any tips on cutting through ancient grease?

[Oenopod]

The rented house we are in has a shelf above the hob (no extractor fan) that has years old grease welded to it. It is painted wood.

Any tips on something that will cut through the grease without resulting in the paint coming off too? (I can't use a really abrasive scrubber - it will act like sand paper)

It's gross and I really want to clean it...

Cillit Bang or Ajax multicleaning grease-defying spray.

Wall paper scraper.

Sugar soap.

Might be worth starting off with a paint stripping thing & scraping the worst of it off? And there are some kitchen cleaners which specifically mention removing grease on the label.

But I would guess that whatever you do will take some paint with it, however careful you are...

Thanks very much! I will put one of them on the shopping list.

ah, yes, wallpaper scraper is what I meant - one of those flat things!

Wow - lots of useful suggestions! Thanks again.

Sugar soap followed by washing down with water with a scoop biological washing powder. Shouldn't take the paint off unless it is flaky already.

I speak from experience, the previous occupants in our house obviously like deep-fay-frying, the walls and ceiling were thick with fat & changed colour once they were cleaned.

fat frying, not fay!!

Tis one of the joys of renting - other peoples ingrained dirt. But the house is lovely otherwise, just very old and well-lived-in!

Fairy Power Spray - absolutely brilliant stuff especially for cleaning glass on woodburner window

Flash Agent Orange - that's not the exact name but it's something like that

Biological washing powder.

Make a thick paste with it, leave it on and wash off after an hour or so.

Fairy liquid and a microfibre cloth - you will probably have to bin the cloth afterwards.

Fairy Power Spray, leave it on for a good half hour at least, get the worst off and attack the rest with one of those magic sponge JML/Duzzit things?? You know, the ones that you just add water to? They come in a big block and you can cut to size?

What does anyone think about amonia? Somehow the diagonal sloping chimney of the aga has become totally coated with grease and dust. Nothing seems to cut through it.

I'm not sure it matters so much exactly what you use, as long as you have really really hot water (and a pair of marigolds so you don't scald yourself), as well as a detergent.

I spray on the standard ecover cleaner, leave it for half an hour then rub off with a microfibre cloth soaked in very very hot water. It requires a bit of scrubbing but does work in the end.

I thought that microfibre cloths can't be used with any kind of detergent?