Any tips for cleaning a burned up pot?

[palsh]

Ever leave your pot on and forget it, so it burns up and turns black... and perhaps other shades as well? I put it on to boil and forgot about it, now I have what seems to be a ruined pot. Is it salvageable? If so, I was wondering how. I don't know if industrial steel wool would do the job, but if so, what grade should I use?

[fourunder]

You do not mention the type metal the pot is made out of. e.g., non-stick, stainless steel, aluminum and etc.

A trick of many older commercial kitchens is to boil the pots with baking soda......and give a good scrub with a pot scouring pad made of stainless steel.

[palsh]

My bad, thanks for the reminder. It's just a stainless steel pot, no coatings or anything.

[coastie]

Hard to say if its salvageable without seeing it and knowing what it was made of in the first place. I start with a soak in baking soda and vinegar. and lots of elbow grease. But only if it was a durable quality pan to begin with.
Sometimes filling with liquid and reheating helps too - depends so much - what was the substance burned in the pot??What kind of metal is it???

[Clarkafella]

You might also try oven cleaner if nothing else works. We used to try that on coffee pots that had been left on the burner for too long, and it always did the trick.

[coastie]

I use salt and ice for my bad coffee pots

[roxlet]

After you soak it and do the baking soda thing, scrub it with Barkeepers Friend, the best ever stuff for cleaning pots, pans -- and even rusty bathtubs! The stuff is magic.

[coastie]

I bet barkeepers friend is like Bon AMI - was just coming back to add that is great and works well in this situation

[palsh]

I'm in a small town, can't find that product here whatsoever...

[masteraleph]

Bed bath and beyond carries it.

[Jack_]

I'd use Comet over Bar Keeper's Friend or Bon Ami. It is less abrasive and does a great job. I use it instead of steel wool with some Scotch Brite

[Clarkafella]

Comet is less abrasive? I never would have thought that... You should have seen my brothers '65 Barracuda after I used Comet to wash it!

I still say for burned on stuff, use Easy-Off!

[RShea78]

""I'd use Comet over Bar Keeper's Friend or Bon Ami.""

Old or modern formulated Comet? The older comet has a high content of fine silica like of that of hourglass sand. Too much pressure will scratch just about anything. Over time the silica content has been reduced to the point it has been removed from the household grade.

Comet with bleach? NOT IN MY KITCHEN! I run a bleach free household.

[c oliver]

I've used a dishwasher "tab" with hot water and let soak. It seems to remove the worst of it and then you can see what's left :(

[leanneabe]

That's my go-to for burned messes. I fill the container with hot water and a good dollop of dishwasher detergent (for the dishwasher, not the hand washing dish soap) and let it soak overnight.

[palsh]

There was nothing in the pot but water and it boiled away. It's blackened on the inside, not the outside... however, I do have another pot from the same set from years before that the same happened to. That one isn't so lucky, it's blackened on the inside and out...

[therealdoctorlew]

Try ZUD. It's a cleanser with oxalic acid in it. Be sure to read the instructions on the can first, and wear gloves for safety.

I found out about ZUD from the Corningware people after I tried a recipe for roasting a turkey at 500 degrees. It came out very tastey and very quickly and very brown.. The Corningware pan was uncleanably blackened, and all of the methods listed in this post failed. ZUD cleaned it perfectly. The package says it works for stainless steel also.

[RShea78]

""Try ZUD. It's a cleanser with oxalic acid in it.""

Bar Keepers Friend does too. For me it would be a price/availability issue beyond that point.

FYI- I make it a point to read the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) to see what is in household or commercial chemicals (wet/dry) before it goes into my cart.

[palsh]

I'm trying to resort to elbow grease and simple ideas rather than products... I don't have access to any of the ones everyone is mentioning... Also, how do I boil with baking soda, what ratio?

[fourunder]

Baking Soda is cheap, so fill the pot up at least three quarters full and put at least half the small box in...unless it is a stock pot, where I would suggest you put the entire box in.

BTW....you can use the old box if you have one in the fridge.

[palsh]

Ok, I'm going to try that now, haha! I'll see how it turns out!

[palsh]

I tried it out, it turned out quite well, thanx for the baking soda tip, I would rather elbow grease over a product if I can... although I didn't think this would be the case this time around, ahaha!

[meadandale]

For burnt on food in my all clad stainless pots, I fill them with enough white vinegar to cover the blackened food and put the pot on the stove at a simmer. After 10-15 minutes, most of the burnt food will just flake right off. A soft bristled pot brush will coax most of the rest off with a lengthy simmer.