Cleaning Stubbornly Stained Cookware

[russ parsons]

[sob] i love you guys! (edited to add explanation for over-emotional reaction: my wife was threatening to make me throw it out if i couldn't get it clean. and you know how it is with a pan you've used a couple of thousand times; i was facing a pretty tough choice: the lady or the pan)

Edited March 3, 2006 by russ parsons (log)

[Marlene]

I use the Swiss Cleaner on my le crueset.

[John S.]

Is barkeeper's friend ok to use on the enameled surface? I use it for my stainless pans but I'm not sure about the LC.

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yes, it's just oxalic acid - a bleach.

[takomabaker]

I had the same problem with a Le Creuset pot, and someone on this site recommended Dawn Power Dissolver to me. It worked like a charm. I swear by it now! It's amazing stuff.

[jgm]

Shortly after we were married, I burned something in a porcelain-lined pan that my husband owned. Much of it came off, but there was still some black stuff inside, on the bottom.

A couple of weeks later, I was trying to talk to a friend on the phone while making spaghetti sauce, and I burned the sauce. I walked away in disgust. A few days later, when I finally made myself grow up and try to clean up the pan, I was surprised that everything came off, and we had a lovely porcelain lining again. So you might just let some tomato sauce sit in the bottom of it a few days, and see if that works.

[Richard Kilgore]

Bar Keepers Friend is great for stainless steel...when used as directed. When they say to leave a BKF paste on tough stuff for no longer than a minute, they mean it. The first time I used it as a paste, I got distracted and let it sit for ten minutes, resulting in permananet etching of the paste smear and drippings.

I would suggest at least that much caution with enamelled cast iron, as the directions on the can suggest. I would try other soaking methods first to avoid dulling the enamel.

Another approach for LC: A reputable cook told me that he soaks badly burned gunk using dishwasher soap, if soaking with dish soap overnight doesn't work. He cautions that over time this will dull the finish and make it a little more apt to stick, but for him it's a fair trade-off.

Edited to add that I agree, Dawn Power Dissolver is great stuff. I think it was fifi who first recommended it here.

Edited March 3, 2006 by Richard Kilgore (log)

[andiesenji]

related question, as long as we're confessing our hygienic deficiencies: my big all-clad sauteuse, which i've had for about 15 years and use at least 2-3 times a week, has a layer of black scum on the bottom (outside) of the pan. this comes from teh days when i didn't have a dishwasher and was less thanrigorous about getting all the grease off the outside of the pan before re-using it. any ideas for how to get rid of it?

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I use Carbon-Off on my All-Clad and other cookware. It works beautifully. Unlike other compounds, it can also be used on aluminum.

Carbon-Off

[Sugarella]

Oh jeez, everybody, you NEVER need to scrub a pot!!!!

NickV - for your le crueset, just boil water in it for 20 minutes and it'll all come off. If it doesn't, scrape with a wooden spoon and boil some more. I swear it works. Your pot may be stained on the bottom, but a soak of a capful of bleach in some water will fix that too.

The method works the same for steel pans.... but after they'll be clean they'll look a little dull inside so boil fresh water in there with a little vinegar and they'll be all shiny again.

russ parsons - for the bottom of that pan, turn it upside down in the sink (assuming your sink is steel) and just spray it with any non-toxic oven cleaner. 10 minutes later, rinse.

~ Sugarella, who never scrubs anything anymore.

[scott123]

I'll second the boiling water recommendation for the LC. If that doesn't work, oven cleaner will take the black stuff but leave the enamel undamaged.

[rme7]

related question, as long as we're confessing our hygienic deficiencies: my big all-clad sauteuse, which i've had for about 15 years and use at least 2-3 times a week, has a layer of black scum on the bottom (outside) of the pan. this comes from teh days when i didn't have a dishwasher and was less thanrigorous about getting all the grease off the outside of the pan before re-using it. any ideas for how to get rid of it?

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If the outside of the pan is stainless steel, it can also - in addition to the other methods suggested - just be scoured with a metal pad. Either Brillo or, better still, one of those pads made of something resembling razor wire. Wear a rubber glove when using one of those things - they can cut your hand to shreds if you're applying serious pressure.

If the carbonized gunk on the outside isn't burning, however, it can just be left where it is. This doesn't look as nice as sparkling steel, but it is definitely the lazy cook's preferred option.

Richard

[russ parsons]

.

If the carbonized gunk on the outside isn't burning, however, it can just be left where it is. This doesn't look as nice as sparkling steel, but it is definitely the lazy cook's preferred option.

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obviously, that was my inclination as well ... at least until the little woman got uppity.

[slkinsey]

[sob] i love you guys! (edited to add explanation for over-emotional reaction: my wife was threatening to make me throw it out if i couldn't get it clean. and you know how it is with a pan you've used a couple of thousand times; i was facing a pretty tough choice: the lady or the pan)

Russ, if it's All-Clad stainless (which is to saym with stainless steel inside and out) you should be able to use oven cleaner on that sucker. That works better than anything I have used for that kind of cooked-on black gunk. It's my default for cleaning my A-C stainless roasting pan of those last few bits of baked on crud. You could probably use it with A-C MasterChef as well, but it's no go if you have the kind with anodized aluminum on the outside -- the oven cleaner will screw up the black layer.

No reason oven cleaner shouldn't work on a piece of Le Creuset either. After all, the inside of your oven is lined with enamel too.

[snowangel]

Note: I changed the title of this topic since it is covering more types of cookware than just Le Creuset.

And, while not cookware, I'm looking at the grates on my gas stove, and there's a lot of ick. Now, I could take bar keepers friend to it, and spend hours in all of the nooks and crannies. Oven cleaner? That Dawn Power Dissolver? Any ideas?

