Oven Express – A Mobile Oven Cleaning Service

There is only one household chore worse than ironing as stated by air duct cleaning experts at Willard Power Vac and that’s cleaning the oven.  In the past I have always done this job myself and resisted doing it more than twice a year, no matter the condition of the oven.  It’s a very messy and dirty job that usually involves harsh chemicals that have my eyes watering and my throat stinging.

Nothing to be proud of here

Nothing to be proud of here

As it is now six months since I moved into this house I knew it was time to clean the oven.  I found it absolutely fortuitous that just then I was contacted by Oven Express, a mobile oven cleaning service asking if they could clean my oven.  ‘Step this way’, was what immediately rolled off my tongue.  And with the appointment booked one week away, I may have taken advantage of my stroke of good fortune by over-working my oven.  I cooked all those things that splatter and burn onto every surface including sticky chicken wings, pork belly, spare ribs, roast pork with crackling and potatoes splattering in duck fat.

The fan at the back of the oven

The filthy fan at the back of the oven

On the eve of the service I received a text message confirming the next day’s appointment and then on Monday morning I received a phone call from Matt from Oven Express advising he was running ahead of time and could be there in five minutes if that suited.  Knowing the state of my oven I was thinking, ‘the sooner the better’.

The bottom shelf of the oven - horrifying

The bottom shelf of the oven – horrifying

Matt parked his van in my driveway and in he came with his ‘tools of trade’.  He spread towels over the kitchen floor to avoid making a mess (the floor could have done with a once-over as well), which the dogs promptly curled up on and went to sleep.

I truly had no idea it was this bad

I truly had no idea it was this bad

Matt showing me the aluminium tray that sits at the very top of the oven. I was in shock.

Matt showing me the aluminium tray that sits at the very top of the oven. I was in shock.  But in my defence, the oven is over 20 years old and I’m sure this tray would never have been cleaned in all those years

And then Matt looked at the oven.  He went a bit quiet.  I asked, ‘On a scale of one to ten, how bad is it?’ ‘A seven’, he said without hesitation, ‘but definitely not the worst I’ve seen’.  That was a relief; I would have been mortified if I had to tell you my oven was the dirtiest he had ever seen!

The shelving - not good

The shelving – not good

Then Matt started taking apart all the shelving inside the oven and he took off the oven door and from the elbow grease required it was obvious this is something that had not been done for many, many years.  He took all the ‘innards’ of the oven and grill out to his van where they were put into a tank of boiling water to simmer away for around an hour.  I was totally impressed that it is pretty much just boiling water and elbow grease that is used to clean the oven – this was not going to be a stinging eyes and hacking throat kind of an experience.

Matt putting the innards of my oven into the container of boiling water at the back of the Oven Express van

Matt putting the innards of my oven into the container of boiling water at the back of the Oven Express van

Matt came back inside to start on the oven.  I apologised that the oven doesn’t have a light.  ‘Yes it does’, he said. ‘Does it?’ I asked all surprised because there is no switch to turn on a light so I assumed there wasn’t one.  Right at the back of the oven Matt found the light bulb and it was smashed and stuck in the wall of the oven.  Matt removed this for me and told me what bulb I needed to buy.  I ran up to the hardware and bought a bulb and when I came back Matt did his tricks and hey presto – I have a light!  There isn’t a switch because the light comes on automatically whenever you use the oven.  Who knew!

The filthy grill

The filthy grill

Matt sprayed the inside of the oven all over with a product called, ‘Green Stuff’ which is (not surprisingly), green fluid in a bottle.  It’s a product that isn’t toxic or caustic and is eco-friendly and actually has a pleasant smell.  After the oven and grill had been wiped over, Matt used a razor blade to remove all the remaining grime that was cemented onto the oven’s surface.

Matt putting in the elbow grease

Matt putting in the elbow grease

Given the size and condition of my oven and grill, it took around an hour for Matt to clean it.  Then he went back outside and took the oven shelving out of the tank, gave it a scrub and brought it back into the house, gleaming and sparkling.  I was impressed!

All the innards of my oven - all positively gleaming!

All the innards of my oven – all positively gleaming!

Then Matt put the oven all back together again and I have to tell you, I barely recognised it.  If I thought it was clean when I moved into the house six months ago I was mistaken – now I had a clean oven!

