5 safe home remedies for cleaning pans at home

Olga Nikitina

Reading time: 9 minutes

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Not every housewife can wash dishes immediately after cooking. But even with timely washing, an unpleasant black soot forms on the surface of the pans. It not only spoils the aesthetic appearance of dishes and the kitchen as a whole, but also harms health.

How to remove it, what means to use, and what to remember?

5 effective ways to clean frying pans from carbon deposits

Nagar is a "mix" of soot and old fat.

It would seem, well, what's wrong with not cleaning the pans to a shine after each cooking? Many, over there, even consider soot to be the secret of cooking especially delicious food.

But cleaning the soot is still important and necessary. And the main reason is the release of carcinogens that occurs when exposed to high temperatures.

According to numerous studies, soot often becomes a "springboard" to the development of oncology due to the slow intoxication of the body.

Therefore, pans should be cleaned as often as possible. The main thing is to choose the right way.

The following are recognized as the most effective methods for cleaning cast-iron pans from heavy soot:

1. We apply an oven and brazier cleaner to the pan, tightly wrap it in polyethylene, leave it for 12 hours. Remove carbon deposits with a melamine sponge or a regular metal sponge. Next, it remains only to wash the dishes with a sponge using a regular dishwashing detergent.
2. We carefully calcine the pan on the stove, in the oven or on the fire, having previously poured salt or sand inside. Next, remove from the fire (with an oven mitt!) And tap the dishes so that the soot is showered from it. The remains are removed with a metal sponge. You can also use a blowtorch for this purpose.
3. Grinding. Using a drill and a metal brush nozzle, we remove carbon deposits, as if “grinding” the pan. The result is 100%, but this work is not for women. It is also important to protect your eyes and face from flying metal chips.
4. Ammonium chloride and borax. A great way that is suitable even for cleaning the grate from the stove. We mix a couple of drops of ammonia and 10 g of borax in a glass of warm water, apply the solution to the pan, pack it in a sealed bag, shake it and leave it overnight. In the morning, it remains only to thoroughly rinse the used product.
5. Soviet method. We heat water in a large container (so that the pan fits in), add a bar of ordinary laundry soap ground on a grater, 2 packs of silicate glue and a pound of soda. We dissolve the components and mix, lower the pan into the solution and bring to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes, then turn off the gas, close the container with a lid and leave the pan in it for 3 hours. Then you just have to wash the dish with a regular sponge. Important: the smell from the glue is very unpleasant, you can’t do without a hood and open windows.

We remove the scratches that arise after radical cleaning with fine sandpaper.

These methods are not suitable for ceramics, Teflon and even aluminum.

We remove soot in a pan with folk remedies - the best ways

• Vinegar (for cast iron skillet) We dissolve vinegar in water (1: 3), pour the product into a pan and heat it over low heat, sometimes adding a little water. After that, you will have to boil the pan in a soda solution to remove the smell of vinegar.
• Laundry soap (for almost any pan). We rub it on a grater, dissolve it in boiling water and lower the pan into the solution - let it cook for 30-40 minutes.
• Oil with powder (for any frying pan). Pour 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil into the container, add a few tablespoons of washing powder, add water and after boiling, lower the pan into the solution - soak.
• Citric acid (for cast iron pan). We dilute 1 tsp of acid in 1 liter of water, after which we soak the pan in it for 1 hour. If the soot is old, the procedure may have to be carried out twice.

Video: How to clean a frying pan, burners, pots and other utensils from years of soot and old fat?

5 safe home remedies for cleaning pans at home

Unlike cast iron pans, which can be cleaned by simply dropping them over a fire, non-stick pans require extremely gentle care.

1. Digestion. We dissolve a glass of detergent and 50 g of soda (preferably soda ash) in 3 liters of water, lower the dishes into a container with this solution and boil for 30-35 minutes on low heat.
2. Coca Cola. Pour a glass of soda into the bowl and boil for 30 minutes. To remove carbon deposits from the outside, boil the entire pan in the drink.
3. Dishwasher. The option is suitable for dishes with light soot. Important: carefully choose the temperature, detergent. Abrasives are not allowed. And one more thing: pay attention to whether the manufacturer allows washing a particular pan in the dishwasher.
4. Food disintegrant. We mix a glass of water and a couple of tablespoons of the product, pour the solution into a bowl and boil. After the liquid has cooled, remove the carbon deposits with a regular sponge. For external soot, we make more solution and lower the whole pan into it.
5. Melamine sponge. An option that is suitable for any frying pan. Naturally, a sponge will not give in to a thick and old soot, but if you have not had time to bring the pan to such a state, then a melamine sponge is in your hands! More precisely, in gloves, because this tool is not safe for health. By itself, a melamine sponge is ideal for cleaning deposits, rust and other contaminants, but you should wash the dishes thoroughly after using it (preferably twice and pour over with boiling water for reliability).

