HELP!!! My gal D/W'ed my Calphalon sautoir!

[chefdaddyo]

Actually, she ran it through two (Bosch) dishwasher cycles. It now has a slightly whitish/chalky appearance. Not the end of the world, but I like to keep my kitchen stuff tip top. Without purchasing some $10 cleaner from Williams-Sonoma, anybody have an idea how to bring back it's original look? I thank you. P.S. she is not in the doghouse. It's just a pot!

[danna]

I'm not trying to be snarky, but why do you care what a pan looks like? Does it affect the performance? If not, I think she did you a favor. I wouldn't have a pot I couldn't dishwash. I put my All Clad and my copper in the DW.

(ok, i lied, i don't dw my cast iron...but that's it)

[chefdaddyo]

Looks like this has some new interest. The update is I bought some Barkeepers Friend, and it removed the slightly white film. All is well. Johnny O, I agree with your thoughts on the hard water issue. And danna, I like to keep my good stuff looking good. It's just me. But I did put away the Reidel wine glasses and opted for some eastern European lead crystal that is D/W safe. I am way too lazy anymore to wash out wineglasses every night!

[JohnOort]

You know, don't give up yet. It might just be mineral deposits left from hard water that air dried you your pan in the dishwasher. Try this first before chucking it: wash the pan with white vinegar. Try it several times, if there are mineral stains it may take a while for it to work. Looking up the all knowing expert on everythign, Wikipedia, it indicates that the anodization process and the subsequent usage of you pan results in tiny heat stress cracks. Minerals could get in there during the hot water/heat cycle of your dishwasher, making it cloudy... So I'd get your pan really hot by first washing it with your hottest water, than use the vinegar while still hot.

Of course, you could find an old BMX bike customizer that could reanodize your pan, if that;s the problem, but that'd cost a bit. But you could also choose any color you wanted!

But seriously, I have an old school Calphalon black pot from way back and it gets stuck in the dishwasher every once in a while and it's fine.

[ctscra]

Is this pan now dangerous to with b/c of exposed aluminum?

[escondido123]

And what would be dangerous about the aluminum? I have aluminum pans that I love to cook with.

[Dave5440]

re-escondido123
Some people think it causes Alzheimer's.

[wattacetti]

And some people think using Grecian Formula causes Alzheimer's too. No proven link between Al and AD. escondido123's pots are fine.

[escondido123]

There is absolutely no proven link between Alzheimers and aluminum. I have researched it extensively and it is all akin to "people born in 1920 like Frank Sinatra, people born in 1920 have Alzheimers, therefore Frank Sinatra causes Alzherimers."

[wattacetti]

I know - I had worked on this back in the lab days.

[mmerriman]

yup - you can't put that stuff through the DW - however Calphalon will very likley replace it for free if you ask them...

[C. Hamster]

Putting it in the dishwasher also voids the warranty

[C. Hamster]

I'm guessing it's toast. But it'll perform fine, just look a bit crappy.

[chefdaddyo]

I'm finding this very hard to believe! It's a high quality product, that can't stand two cycles of Cascade in a D/W? I thank all of you for your responses.

[E_M]

If you are referring to Cascade the detergent, absolutely not. Cascade scratches everything.

You need to understand how harsh most detergents are. Truthfully, very little stands up to them. Cascade is the worst.

[Dee S]

High quality has nothing to do with it; aluminum is very soft and is easily etched. A cr@ppy $5 hard anodized pan would do the same thing. The hard anodized coating is somewhat fragile but think of it as getting sandblasted in the DW....especially with Cascade. Glass gets etched over time in the DW, which gives it that milky appearance. That's pretty much the same affect you're seeing with your pan.

Now stainless steel is a different story.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Which Calphalon line are you talking about? If it is hard anodized aluminum, then I am afraid (not sure) that the cookware surface is ruined for good. That is, that black surface has been removed and you cannot restort the surface look with some $10 cleaner.

If it is a stainless steel cookware, then you can use Bar Keeper's Friend.

[chefdaddyo]

Thanks, Chem. It's the black one. I paid over $100 about ten years ago. It says 'Professional' on the lid. It's black trough and through; no surface coating whatsoever.

[Chemicalkinetics]

"Professional" is a hard anodized aluminum line. The black (very dark grey) surface is the very first layer of the anodized aluminum. Some dishwasher detergents are very aggressive and can stripped off that surface. I think that is what happened. There is not much you can do to restore it.

[Dee S]

You can try using a cleaner like Bar Keeper's Friend or Cameo Aluminum and Stainless Steel cleaner and see if that helps. I own about 30 pieces of the same cookware and those are the cleaners I use the most. You can still use the pot but be more cautious with acidic foods. You may experience a reaction because some of the non-anodized surface may be exposed.

The problem with putting anodized aluminum in the dishwasher is the detergents will etch the surface. So, the white stuff you're seeing is actually etching. I doubt the surface was completely stripped, as you would see a brighter aluminum underneath (not shiny but certainly brighter than the anodized finish....think restaurant pots).