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Is Your Non-stick Cookware Still Good?


v. gautam

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Dupont suggested the company listed below as a place that recoated worn-out non-stick cookware.

Their prices seem to be reasonable. The recycling aspect attracts me the most; it seems a shame to discard heavy-duty metal cookware merely because the cooking surface has degraded.

Does anyone have any experience, comments?

Continental Coating Corporation

20757 S.W. 105th Avenue

P.O. Box 927

Tualatin, Oregon 97062

Email: cii@teleport.com

http://www.frypanman.com/recoating_intro.html (website)

gautam

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No I haven't; but I am going to box up my big pressure cooker and have them coat the thing inside and out ASAP!!

(I just did a pressure check on it, took it to 25 PSIG and it was fine. I reckon if I never let it get above 15 PSI from now on, I'll be perfectly safe).

This whole love/hate thing would be a lot easier if it was just hate.

Bring me your finest food, stuffed with your second finest!

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  • 1 year later...

My apartment has a hodgepodge of cookware and most of the nonstick stuff has pits and other bits of damage. I've never gotten sick from a meal here but I am concerned about the health and performance aspects of damaged nonstick pans.

Is there a rule of thumb to determine when a piece of cookware needs to be thrown out?

Thanks.

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The obvious answer would be, "when stuff starts to stick to it." I doubt you're ever going to get sick in the short term, but if you're worried about long term health effects of ingesting Teflon and whatnot, I'd chuck the pans once they show more than superficial scratches.

Personally, I don't worry about it. As long as the pan works, I'll keep using it.

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I have wondered if the coating could be removed, the surface polished and the pan used as a regualar pan.

It may be possible on a stainless steel pan but on an aluminum pan you would take off the anodizing and the remaining surfers wouldn't be usable for much.

I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

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It may be possible on a stainless steel pan but on an aluminum pan you would take off the anodizing and the remaining surfers wouldn't be usable for much.

It would be just like an unanodized pan, like the cheap ones used in most restaurants. Useful for everything but very acidic ingredients.

Notes from the underbelly

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There is nothing wrong with eating a little PTFE (aka "Teflon").  So your only criterion should be how well the pan is working for you.

Very true, though if anyone's tempted to sand the surface to turn a wrecked nonstick pan into a plain metal one, you should wear a dust mask. No telling what's going to be in the dust, so you should probably avoid breathing it.

Notes from the underbelly

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I have wondered if the coating could be removed, the surface polished and the pan used as a regualar pan.

I have a Calaphon non stick that was trashed as far as the non stick. I scraped the remaining teflon off with a chunk of plexiglass (Cast acrylic) and rubbed it out with a scotchbrite pad till it was nice and clean...Voila . a free Anodized alum. pan...With Whatever limitations they have...

Calaphon sez that to clean the anodized portions to use scotch brite pads..A testament to the hardness of the anodizing...

Bud

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A bit of gratuitous information....if you have birds, you should be very careful with non-stick cookware. The fumes from overheating it (particularly when dry) can be fatal to birds.

Just Google "Teflon" and "Birds".

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Here's the reply from Calphalon:

Fortunately if our nonstick surface becomes scratched, chipped, or

abraded it will remain completely safe to use. Even if ingested, our

nonstick will remain inert and nontoxic. Unfortunately nonstick surfaces

with heavy wear or damage will not perform correctly. Often these types

of products will be prone to sticking and more difficult to clean.

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If you buy your pans from Williams-Sonoma, they will replace your pan with a brand new one when the non-stick part starts to wear down/off.

(Sitting for lamb chops)

Lamb: Ple-e-e-se Li-i-i-sa I thought you lo-o-o-oved me, lo-o-o-oved me

Marge: Whats Wrong Lisa? Cant get enough lamb chops?

Lisa: I can't eat this, I can't eat a poor little lamb.

Homer: Lisa get a hold yourself, that is lamb, not A lamb.

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There is nothing wrong with eating a little PTFE (aka "Teflon").  So your only criterion should be how well the pan is working for you.

