Reward your sturdy oven with a thorough cleaning from Mayo's iClean Ovens
By Tom Gillespie
WITH the Christmas and new year gastronomic celebrations now totally confined to history it is time to impart some loving, tender care to your sturdy oven, which delivered 100 per cent over the festive season.
Now, covered in grease, grime and blackened shelving, it's time for a professional new year thorough cleaning.
And Rob Bennett, an Englishman settled in Kiltimagh, of iClean Ovens, is offering householders the ultimate oven cleaning process.
While housebound during Covid, Bob passed his time on the internet sourcing eco-friendly, local products for his oven cleaning business.
Bob, from Treenkeel, Kiltimagh, told me: “I have done a lot of research on the products I use as I want to have them as eco-friendly as possible, as I have my head stuck in an oven every day. I have tried to source things in Ireland rather than the UK, that are environmentally friendly, and I have succeeded.
“During Covid I did a lot of research and I buy all my cleaning products in Ireland now and I have found products even from local companies, excellent quality, as I like to keep it local where possible.
“I love the social side of my job. A lot of my customers, who I have been going to for years, are now friends and we can have the craic while I carry on with the cleaning.”
Rob had originally been employed in the building trade but the bust left him out of work. After some research and training, he set up iClean Ovens, an environmentally-friendly way to get the grease and grime removed from your oven, and he now specialises in domestic and commercial oven cleaning.
In the back of his van he has a gas-heated stainless steel tank into which the oven components are steeped to clean.
He covers all of Connaught and has worked as far away as Longford.
He told me: “I moved over from England 10 or 11 years ago. My wife Elizabeth (Judge) is from Kiltimagh. I was originally in the building trade and when I came over here there was not much work. I was unemployed for a little while. I saw on the internet a FÁS course on start your own business and I came across this oven cleaning process on the internet.
“There were guys doing it in Dublin. I decided to give it a go. The FÁS course was very helpful. I never had my own business before. It gave me a little insight into what to expect and I got some valuable experience from the people there.
“I got some help from the Back-to-Work Scheme. They helped finance me for the purchase of the tank as I had to pay so much for it. I spoke to a guy in England who was supplying all the stuff and he gave me some tips on how to do it.
“That was about six years ago and it has just gone on from there. I like the idea of the environmentally-friendly side. I am dealing with people’s cooking appliance. A soon as I am finished they can cook straight away. The is no waiting for it to burn off. People are shocked at the amazing results.”
Bob continue: “Depending on the condition of the oven, it takes about one to two hours for a single oven and a double from two to four hours. It all depends on the condition of the appliance.
“With every service I supply bulbs and the paper filters for the extractors free. The rubber seals are the hardest to clean and any heat on them could warp or break them.
“So what I do is put them in the tank for 10 minutes when it has cooled down.
“I take all the doors off and clean in between each section of glass and once I put it back I give it a final polish.
“No one likes cleaning their ovens. It is the one job they do not like. You can shut the doors and you don’t have to look at the mess and that’s where I come in.
“For €55 you get to clean your oven leaving it as good as new. If you have a really big family and you are cooking every day you should get it cleaned every six months but normally once a year is enough.
“I have a stainless steel tank in my van and using the environmentally friendly products it is safe. Everything that is removable from the oven is steeped in the tank for an hour. There is no risk of damage to any of the items. It just cleans them.”
Bob charges €70 for a double oven, a single oven is €55, range cookers €130 - depending on what the customers wants done, while extractors start from €20, and hobs from €15.
Rob, a father of three, can be contacted on (086) 1262097 or email icleanovens@gmail.com.
* Do you have a story to tell about your business? If so, Tom Gillespie would be delighted to hear from you. Get in touch at (086) 1262097 or gillespietom49@gmail.com.