"Degumming" a deep fryer

Over the last few years I have thrown away several good deep fryers because they get gummy. I don't really worry about it much but the rest of the family thinks that the gum probably harbors some hideous deadly life form that can withstand the temperature of boiling oil.

I empty the oil into a container and refrigerate it and then clean the teflon surface but the gum still builds up over time.

Does anybody know how to get this gum off without ruining the teflon (silverstone) surface?

[Pete]

Try filling it with soapy water and boiling it for a little while. Between the soap and the heat it should come off.

[Nicko]

We used to do the exact same thing, especially in some of the older kitchen where the fryers where very old. Like Pete said, fill it up with soapy water and boil it for a while. I think that they even sell a special liquid that you can add to help the process along, but I always used straight soap. Watch out, the smell when you do this is really intense.