Agree it or not, we all have had that disastrous day in the kitchen where we ended up burning the food along with the bottoms of the pots or pans. No matter how careful you are, you will end up scorching your pots and pans at least once in your entire life. While you can always try scrubbing it off for hours with your regular dish soap, there are better tricks and methods that you can try out the next time you scorch up a pan in the kitchen! Give the following methods a try if this happens to you a lot. You can always thank us later if it works out!
- Using detergent
- Fill up the scorched pot or pan with enough water so that evaporation can take place when you turn the stove on. (Pour in an additional 2-3 inches) It is necessary that you dry up the bottom of the pan before you place it on the burner.
- For the next step, you need to pour in 4-5 drops of detergent into the water and mix it. Make sure that the mixture is evenly spread so that you can clean up every corner properly while scrubbing. ( Liquid drops, tablets or powdered detergent can also be used in large amounts to clean up stubborn burnt stains)
- You need to boil the mixture for about 10-15 minutes using the highest setting of the burner on the stove. This will enable you to get rid of the hard remains as they will start to slacken up.
- For the last step, you will require some kind of sponge to scrub off the burnt areas of the pan using dish detergent. Remember not to use steel wool pads because they will leave behind scrapes on the areas you scrub on. However, wait for about 20 minutes before you start scrubbing to cool off the pan and throw away the mixture. Rinse the pan properly with warm water to see the change for yourself!
- Cleansing with an oven-cleaner
- A corrosive cleaning agent like an oven cleaner should be the last option for you only if the other two don’t work out. Since it is very harsh, it can cause discolouration to your pots and pans leaving it tainted forever.
Note: Never use oven cleaners on non-stick pans or any other utensils because they can actually ruin your cookware.
- It is very important for you to maintain certain guidelines while using oven cleaners for cleaning. Always wear gloves to avoid any sort of skin reaction to the acidic agent. The second guideline is to open up the windows so that the wind can pass through and normalize the strong corrosive smell of the cleaner. You can also wear masks to prevent too much inhalation.
- You can start cleaning the pan once you have followed the first two guidelines without failure. Begin by spraying the cleaner on the bottom of the pan. A little will go a long way considering how corrosive the cleaner is. You can also use a foam or cream based cleaner for cleaning up.
- After spraying the pan, set it outside for about 30 minutes to allow the oven cleaner to spear through the layers of debris. This will cause the remains to slacken up and it will be easier for you to get rid of the scorched up regions of the pan.
- The final step is to use a sponge or a brush to scrub through the debris which will ensure that all the remains are completely gone. Use warm water to rinse of off once you are done scrubbing so that you can rid of all the dirt once and for all. You can wash it off a couple of times to eradicate the smell of the oven cleaner.
- The Mixture of Baking Soda & Vinegar
- The last method is to use vinegar and baking soda to clean up the bottom of your burnt pan or pot. Like the first method, you need to fill up the burnt regions with adequate water.
- The second step is to pour in a cup of vinegar into the pan. Using your spatula, give it a quick mix before turning the stove on to let it boil. Wait for about 10 minutes after the mixture starts to boil. The ration of water and vinegar in the pan should be 1:1.
- Use baking soda to drizzle on the mixture once you have finished boiling it for 10 minutes. This should cause a lot of fizzing in the mixture but you have to be patient till it cools off.
Note: Tartar cream can also be used instead of baking soda. You only need to exclude the vinegar from the process and add tartar cream to the pan full of water. Another important guideline would be to always use this method on stainless steel.
- Scrubbing the pan using dish soap and a sponge/brush is the last trick of this method. However, before you start scrubbing, make sure to pour away the mixture of water, vinegar and baking soda from the pan. Rinse it off with water once you are done scrubbing it.
So these were the three methods of cleaning the burnt bottoms of pots and pans. Make sure to give all of them a try! For even stubborn stain, you can carry out the methods twice or thrice to achieve better results. However, this may not be necessary considering all the scrubbing and boiling you will be doing.
