooking odors? Yes, but that's not what they are there for.

If the exhaust fan cfm of b) if too great, then makeup air from the outdoors is needed to be brought in to replace it - and that may not be a good thing.

Of course, the other issue with b) hoods is that you don't know if the duct is in good condition and tight joints, if not, grease laden air could be depositing grease outside the exhaust duct ... and that is not a good thing either.

[Cathy Draper]

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I was referring to the range hood. It?s the same type as when I lived in south Florida and my last apartment here in NC. Both were vented outside, which was why I was wondering why this one isn?t. I?m also getting inundated with the horrible smells of garlic coming from my upstairs neighbor. I thought maybe if they too had outside venting it might elevate this problem.

best wishes,

Cathy Draper

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you for your your warm welcome.

Best Wishes,

Cathy Draper


Hello Cathy Draper,

I'm Brian Hannigan and I am the creator of InspectionNews

Welcome aboard. Enjoy your visit here at InspectionNews and if there is anything I can help you with just let me know.

InspectionNews has many Member Benefits available to you. Some save you time, others save you money and some do both!

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