What it costs
Priced by the hour, because that is how the work actually happens
The rate card
Every figure below includes VAT. There is no call out charge on top and no charge for materials.
- Hourly rate
- £60
- Charged per hour, including VAT, from arrival to the kitchen being put back together.
- Minimum charge
- £120
- Covers the first two hours. Almost every standard single or double oven fits inside it, so for most kitchens this is the whole price.
- Half day
- £240
- Four hours. The usual shape of a range cooker, or an oven with the hob and extractor added on the same visit.
- Full day
- £480
- Eight hours. AGA class cookers, a badly neglected range, or a whole kitchen being handed back at the end of a tenancy.
Deposit
Half up front, half when you have looked at it
A booking is held with a deposit of half the estimated time. The balance is due on completion, once the oven is back together and you have seen it working.
If the job runs shorter than the estimate you pay for the hours actually worked, subject to the two hour minimum. If it is going to run longer, you get told while there is still time to decide, not on the invoice afterwards.
Where the time goes
What the hours actually cover
- 01
Protecting the kitchen
Floor covered, units and worktops masked where the work will splash. Ten minutes at the start that saves an argument at the end.
- 02
Stripping the cooker down
Racks, runners, trays, oven liners, burner caps, pan supports, extractor filters. Everything the manufacturer means to come out, comes out.
- 03
Soaking
Removable parts go into degreaser and stay there while the cabinet is done by hand. That soak is unattended, and it is still part of the job's hours because the visit cannot end without it.
- 04
The cabinet, by hand
Roof, floor, sides, back and the fan cover. Carbon comes off with time and a scraper on the flat surfaces, not with force on the enamel.
- 05
Door and glass
The panes come apart on most doors, so the film between them can be cleaned rather than looked at. Seals are cleaned and left in place.
- 06
Rebuild and check
Everything dried and refitted, the oven brought up to temperature to burn off the last of the cleaner smell, and the kitchen cleaned down and handed back.
Guidance
Roughly what to expect
- Single oven, cleaned in the last year or so
- Comfortably inside the two hour minimum.
- Double oven and a grill
- Usually the two hour minimum, sometimes a little over if the glass has gone cloudy.
- Oven, hob and extractor together
- Normally somewhere between two hours and a half day, depending on the extractor.
- Range cooker, five or seven burners
- Half a day is the usual shape. Two ovens, a grill and a wide hob is a lot of surface.
- AGA class cooker
- Priced by the hours taken. Enamel, chrome lids, hotplates and ovens are separate pieces of work and it is a long job.
- End of tenancy, nothing touched in years
- Half a day upwards. Send a photograph and you will get a straighter answer.
Not included
What is not in the price
Replacement parts. Perished door seals, cracked glass, burnt out bulbs and rusted trays can all be pointed out and priced separately, but they are not cleaning.
Repairs of any kind, and anything behind a gas connection. If a cooker is faulty rather than filthy, the right trade for that is not a cleaner.
Money
Questions about the price
- Why is it charged by the hour and not per oven?
- Because two ovens of the same model can be an hour apart in the state they are in. An hourly rate means a cooker that has been looked after costs less than one that has not, instead of both paying the same average.
- What is the least I could pay?
- £120, which is the 2 hours minimum. Most standard single and double ovens are done inside it.
- Is VAT included?
- Yes. £60 an hour, £120 minimum, £240 for a half day and £480 for a full day are all the figures you pay, with nothing added afterwards. There is no call out charge and materials are included.
- How does the deposit work?
- 50 per cent of the estimated time is taken to hold the booking, and the balance is due on completion once you have looked at the work. Move or cancel with reasonable notice and it carries over or comes back.
- What happens if the job takes longer than estimated?
- You are told while it is happening, not on the invoice. If a cooker turns out to be worse than it looked in the photographs you decide whether to run on, stop at the estimate, or book the rest for another day.
- Do you charge extra for parking or mileage inside the area?
- No. Anywhere on the areas list is covered by the hourly rate. If a job is beyond that, ask and you will get told plainly whether it is worth either of us doing.
Get a time estimate
Book an oven clean with Exeter Oven Cleaning
Tell us what cooker you have and roughly what state it is in. Sam Hembury will come back with the hours it should take, what that costs, and the next free slot.