A single oven is £77. For that the whole appliance is cleaned: the one cavity and the grill element above it, the door glass, the seal, and every rack and runner. Here is how the two hours usually go.
- The first ten minutes are for looking. We check the door type and the seal, and point out any chips in the enamel. You get the price confirmed before anything moves.
- Racks, runners and the grill pan come out and go into a soak, where they stay until the end.
- If the hinges release, the door comes off and lies flat on a sheet. If the glass comes apart, we take it apart.
- Cavity work starts at the top. The grill element and the roof go first, so anything that drops lands on a floor we have not done yet. Then the sides, the back and the floor.
- Glass next, each face, then the door frame and the hinges.
- The seal gets a wipe and a look.
- Racks out of the soak, rinsed and dried, and refitted. Door back on its hinges if it was taken off.
A floor with months of baked-on spills needs several passes, which can add half an hour or more. The price stays at £77.
Two panes or three
Most single oven doors have two or three panes of glass. Grease creeps down between them and bakes into a brown film you cannot reach with a cloth. Where the door comes apart, the panes are separated and done one by one. A few newer doors are bonded shut. On those we clean the two outside faces, and we tell you before we start.
The seal
The seal is the rope or rubber gasket round the door opening. If it is split or squashed flat, heat leaks out and the glass browns faster. We do not fit seals, but we will tell you if yours needs replacing and note the oven’s model number so you can order the right one.
Prices, with add-ons
| 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 |
Plenty of singles are booked with something else. A ceramic hob adds £23 and a gas hob £28. Book the single with a hob and the extractor and all three cost £117. The hob page and the extractor page explain what those involve.
Singles round Egham
In the older cottages near the High Street, kitchens tend to be small and the oven is often a single under the worktop. In the shared student houses the single is often a basic model cooking for a whole house, and there the carbon on the back panel sets the pace. Over in Egham Hythe, where many kitchens were refitted after 2014, the oven may be fairly new, and newer door glass tends to lift out cleanly.
Got two cavities? That is a double oven, at £110.
Questions we get asked
There is a grill in the top of my single. Is that extra?
No. The element for the grill is fixed to the top of that same cavity and is cleaned as part of the £77. The grill pan and its wire rack soak with the oven racks. If the grill has its own compartment and door above the oven, you have a double, which is £110.
Can you do it the day before we hand the keys back?
Yes, and it is a good slot. The oven is usable as soon as we finish, so you can still cook that night if you are careful with the trays. If the letting agent has given you a checkout date, book the day before or the morning of.
What should I take out before you arrive?
Anything that did not come with the oven, such as your own baking trays or a pizza stone, and any foil liners. We clean the racks and trays that belong to it. If you want extra grill pans and trays cleaned as well, that is £11.
The oven light has gone. Can you change it?
Yes, if you have the bulb. A bulb change is £8. Oven bulbs are a heat-rated type and the fittings vary, so check the model number and buy the right one before the day.