My gleaming grill

My gleaming grill

The cost of this service starts at $120.00.  For an oven of my size, Matt said the cost would be more like $160.00.  Oven Express also cleans barbecues, range hoods, microwaves and cooktops.  Again, the price varies depending on size.

Sparkling!

Sparkling!

As for me, I couldn’t thank Matt enough.  I told him that now my oven is clean, I’m ready to start my Christmas baking and I showed him my bowls of dried fruit soaking in brandy getting ready to turn into Christmas cakes.  If you do a lot of Christmas baking and would like to kick-start it with a sparkling oven, now is a great time to phone Oven Express and have your oven cleaned so you’re ready for all the Christmas action. I am now a convert of the dial-up-an-oven-cleaning-service, service.  This was so convenient.  It didn’t take long, Matt was extremely polite and said how much he loved my girls, he took a lot of care with my appliance and did an impressive job.

What a difference an hour makes. And now it even has a light!

What a difference an hour makes. And now it even has a light!

I can’t tell you how happy I am with my oven.  Being a wall oven, it’s in your eye-line so very visible.  It’s so nice to walk into the kitchen and see it gleaming.  I’ve been so enthusiastic about it that when the plumber turned up I said to him, ‘Come and have a look at my oven’.  Poor chap! I believe, if you use an oven often enough to make it dirty, it means you’re saving money by not ordering takeaway.  With all that money you save, you can afford to have Oven Express turn up in your driveway. Oven Express is a Sydney-wide service.  Phone 1800 325 773 to make an appointment.

All ready for my Christmas baking

All ready for my Christmas baking

Hotly Spiced was given a complimentary oven cleaning service in exchange for an honest review. If you liked this post, you’re welcome to share it.

Comments

  1. WOW! I loved this oven express… Seem they are amazing. Thanks and Love, nia

  2. Wow, they have been busy, I just read about them on Tania’s site as well! And your oven looks every bit as clean and shiny as hers! How nice to start Christmas baking off with such a new-looking oven! 🙂

  3. Nice oven Charlie, wonder if we had them done on the same day..

  4. Well you and Tania are now both set up for Christmas baking. I’m super impressed with how clean your oven has come up without any Mr Muscle – apart from the human muscle of course.

  5. Wow I need him at my place. It now looks brand new.
    Carolyn

  6. OMG OMG OMG This is the BEST service I just googled them they don’t do it in Melbourne yet… I need to get someone to clean the ovens for me I HATE cleaning it and like what you said they always use harsh chemicals! Gotta get someone else to do them now 🙂 Thanks for the great idea!

  7. wowwwwwww! Looks like new.

    I have a self-cleaning oven. Thanks Goodness!

    Sending you love from Minnesota. Xx

  8. Outstanding customer service and a great job to boot. Excellent.

  9. Wow, what a great service and what an amazing job they did! I’m am seriously impressed!!!

  10. I wish they had an Oven Express in my area. Frankly, it would be worth having it done at least once a year with a less intensive ‘home’ effort at the 6 month mark. Your oven looks lovely now. I know I’m more enthusiastic about cooking with a newly cleaned oven though I wrap everything up and wipe things down immediately until the newness wears off and then I get a bit sloppy. 🙂

    I cleaned my old oven prior to having it moved to the basement so that the ‘new’ one could be put into its place using that caustic stuff and burned my right arm in two places, as in the heat of the cleaning effort, I didn’t realize that I had gotten the stuff on my arm until it got through more than a few layers of skin. The ‘new’ oven is a self cleaning one but when it arrived (dirty) I was too afraid to try those kind of hot temperatures. So far, I’ve used baking soda, water and a lot of elbow grease and paper towels.

  11. What a great service! I’m going to see if we have something like that; I’m sure many of our friends would use such thing. Our ovens have a self cleaning feature but I hardly ever use it, it’s really not good to breathe the air from it and if I do use it, it’s only for about 45 minutes of the 2 hour cycle. Unless JT bakes something, I try never to let it accumulate! My MILs ovens were 10x worse than yours. And my SILs and my brother’s ovens are really bad too, I bet they would use the service! Great review.

  12. What a fantastic service! I would love to have access. It’s a costly affair, but just to get started back on the right path it might be well worth it! It looks like an entirely new oven! Wow!

