[Atlantic Cleaning]

Been thinking of adding oven cleaning to my services. Does anyone have any advice?

Do I really need a heated dip tank to start with or will elbow grease be ok to start? I know some of u guys dont use tanks.

If I dont need a heated tank to start what is the best method? I will be cleaning mainly domestic but some commercial as and when

Been cleaning for a number of years now so chemicals not really a problem, Just pondeing abou the tank and method. 

Duncan

[dirtbusters]

yes you will need a heated tank. if you don't use one you will not be able to clean domestic ovens to as new condition.
oven cleaning is actually a skilled job when done properly, ie taking doors off and apart, removing fan plates and fans,
when done properly with the correct chemicals tools and techniques the results
are fantastic.
the only problem is you will not find out the chemicals +tools +equipment needed unless you pay someone for training. there are quite a few companies offering this ,us included, and i would not recomend going into customers houses to tackle an oven unless youve has some training. this will save you a lot of time in the long run and prevent costly mistakes. if you want any more info on training etc please email me.
all the best      gavin.

[Prestige1]

Duncan
I clean ovens as part of the portfolio of services I offer. never had a problem yet.
My technical tools consist of.
1 x large storage bucket from B&Q ( for soaking racks etc)
1 X Pair of strong rubber gloves
1 X small tool kit ( the type that has screwdriver heads and hex heads)
1 x the magic oven cleaning agent that is top secret! first word is Caustic second is Soda.
1 x brillo caustic gell
1 x selaction of strong abraasive pads and wire wools etc

Obviously its hard work to get great results, its not somthing I would recomend to someone who does not like hard work. you will need to take doors off and other bits and pieces but if you are handy at DIY you will be fine also be very care full with the caustic soda and gell wear gloves and goggles. you will learn what is the best system for what part of the oven, test everything first to see if it reacts or you scracht it with the type of pad your using.

my ovens come up like new arround 2hrs per oven and between £40 and £60 per time.

three words of advice caution caution caution. just test everything before hand and youll pick it up,
 you will be fine, but now watch all the kill joys who have paid anything from £3000 to £9000 to do the above start telling me and you its not that simple! well it is!
Phil

[Atlantic Cleaning]

Thanks guys for the good advice, Phil what do you do with the caustic in the bucket once you have soaked the racks. Do you use it on the next job or do you mix up just enough for the one job

Once again thanks for the advice

Duncan

[dirtbusters]

the chemical we use 100% non caustic you can use it on anything, glass aluminium, painted finnishes etc ,and if you spill it on carpets or flooring or get it on work tops or kitchen units there is no worry, we only wear gloves because we heat the oven to 120 degrees because the chemical works slightly better. the same chemical is used in a heated tank and is certified biodegradable, even the worst baked on racking comes out like new, the carbon just turns to a soft mush.we charge £40 for a single oven £50-55 for a double. yes you can use costic soda and if you know what your doing can do a very good job, but you are always worried about getting it on skin or in the eyes or on the wrong surface.

[DP]

Odd this, nobody has mentioned steam, yet I have seen some great video's on this and steamers are sold as being a great bit of kit for the task.

Is there a reason?

Heated tanks and crystals are readily available and we used a number of products to do restaurant hoods and ducting.

[Robert Parry]

We too, use steam, extremely good results, not had any occaision to dismantle any part of the ovens, only commercial work, no domestics, so that might explain it, the machines that we use are made by Osprey, £1500 + VAT, so a proper machine, not low end, regards,

Rob

[dirtbusters]

steam will do an excellent job on commercial ovens, but i think the original post was asking about domestic ovens. the majority are electric fan assisted. these have to have the fan plate anf fan removed to clean properly as carbon+grease build up here and starts to smoke near the element.if you use steam in a domestic oven you run the risk of getting moisture in the electrics. in todays health and safety enviroment not a good idea.

[DP]

No disagreement from me. We only ever did commercial hoods and ducting and then without steam. However I do have a commercial kitchen to do for the first time with steam, so I was fishing a little.

You are quite right I believe this post was aimed at domestics (sorry to hijack it a little), and interested to here of the possible problems, also relieved to here that you do use steam in the commercial sector as well  . It will be interesting to see any productivity difference, which I hope there is.

[Paul_Ashworth]

Why cause yourself extra work in not using a tank, not all properties have much hot water !! and you would be surprised how much carbon & fat comes off when you soak them in a heated tank, the hotter the better.

i wouldnt attempt an oven clean without one !