Predicting the cleaning time of a fouling layer, termed soil, is the subject of current research. One approach to tackle this problem for film-like soils is the identification of different, prototypical modes of removal, called cleaning mechanisms. This allows the employment of dedicated modeling approaches for each of the cleaning mechanisms. In the present paper, a model for the cleaning mechanism viscous shifting is presented. Existing approaches to model viscous shifting soils are reviewed. Compared to the existing models, the new model proposed here has three distinctive features: i) geometry-independent formulation for a range of geometries, ii) decoupling of flow computation and soil removal, iii) consideration of non-isothermal scenarios. The model is validated based on two representative cases: jet cleaning of a Newtonian oil layer and a flushing process of chocolates. In the latter also a non-isothermal scenario is considered. The presented model is able to capture the evolution of soil height over time for all cases investigated. The present model achieves relative.