It is not always practical to clean your own oven at home. Maybe you don’t have time or it’s a job you’d rather leave to the professionals. There are many chores to be done around the home and cleaning a dirty oven can take hours without the correct professional equipment, products and tools. Hiring a professional to clean your oven can be a much easier option.
There are many oven cleaners out there, all using different products, some with professional oven cleaning tanks and some without. It can also be tempting to choose an oven cleaner because of a more competitive price, but does that necessarily make them the best choice? What’s best and how do you know you’re going to get the most for your money and who’s going to leave you with a sparkling oven?
We’ve answered all your questions so that making the decision of what oven cleaning company to use is much easier and well-informed.
QUESTIONS TO ASK ANY OVEN CLEANER BEFORE BOOKING THEIR SERVICES
- What cleaning products do you use?
Non-caustic, fume and odour free oven cleaning products are best as they do not emit harmful fumes into your home and the next time you use your oven after cleaning. Research the brand of products that the oven cleaning professional is using to ensure they are non-caustic, fume and odour free. Find out if the product contains Sodium Hydroxide. Sodium Hydroxide is a chemical component in caustic oven cleaning products and the chemical you will be wanting to avoid if you prefer non-caustic, safer solutions. Ask the oven cleaner if the products they use contain this chemical or ask for the product safety data sheets from the oven cleaner or the oven cleaning product manufacturer themselves. Dirtbusters Professional Cleaning Products are used by many professional oven cleaning companies across the UK. We have many oven cleaning products suitable for non-professional oven cleaning too, so that you can top up that perfect clean in between the professional oven cleans. All our products are non-caustic, fume and odour free and are safe for use throughout the home. - Are you using caustic chemicals in the dip tank?
Not only is it important to know if the professional is using caustic chemicals in your home whilst cleaning the oven, it is also important to find out if they are using caustic chemicals in the tank they use outside the home to clean the oven racks and trays. Many oven cleaners use non-caustic inside the oven and caustic in their dip tank, which they use outside the home. However, using caustic chemicals can make oven racks go rusty, damage backplates, self-clean liners and aluminium. It is therefore best to avoid caustic altogether, both inside and outside of the home. We don’t think it is necessary to use caustic solutions, no matter how bad the oven, and whether used inside or outside of the home. - Do you warm the oven up to clean it?
This is a very simple but important question. Oven cleaning is best done when the oven is heated up. We train all our oven cleaners to turn the oven on to 100 degrees in order to soften the carbon to remove it easily with the correct oven cleaning tools. If the oven cleaner is not heating the oven up, it is likely that they are either using caustic chemicals to do the hard work for them, or they will find it hard to achieve a perfect finish. - Do you remove and split the oven door?
Removing and splitting open the oven door allows oven cleaners to clean the oven door thoroughly as well as bits of the oven not accessible when it is not removed. We train our oven cleaning trainees how to remove and split any oven door so that it is always part of the cleaning process. Make sure the professional can remove the door to provide a complete clean to the inside glass as it makes such a difference to how clean the oven looks. - Do you use a dip tank?
A dip tank is a professional oven cleaning tank that is used to soak oven racks and trays. Using a dip tank allows for a much deeper and professional clean. The professional would find it hard to remove the burnt-on carbon and dirt from the racks without using a tank, so if a dip tank is used you are more likely to get a more professional, better clean for your money. We design our own dip tanks that we supply to professionals. These are designed to be used with our non-caustic, eco friendly cleaning products. -
Am I able to cook in the oven straight after it has been cleaned?
This question is connected to the cleaning products the professional uses and is an important one, especially when children, babies and pregnant mothers are in the home. Breathing in caustic fumes is avoidable as there are many non-caustic alternatives available. Non-caustic products are just as effective as caustic, but without the nasty chemicals. There is no reason to use caustic chemicals as most non-caustic products are just as good, especially when used in conjunction with a specially designed dip tank – such as Dirtbusters Professional Cleaning Products and Professional Dip Tanks – the right tools and professional cleaning method. -
Can you change the lightbulbs in the oven?
The professional oven cleaner should be trained to change the light bulbs within the oven. If you have a bulb that is not working, you should be able to ask the oven cleaner to fit a new one in. - Do you clean removable extractor filters and replace paper filters?
Cleaning removable extractor filters or replacing paper extractor filters in the extractor fan is important for it to work properly. If you are having the extractor cleaned too, it is worth enquiring as to whether they could replace the filter if needed. -
Are they fully insured and does this cover any damage to the oven?
Anyone doing work on your property should be fully insured. Making sure the oven cleaning company is insured covers anything going wrong with the oven. - Do you remove the back plate and fan?
Cleaning the back plate and fan stops the oven from smoking when turned on. Fat and grease collect on the back plate and fan, causing it to smoke when turned on. This can be dangerous and so it is important to have them cleaned to avoid smoking. -
Do you clean the roof?
Cleaning the oven roof is as important as the rest of the oven. It collects grease and fat too.
If the oven cleaner can answer these questions, you know they are trustworthy and should provide a professional, high standard oven clean. This also makes it clear as to why it is not always a safe option to go for a cheaper price. A cheap oven clean could mean that the oven racks and oven door aren’t removed, which will not make your oven totally shiny and clean. If you are after a full professional standard clean, we suggest looking for an oven cleaner that can do all the above points.
If we didn’t answer your question here, or you would like to know more about professional oven cleaning, contact us at info@dirtbusters.co.uk.
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