Inside Oven Cleaning

Every time you preheat, the whole house smells like last month's dinner.

The bottom of the oven has a black crust that has been building since before you can remember. The door glass has gone amber and you can't see through it anymore. The racks are sticky. And at 400 degrees all of that starts smoking, which means every meal you cook carries a faint note of every meal you've cooked before.

The self-clean cycle is not the answer most people hope it is. It runs the oven at temperatures that have been known to damage control boards and door seals, fills the house with fumes for hours, and leaves a bed of ash for you to deal with anyway.

Hand cleaning with the right degreaser and enough dwell time removes the carbon without cooking your appliance. It takes us about an hour. You get an oven that looks close to new and a kitchen that stops smelling like smoke.

What the job actually involves

When we quote you $40 flat rate for inside oven cleaning, this is the work that number covers. Not a summary of it, and not the best-case version of it. This is the list.

• Racks removed and soaked to break down buildup
• Interior walls, floor, and ceiling degreased
• Door glass cleaned inside, outside, and between panes where accessible
• Door seal and hinge area detailed
• Broiler pan and drip tray cleaned
• Control panel and exterior front wiped
• Eco-friendly degreaser, no caustic fume residue

If something you need is not on that list, say so when you text. It is nearly always something we can add, and it is far better to agree it beforehand than to have you disappointed by an omission neither of us discussed.