How To Start An Oven Cleaning Business

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Well I thought I give you some ideas if you are looking to start an oven cleaning business. Here they are:

1. You will need some sort of van to get to the work. I would say that it would be best to get the newest one that you can afford and also the one with the most doors. More side doors especially help considerably in the day to day running of your business. I like Berlingos and Daihatsu Extols - we use both of these.

2. You need some way to heat up a solution in the van, the reason for this is that the grease will come away from the parts of the oven when they are put into a hot solution that has some chemical in it. Most people go for a cal-or gas type burner and a stainless steel tray of some sort. There is a common metal design 'oven cleaning tank' which has a lid and somewhere for the calor gas bottle to go. We don't use this method, we use something that is a lot safer and easier to use and allows us to do more jobs per day. To get one of ones we use you'd have to go on my course before I'd get you one. The normal price for a calor burner set and oven cleaning tank is about £400 and for the one we use about £1150.

3. You need insurance. You need some sort of liability insurance for yourself and also some van insurance for the vehicle. You will need to mention that it is an oven cleaning business. Some insurances stipulate that you can't heat up in the back of the van if you have the calor burner. This is because if there is a leak or you forget to turn it off you can get a build up of gas in the van and this is very dangerous. This is why you see oven cleaning guys 'heating up' on the side of the road.

4. You need to know the method of taking the doors apart and other parts of the ovens and putting them back together correctly. There have been occasions, when I first started, where I have been in blind panic trying to get something back together! For this you'll need a basic tool kit.

5. You need to have a method of cleaning the ovens. Some cleaning companies put on a gel and the oven needs to be hot for this. Basically this is a caustic gel and I wouldn't recommend this method at all as you get burnt and the stuff does irritate your nose even though it is relatively odourless and can hurt on your skin too.  We don't use this method and use a vegetable paste instead. It's a lot safer and easier to use. You still need a method of working though as just using the paste won't sort the oven on its own. So you will need a set of cleaning products and tools to do the job.

6. You need to run a proper business. This means you are going to have to advertise for work,answer phone calls, book people in for the jobs, turn up on time, do a good job and then deal with any problems etc. You will need to look after your own accounts and have a proper record of everything you do.

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