Fume Cupboard Maintenance Checklist

A fume cupboard is a local exhaust ventilation (LEV) device that captures hazardous airborne contaminants at source and extracts them safely away from the operator. It comprises an enclosure with a moveable sash, an extract fan and ductwork, an airflow monitor or alarm, and often a filtration or scrubbing stage before discharge. The protection it offers depends entirely on maintaining an adequate inward airflow across the sash opening.

As LEV, a fume cupboard falls under COSHH, which requires that engineering controls are maintained in efficient working order and subject to a thorough examination and test at regular intervals — commonly at least every 14 months, and in practice usually annually. That examination is not a service visit: it is a formal performance test producing a report that records measured face velocities and states whether the equipment is providing adequate control.

The recurring problem is that a fume cupboard's performance depends on the whole system and on the room around it. Changing a filter elsewhere in the extract system, altering room ventilation, or installing new equipment that disturbs airflow patterns can all degrade containment without anything visibly changing at the cupboard itself.

This checklist is one of 34 in our HVAC maintenance checklists, covering air handling units, fan coils, chillers, VRF, ductwork and extract systems — filters, coils, refrigerant and damper checks.