Every oven clean we do in Egham runs in the same order. This is the order for a single built-in oven, which takes about two hours from knock to finish.
- We look at the oven with you first. You hear what will come off and what is old damage, and the price is confirmed. Nothing starts until you agree it.
- Dust sheets go down on the floor in front of the oven.
- The racks, shelf runners, trays and grill pan come out and soak for the rest of the visit. A heated tank travels with some of our teams and gets used when they can stop close to the house; every other visit has the soak done in your kitchen, at the same price. Ring and ask if you want to know beforehand.
- Where the hinges allow, the door comes off. If the glass is removable, the panes come apart and every face gets cleaned.
- Then the cavity, by hand. Roof first, since whatever lifts from there falls onto the floor. Sides next, then the back panel, then the floor.
- On a fan oven the back panel usually unscrews. The fan blade and the panel are both cleaned before it goes back on.
- The door seal is wiped and checked for splits or flat spots.
- The racks have had their soak by now. They are rinsed, dried and fitted back in the slots they came from.
- Door back on if it came off, front and handle wiped, and you look it over with us.
About the products
We use professional oven cleaning products, strong enough to shift a year of baked carbon. A window open while we work, and for a little while after, clears the smell. There is no need to leave the house, and the oven can go on for tea the same day.
The figures
| What | From |
|---|---|
| Single oven | £77 |
| Double oven clean | £110 |
| Wide single oven | £114 |
| 90cm range cooker | £143 |
| Master range, 100cm | £167 |
| AGA (two ovens) | £143 |
| Glass or ceramic hob | £23 |
| Hob, gas | £28 |
| Cooker hood | £28 |
| Oven alongside an end of tenancy | £31 |
The price depends on the size and type of appliance. A single is £77 whether it was cleaned last spring or never. A double is £110. For the bigger cookers, see range cookers and our AGA page.
Egham water on oven glass
Egham has hard water, around 275 mg/l. On an ordinary oven that shows up as a chalky film on the door glass where steam has condensed and dried. On a steam oven it goes further, with scale in the water tank and round the steam outlet. Grease and scale need different products, so the glass gets two passes: degreaser first, descaler after.
In a student house in Englefield Green or near the station, the glass is usually the slowest part of the job. One oven, five or six people, a year of use. Allow the full two hours, and a little more if the base has had repeated spills.
More on each appliance
If you have a single, the single oven page goes through the two hours in more detail. Two cavities? Read about doubles. Most people add the hob while we are there, since it only adds about twenty minutes.
Questions we get asked
Our student house moves out at the end of June. When should we book?
As soon as you have the checkout date. Royal Holloway houses in Egham and Englefield Green tend to hand back in the same few weeks of late June and early July, and those slots go first. Two or three weeks ahead is sensible. Busy weeks do not change the price: a single is still £77.
Does the oven need to be cold when you arrive?
Switch it off an hour or so before we get there. A slightly warm oven is fine to work on. A hot one is not safe to strip, and we would have to sit and wait for it to cool.
Does someone need to stay in?
Someone has to let us in at the start and look at the oven with us at the end. In between, you can go out or carry on working in the next room. There is nothing to breathe in, so pets and children can stay in the house, kept out of the kitchen.
We live in a purpose-built block. Is that a problem?
No, it just needs arranging. Most blocks want contractor visits booked through the site office, and some only allow vans on site at set times. Give us the name of the block at booking, and we will fit the visit to whatever hours they set.