Long post warning …
I'm shopping for a new house: An OTR is a deal breaker. I've had one for 10 years and though I rarely use the microwave, I've noted the following issues:
- At 5'4" I reach up to put things inside. It's awkward, especially for heavier dishes. More risk of spilling hot liquids. I injured my neck and shoulder last year and could not use my microwave for months! It's WAY more dangerous for kids or shorter people. Consider many Asian ladies may be under 5', as are many kids that are old enough to cook.
- Inferior venting: way more grease in the kitchen, and when the vent is on high, it's crazy loud so we hate using it. It doesn't vent smoke nearly as well as a hood fan and ambient smoke causes ceiling staining and sets off the smoke alarm. A microwave hood fan is only about 2/3 as deep as a proper hood and it's not as high powered so you aren't getting nearly as much venting efficiency for your stove. They leave a lot more food smells and moisture in your air. They don't actually vent anything; they just filter the air a bit. Maybe you don't use your stovetop much, but your next home buyer might.
- More cleaning: not only is there way more grease on the counters, but the small vent screen is very close to the stove and fills with grease and needs cleaning more often than a hood fan. It's a messy job I'd rather do less often.
- Reduced vertical space: an average OTR bottom is 13" to 16" inches over the range top. A typical hood has 20" to 24" clearance. My Le Creuset stock pot is 12" high. A popular pressure canner is 15.5" high with the handle. Do the math. You actually can't use some pots with an OTR: and consider how much space you need between the simmering pot and the fan for it to handle the steam properly (and see my next issue re "filth drip"). With an OTR it's hard to pull long pasta out of a pot with tongs or lift a long ladle out of a stock pot without pulling the pot to the front of the stove. The low OTR height also makes you reach lower over front pans to get to items on the back, which increases steam burn risk. Does your next home buyer like to make stocks or can things? Could be an issue, especially if they have spent a few hundred on a good canner or stock pot that they literally can't fit on the stove under the OTR. I recently saw a thread on a kitchen site where people were comparing pot heights to find ones that fit better under an OTR and they were not happy with the height restriction.
- "Filth Drip": I've coined this term to describe what you get when a boiling or simmering pot creates sufficient steam buildup on the low, flat microwave bottom that it condenses and drips back down into your food. The steam does a lovely job of liquefying the grease in the vent mesh, allowing it to come back down on your meal: your vent mesh is cleaner, but you are eating the residue. Ew! Having the fan on minimizes (but doesn't mitigate) the issue, but then we are back to the extreme noise. You may not even notice this is happening: I only noticed it a couple of years ago when making stock and had parchment paper on top for degreasing. I noticed the sludge drip on top and was sooooo grossed out. I no longer make stocks on this stove, I do them in the oven. A hood doesn't build up all that steam because it's much higher, so there is some room for steam to dissipate and cool, and it does a much better job of venting out the steam and does it more quietly. Even if a boil a small pot of pasta, there is a lot of steam beading on the bottom of the microwave. Take a look next time you boil some pasta and ask yourself where the drips are going.
- The look: OTRs are more common in budget homes (they are literally made for small kitchens), so I think a proper hood fan increases the perceived value of the kitchen. And the overall look is cleaner and more open when the microwave is not crammed into one of the few open vertical spaces. Range hoods can be quite beautiful. Also, OTRs appear more dated here in Calgary, Canada where they are becoming less common.
Caveats: Personal preferences differ, but when selling, you need to consider a wide range of people. I cook a lot and make almost all meals from scratch. I make stocks often. I don't can, but many people do. My main issues with the OTR are not the microwave itself, but how it affects the use of the stove top and the ability to properly manage steam, grease and smoke in the kitchen. I don't microwave much.
That said, if you have a small kitchen, OTR can be the only option, which is why I have one now (infill house, very large, but narrow kitchen). They do save space! None of the issues I mentioned are insurmountable, but if I can locate the microwave somewhere else, I'd really rather have it be properly convenient to use and have a fully functional range fan. But honestly, given the very poor venting provided by an OTR, I'm not sure they should even be permitted within building code. Consumer reports has tested a lot of them and found venting to be very, very poor with even top end OTRs. All that unvented steam is damaging to your kitchen and the smoke and grease is too.
For me, a kitchen without an OTR (or a corner pantry - another dated design) is top of the list for our next house.
Q