The bread baking craze that has swept across the UK during lockdown has led to a huge spike in demand for professional oven cleaning and repair services, according to data from Fantastic Services, the one-stop shop for professional home cleaning and maintenance.
For the last two months, Brits have turned to baking in their millions to pass the many hours spent stuck indoors, with bread baking in particular seeing a massive revival and leading to country-wide shortages of flour. As a knock-on effect of the trend, last week Fantastic Services saw a 138% increase in bookings for professional oven cleaning compared to the first week of lockdown (starting 23rd March), while the company has also seen oven repair call-outs triple.
The Fantastic Services data also shows that ovens have replaced fridges as the third most common household appliance to require repairs, behind dishwashers and washing machines. According to one cleaner working for Fantastic Services, sourdough is the worst culprit when it comes to oven mishaps as the remnants can ‘turn into something resembling cement’. According to Google Trends data, online searches relating to sourdough have also increased six-fold during lockdown.
In the last week, the business has also seen a massive jump in carpet and upholstery cleaning jobs (up 102%) and handyman call-outs (up 53%). The rising demand follows the recent clarification from the Government on guidelines around domestic services, as well as the softening of lockdown rules.
Rune Sovndahl, co-founder of Fantastic Services, said, “Bake-off syndrome has well and truly taken off during the last two months and it’s starting to take its toll on people’s ovens. For anyone who has been unfortunate enough to suffer a baking mishap, our professional cleaning and repair teams are always on call to help you sort out the problem.”
Leave a Comment