[shelora]

Funny this should come up today. I just had a good sesh cleaning the outside of my le crueset. I use something I bought in Mexico after watching a young girl in the market cleaning pots at a fonda.

An old fashioned pumice stone. So brilliant and I picked up a couple for five pesos. And they last forever. They don't scratch or in any way ruin the finish of the pot. The grime comes off without toxic cleaners or days of soaking. It's a very satisfying experience.

[Sugarella]

And, while not cookware, I'm looking at the grates on my gas stove, and there's a lot of ick. ........ Any ideas?

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If it's a newer stove, use oven cleaner.

If it's and old stove and they're made of iron, nothing you can do except sand it off.

Edited to add: If you use oven cleaner make sure you remove them first and don't spray oven cleaner onto the gas flames. I'm sure you're smart enough to know this of course but I just came across the stupidest person on the planet elsewhere online today so I figured I shouldn't make assumptions anymore....

Edited March 4, 2006 by Sugarella (log)

[Marlene]

And, while not cookware, I'm looking at the grates on my gas stove, and there's a lot of ick. ........ Any ideas?

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If it's a newer stove, use oven cleaner.

If it's and old stove and they're made of iron, nothing you can do except sand it off.

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I use VIM actually on the grates of my gas range. Recommended by the serviceman.

[mrbigjas]

[sob] i love you guys! (edited to add explanation for over-emotional reaction: my wife was threatening to make me throw it out if i couldn't get it clean. and you know how it is with a pan you've used a couple of thousand times; i was facing a pretty tough choice: the lady or the pan)

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is your all-clad of the stainless variety? because by 'scouring pad' i mean one of those steel or zinc scourers, not just an SOS pad, and i don't know that i'd do this on an aluminum surface (although i have done it on aluminum pots without hurting them much). but basically, once you make a paste of the barkeeper's friend and let it sit to soften for a few minutes, you can feel when you're scrubbing the carbonized/polymerized gunk off there, without harming the pot's surface in any real way.

or at least that's been my experience.

edited because i should have read the whole thread before responding:

1. i haven't found dawn power dissolver to be all that effective. maybe i just burn things on worse than other people or something, but it didn't do jack to most things i've used it on.

2. agree with slkinsey that oven cleaner is good for stainless. i've had stuff that even that didn't take off though. but after an application, a little elbow grease worked.

3. i've never done the bleach-soaking for a le creuset pot--i just always figured that they eventually turn brown inside and that's just kind of the way of life. am i wrong?

Edited March 4, 2006 by mrbigjas (log)

[shelora]

And, while not cookware, I'm looking at the grates on my gas stove, and there's a lot of ick. ........ Any ideas?

←

If it's a newer stove, use oven cleaner.

If it's and old stove and they're made of iron, nothing you can do except sand it off.

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I use VIM actually on the grates of my gas range. Recommended by the serviceman.

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I love VIM.

[ChefCrash]

Note:  I changed the title of this topic since it is covering more types of cookware than just Le Creuset.

And, while not cookware, I'm looking at the grates on my gas stove, and there's a lot of ick.  Now, I could take bar keepers friend to it, and spend hours in all of the nooks and crannies.  Oven cleaner?  That Dawn Power Dissolver?  Any ideas?

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snowangel

If your stove grates are plain steel you could place them in your oven next time you run a self-cleaning cycle.

[Mottmott]

And, while not cookware, I'm looking at the grates on my gas stove, and there's a lot of ick. ........ Any ideas?

←

If it's a newer stove, use oven cleaner.

If it's and old stove and they're made of iron, nothing you can do except sand it off.

Edited to add: If you use oven cleaner make sure you remove them first and don't spray oven cleaner onto the gas flames. I'm sure you're smart enough to know this of course but I just came across the stupidest person on the planet elsewhere online today so I figured I shouldn't make assumptions anymore....

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I soak mine in a strong solution of oxyclean. Usually afterwards I go over the crevices lightly with a plastic scrubby.

[scubadoo97]

I've had pretty good luck with the Dawn Power Dissolver that was recommended here. My stainless pans end up with a hazy residue after cleaning no mater what I use but is cleaned off with a little citric acid powder and water.

[russ parsons]

well, after a weekend of experimenting, preliminary findings (and some success!). the barkeeper's friend worked ok, but not well enough for this particular pan, i'm afraid. remember, we're talking about 15 years of burned on grease. i had better luck with the carbon-off (thanks andie), but it still didn't get it all off. however, it did clean it enough to restore some amount of domestic bliss. i think i'm going to go back now with a barkeeper's paste to try to get the rest off. for the record, it's a master-chef (brushed aluminum exterior).

[Sugarella]

Oohh.... glad you didn't take my advice about the oven cleaner then, Russ. It would have eaten at the aluminum.

[Kayakado]

People who worked in my mother's kitchen were constantly burning stuff onto the pans. She always put ammonia in the pan and sealed in in a plastic bag and let it sit. She claimed the ammonia and the fumes from the ammonia softened the burnt-on stuff, making it easy to clean off. Of course, you put the pan out of commisiion for as long as it takes to soak. I think sometimes she soaked it for as much as a week.

[Mooshmouse]

People who worked in my mother's kitchen were constantly burning stuff onto the pans.  She always put ammonia in the pan and sealed in in a plastic bag and let it sit.  She claimed the ammonia and the fumes from the ammonia softened the burnt-on stuff, making it easy to clean off.  Of course, you put the pan out of commisiion for as long as it takes to soak.  I think sometimes she soaked it for as much as a week.

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This is exactly what my Uncle does with his pans and stove grates. Puts them into a small bucket with the ammonia solution, seals the whole works up in a garbage bag and lets it sit in his garage. Apparently it works like a hot damn.