--- title: "Cold Draft or a Flapping Damper Through the Range Hood: Causes and Fixes" description: "A range hood cold air draft is felt as chill air falling from the canopy onto the burners with the fan off, a flapping or tapping from the duct on windy days…" url: "https://rangehooderepair.center/problems/range-hood-cold-draft-or-damper-flapping/" --- # Cold Draft or a Flapping Damper Through the Range Hood A range hood cold air draft is felt as chill air falling from the canopy onto the burners with the fan off, a flapping or tapping from the duct on windy days, or a smell of the outdoors in the kitchen. ## What it usually means. Every ducted hood is a hole from the kitchen to the outside, and it is closed by a backdraft damper: a light flap, or a pair of them, that the fan's airflow pushes open and gravity or a spring pushes shut again. There is often one at the hood's outlet and another at the outside cap. When the damper sticks open with grease, bends, loses its spring, or was never fitted, cold air sinks down the duct and pours out of the canopy, and on windy days the flap can bang back and forth. A wall cap facing the prevailing wind lets gusts push air in against a weak flap. A tight house makes it worse: when a dryer, a bath fan or a fireplace pulls air out, the house draws it back in through the easiest path, often the hood duct. The same open path lets warm, moist air from the house reach the cold duct and condense, which is where drips and mildew begin. Most of this is fixed at the damper, the cap and the duct; the damper inside a chimney cover or on the roof is reached by a technician, not by an owner on a ladder. The 6 causes, cheapest first Answer these first 01 Is the draft felt with the fan off, and is it worse on windy or cold days? 02 Is there a tapping or flapping sound from the duct, or at the outside cap? 03 Does the draft get stronger when a dryer, a bath fan or a fireplace is running? 04 Is there condensation or dripping from the hood in winter? 05 Does the duct exit through a wall or the roof, and which way does the cap face? ## Check these before you book. Range hood cold air draft: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything. 01 Feel for the draft at the canopy with the fan off, on a calm day and on a windy one. 02 From the ground, look at the outside cap to see whether its flap is there and closes when the fan is off; do not climb to it. 03 Note whether a dryer, bath fan or fireplace was running when the draft was strongest. ### Also worth checking - Run the hood briefly on high and listen for the damper opening and closing when it stops. - Book a visit with the model number from behind the filters and where the duct exits. ### How soon does it need a visit? Not urgent, but a damper that stays open wastes heat, lets in moisture and can lead to drips and mildew in the duct. Book whenever the week allows. ## The causes, cheapest first. 6 things cold draft or a flapping damper through the range hood turns out to be, from another appliance pulling air in through the duct to gaps in the duct joints. [The cost guide](https://rangehooderepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 no repair ### Another appliance pulling air in through the duct A dryer, bath fan or fireplace running at the same time can draw outside air back through the hood duct. Cracking a window while they run eases it; the house may also need a make-up air path. No repair: check it yourself 2. 02 low ### A damper stuck open with grease The flap at the hood's outlet can glue itself open with grease. It is cleaned and freed, and a bent flap is replaced. [Fixed by range hood damper and duct repair](https://rangehooderepair.center/services/range-hood-damper-and-duct-repair/) 3. 03 low to moderate ### A weak or missing damper at the cap The outside cap's flap can break, lose its spring or be missing. A cap with a working flap, sized to the duct, is fitted. [Fixed by range hood damper and duct repair](https://rangehooderepair.center/services/range-hood-damper-and-duct-repair/) 4. 04 low to moderate ### A cap facing the wind A wall cap on the windward side takes gusts straight into the duct. A cap with a stronger flap or a hooded design holds up better. [Fixed by range hood damper and duct repair](https://rangehooderepair.center/services/range-hood-damper-and-duct-repair/) 5. 05 moderate ### A damper motor that stopped working Some hoods and makeup air systems use a motorized damper that opens and closes with the fan. When the motor or its signal fails, the damper stays open or shut. [Fixed by range hood damper and duct repair](https://rangehooderepair.center/services/range-hood-damper-and-duct-repair/) 6. 06 moderate ### Gaps in the duct joints Joints that were never sealed, or ones that pulled apart, let cold attic or wall air into the duct and on down to the canopy. They are sealed with foil tape rated for the job. [Fixed by range hood damper and duct repair](https://rangehooderepair.center/services/range-hood-damper-and-duct-repair/) ## What else it could be. Most often confused with grease or oily water dripping from the range hood, then range hood runs but barely pulls smoke. [All problems](https://rangehooderepair.center/problems/) Codes that come with it - [`Calibration button light blinks continuously` BEST · Damper and downdraft](https://rangehooderepair.center/error-codes/best-calibration-light-blinking/) Also related - [**Range Hood Too Loud: Roar, Whine or Grinding** 6 causes](https://rangehooderepair.center/problems/range-hood-loud-noise/) ### Grease or Oily Water Dripping From the Range Hood 6 causes ### Range Hood Runs but Barely Pulls Smoke 7 causes ### Range Hood Rattles or Shakes While It Runs 6 causes ## The makes it happens on. 29 makes on this site; cold draft or a flapping damper through the range hood can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page. 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The damper that should close the duct is stuck open, bent or missing, so outside air sinks down the duct into the kitchen. ### The damper bangs on windy days. Is that dangerous? Not dangerous, but it means the flap is weak or the cap faces the wind. A stronger damper or a better cap stops it. ### Can a draft come through a recirculating hood? No, a recirculating hood has no duct to the outside. A draft means the hood is ducted, or air is coming from another gap nearby. ### Does a draft mean the hood needs replacing? Rarely. The damper, the cap and the duct joints are the usual fixes, and they leave the hood itself in place. --- **[Read on the site: Cold Draft or a Flapping Damper Through the Range Hood: Causes and Fixes](https://rangehooderepair.center/problems/range-hood-cold-draft-or-damper-flapping/)** **[Book a visit with RangeHoodeRepair.center](https://rangehooderepair.center/schedule/)**