Very true, though if anyone's tempted to sand the surface to turn a wrecked nonstick pan into a plain metal one, you should wear a dust mask. No telling what's going to be in the dust, so you should probably avoid breathing it.

Seems to only be an issue when overheated, at which point it changes to the dastardly perfluoroisobutene.

David aka "DCP"

Amateur protein denaturer, Maillard reaction experimenter, & gourmand-at-large

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Perfluoroisobutene (aka PFIB) is produced by the pyrolysis of polytetrafluoroethylene (aka PTFE, aka "Teflon").

Pyrolysis is the degradation of a substance by heat in the absence of a reagent such as oxygen, water, etc. So, if you put your dry teflon pan into an oxygen free sealed container and heat it above 600F/350C, you will likely produce some PFIB.

Edited by slkinsey (log)

--

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Seems to only be an issue when overheated, at which point it changes to the dastardly perfluoroisobutene.

I'm just talking general principle. Sanding produces very fine dust, which is universally bad to inhale. Teflon is inert so it would probably be the least of your concerns, but who knows what adhesives and bonding agents might be between the teflon and the pan. And the aluminum itself might not be the best thing to breathe.

Notes from the underbelly

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Seems to only be an issue when overheated, at which point it changes to the dastardly perfluoroisobutene.

I'm just talking general principle. Sanding produces very fine dust, which is universally bad to inhale. Teflon is inert so it would probably be the least of your concerns, but who knows what adhesives and bonding agents might be between the teflon and the pan. And the aluminum itself might not be the best thing to breathe.

The sanding That I was refering to, was after all the non stick was scraped off..

The sanding with a scotch brite pad is by hand ,at a very low slow level to clean up the marks off of the anodizing. There is no "solid" stuff left, just some dark stuff that is probably grease that burned on to the anodizing thru the holes/gouges in the ptfe.

A chunk of 1/4"acrylic with sharp/square edges is all that is needed.Its much harder than the ptfe.

Bud

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  • 6 years later...

Like an idiot, I got distracted from cooking and left a calphalon non-stick 3qt - with lid on - at medium heat for a while, maybe 20mins.  I left it to cool overnight but it smells like a smelter in there now.  Washed with dishsoap but residual odor remains.

 

What to do?  Leave to air out side?  Simmer some water for an hour?  Discard???

"I took the habit of asking Pierre to bring me whatever looks good today and he would bring out the most wonderful things," - bleudauvergne

foodblogs: Dining Downeast I - Dining Downeast II

Portland Food Map.com

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I'd certainly try a good airing-out before tossing it. After that, I'd try other soaks. If the dish detergent didn't even diminish the smell then I'd try a vinegar/water solution on a gentle simmer for about 20 minutes, then left to cool. I'm just guessing here, along the lines that if an alkaline cleaner (dish detergent) doesn't work then maybe an acidic one will. OTOH if the detergent helped diminish but didn't eliminate the odor, maybe a solution of baking soda and water would be the better thing to try first.

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
HosteG Forumsnsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx; twitter.com/egullet

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

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Thanks, Smithy

The detergent did diminish the odor, as did an airing, but I'm still concerned about contaminating any future food cooked in this.  It's considerably better today, but I'm going to try both of your remedies - maybe twice each - just for peace of mind.  It's only a couple months old, and the 'net says it will gas off at 400F, which will kill birds and make people have flu-like symptoms, but who knows.  DuPont squirms when people bring up the subject, and there's nothing out there that tells you what to do if that happens, just to not do it!

"I took the habit of asking Pierre to bring me whatever looks good today and he would bring out the most wonderful things," - bleudauvergne

foodblogs: Dining Downeast I - Dining Downeast II

Portland Food Map.com

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As I understand it the health risks from broken-down PTFE are due to the gases released at 400+F, not the materials left behind. Unless this is an irreversible process that continues outgassing at any temperature once started at high heat (I have not heard this suggested) I wouldn't expect continued degradation. At this point I would be concerned about off-flavors if the odor can't be eliminated, and whether the surface is still nonstick. Both are easily tested. Let us know how the cleaning goes.

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
HosteG Forumsnsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx; twitter.com/egullet

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

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