7 best store-bought products for cleaning frying pans from soot and old grease

The chemical industry never ceases to delight customers, and today there are a huge number of different kitchen products that help the hostess keep her nerves - and hands - intact.

Among the most effective remedies for soot, fat and soot, buyers distinguish the following:

• Domestos. Average price: 200 rubles. An effective product with a powerful scent. Wear gloves and open window.
• Unicum Gold. Average price: 250 rubles. Quality grease remover from an Israeli company. Ideal for cleaning dishes from soot and old dirt. Not suitable for aluminum or scratched surfaces.
• Mr. Muscle (note - Expert for the kitchen). Average price: about 250 rubles. This product has already proven itself from the best side. It will easily clean from fat and frying pans, and grates of the stove, and the oven, and a baking sheet. The action time is about 30 minutes.
• Shumanit. Average price: about 500 rubles. The tool is expensive, "thermonuclear" in smell, but fantastically effective. Impeccable cleanliness can be achieved in a matter of minutes: no fat and soot! Minus - you need to work with gloves.
• Cillit. Average price: about 200 rubles. This remedy also does not smell of roses and requires open windows and a respirator, but it removes even the oldest and most powerful pollution that did not succumb to any folk remedy. For enameled and other delicate surfaces, the product is not suitable.
• Miracle-Antinagar from Himitek. Average price: 300 rubles. Domestic, effective tool for quick and easy removal of food soot.
• Any pipe cleaner. Average price: 100-200 rubles. Although such products are aggressive in their effect, they still remain the most effective for cleaning the most difficult contaminants. Naturally, such a product is not suitable for Teflon, but a cast-iron pan can easily be subjected to this cleaning method. With the help of such a tool, soot will come off the pan, even with its thickest layer. For 5 liters of water, use ½ liter of the product. Important: do not add water to the product, but the reagent itself - to the water!

Video: How to clean a frying pan from soot without chemicals?

Top tips for cleaning and caring for different types of pans

The most important tips for cleaning pans concern, first of all, the health of the housewives. Why do we need clean pans if you can at least get poisoned by inhaling fumes of toxic household chemicals?

Therefore, the most important thing...

1. Use rubber gloves. Remember that household chemicals can also act through the skin.
2. Wear a respirator if you use "vigorous" household products. In extreme cases, you can use a cotton-gauze bandage.
3. High-quality wash dishes after using household chemicals. The ideal option is to boil so that there is not even a hint of the use of "chemistry".
4. Open windows while cleaning and, if possible, do it outside.
5. Drive children and animals out of the room at the time of using household chemicals. Unless this is the kind of eco-chemistry that even apples can be washed with. But you can’t wash off carbon deposits with such chemistry.

What should you remember about cleaning pans?

• Thoroughly wash the pan immediately after cooking . So you will greatly simplify your work.
• If the outside of the pan is covered with a layer of fat and soot after cooking, put it in a bowl of boiling water - let it get wet. You can boil for 15 minutes, and then easily clean with a simple sponge. It is easier to clean a light soot than a thick and old one.
• Avoid using metal sponges and abrasive cleaners for washing pans. The more scratches, the more unsafe it is to wash the dish with chemicals, the stronger the soot sticks, the more dangerous it is to cook in such a pan.
• Cast iron pans should be heated as hot as possible before cooking in them. The hotter the pan warms up, the less soot will be.
• Wash aluminum pans without abrasives - warm water, sponge and baking soda. Aluminum oxidizes after hard cleaning, and this oxide, if it enters the body, is very harmful to health. Therefore, such pans should be washed only with gentle means and tools.
• Use regular laundry soap when washing - it is more effective than even the most modern dishwashing detergents.
• Wipe pans after washing hard waffle towels.
• Teflon dishes should be changed every six months.