  13. I so need this service Charlie! My 90cm oven is so well loved and well used that even though it has a light that works it can no longer penetrate the gloom of the glass 🙁 I wish they would come to Canberra- I’m jealous! Xox

  14. I am almost never envious of anything really, but I am soooooooo envious of your access to this service. You are right–it is an awful job that most of us put off for far too long. And just look at your oven–like new. Yep, a tad envious. 😉

  15. Great review, how did they select you? I try to clean up spatter, if any, as soon as, the oven is cool. My oven is a self-cleaning one also.

  16. G’day Charlie and thanks for sharing your oven today, true!
    My dad always used to say it is not important to do everything, just leave some thing to the experts…had my oven done in Adelaide last year and it is ready for a follow up job; was gobsmacked the before and after just like I am sure you are with your oven too!
    Cheers! Joanne

  17. How nice was Matt? I loved having him in the kitchen!

  18. Please please please can they come and visit me?!

  19. LOL…I’m also relieved that your oven didn’t receive a 10…and how wonderful to finally have an oven light! Who knew there were fellows who came to the house to clean an oven? What a great service!

  20. WOW! That’s a brand new oven! Great idea to hire someone to do the dirty jobs! That’s how I feel about window cleaning.

  21. OMG I’ve never heard of such a service. I have a self cleaning oven but yours looks even better than mine does after it’s been cleaning for 2 hours. I wouldn’t hesitate either to pay the price. It’s well worth it. I wonder, does he clean bbq pits? I clean my gas grill 2-3 times a year and hate it. What state do you live in? I wonder if they do this in other areas. Great idea!

  22. OMG, your money was well spent, Charlie! Imagine we scrub everywhere and next morning our arms don’t go up or even move… lol. I’d love to have this guy over, or I need a new oven!!!

  23. I wonder whether most people keep their ovens at a 7 or above before calling a service! I’d hate to have my oven rated and I have no excuse as mine cleans itself! 🙁

  24. What a fantastic service. They deserve all the business they can get. I’m particularly impressed by the boiling water in the back of the van. Ovens are really tough, and I admire anyone who is prepared to tackle them. Now, no more roasts for you for a while? Ha ha.

  25. What a spanking good clean my friend 😀
    Great job!

    Cheers
    CCU

  26. Yip ovens and ironing are the worst two things out there, I never iron and ovens well I never cook – lol just kidding – when I tried to find an oven cleaner here in Rotorua, there were none, might have to check it out again, I want a shiny nice oven like yours, though mine is not as bad as yours, I yell at anyone who leaves it messy lol.

  27. I want a Matt! Now just to figure out what his costs would be to get him all the way here…
    Have a super weekend Charlie and enjoy using what looks like a brand new oven.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  28. Oh… ’tis the stuff of dreams… wish we had something like that here…

  29. You and Tania can now do all the cooking. The rest of us have dirty ovens. They have a franchise up this way too and now I won’t feel hesitant about spending money to get the oven cleaned. 🙂 I love that the dogs curled up and went to sleep on his towels.

  30. At first, I could not believe there was an actual service company to do oven cleaning!! I have a self cleaning oven, so I don’t really think about cleaning my oven as any source of dread – I turn it on and go to sleep! But honestly, your oven is so sparkly, it looks brand new!!

  31. Oh good, I had often wondered if these services were a good idea. My oven isn’t so bad… I bake more than anything but the BBQ can be a disaster and my pet hate is cleaning it. So now I don’t even want to use the BBQ cos I don’t like the post cooking clean up far less the big cleans they need.

  32. Nooooooo step away from that beautiful oven!!!! Don’t you dare cook in it! Ha

  33. Yay for a professional oven cleaner! Mine needs it badly. That looked amazing afterwards. Amusing about the light.

  34. Fortunately, mine is self-cleaning , but this is a wonderful service .I have heard of it popping up here in America, too.
    People may not understand the importance of a clean oven.I once was given a pumpkin pie that tasted of barbeque…my mother pointed out that the people’s oven must have been dirty!

  35. What a great service! We have a self-cleaning oven, but it doesn’t do better than pretty good – it still misses some stuff. Fun post – thanks.

  36. The sparkling silver of your oven racks is hurting my eyes! Ah-mazing!

  37. Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a company providing that service where I live. Amazing and well worth the $$ to not have to do it yourself!

  38. Nice job. Only critique I can give is that you should have taken the fan out and cleaned that too.

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  1. […] for my blog to become operational, I remembered reading Charlie’s post Oven Express – A Mobile Oven Cleaning Service at Hotly Spiced and decided to “get into action” and have my oven cleaned too! Thanks […]

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