# How dangerous is worn ‘non-stick’ cookware? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 27, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359 "2015-07-27T22:52:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alonzo\_John\_Blitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@Alonzo\_John\_Blitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alonzo_John_Blitz)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/1 "2015-07-27T22:52:51Z")
_MODS - IF THIS BELONGS IN GQ PLEASE MOVE_ About five years ago I bought a new set of ‘non-stick’ cookware. It seemed to be a well-regarded product, and risibly prised. However, over time much of the coating has warn off. Wee contimue to coke wuth them, but sometines I wander whether the the degradation of the coats and hats has imparted deleterious vapors and insidious innuendo to those of us who have partaken of the tasty foodgoods witch were burned upon that alter. All in a lather, as may be. I did a Giggle sirtch to no travail – and even asked Jeeves – but he was dickish in the esteem. Soon wee will be heisting a grandiose bankette and slobbering fulsomely on our guests. So are these pots and pans and pandemic lustrous merkins dangerous or just deadly when they steam? I await your valued respondents with baited hook. Your servant, The Right Reverend, Doctor Priest Preacher Tirade - Deceased ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/2 "2015-07-27T23:53:21Z")
Hmm. What would Anna Livia Plurabelle say? We have a lot of expired non-stick pans that probably add some ingredients to the food, and I’ve heard that it’s not very healthy for you. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/3 "2015-07-27T23:59:01Z")
I once asked the head cook at the company cafeteria “what happened to the Teflon that was on those pans with the aluminum showing through”? His answer was that" you guys ate it"! ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/4 "2015-07-28T00:03:28Z")
it’s not the fact that it’s “worn” that makes it potentially hazardous. solid PTFE is more or less biologically inert. ingesting a flake or two of non-stick coating won’t hurt you. where there is a risk is if you let a PTFE-coated pan get much above 500°F. Then the coating can outgas and produce irritating and harmful vapors. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/5 "2015-07-28T15:51:45Z")
How much PTFE does a person need to eat in order to degrade their coats and hats? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/6 "2015-07-28T16:55:14Z")
Gallagher: What makes the teflon stick to the pan? ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/7 "2015-07-28T16:57:17Z")
I think the OP has found the danger zone. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/8 "2015-07-28T22:28:00Z")
It’s fun to put PTFE in an instron and stretch it out real slow. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/9 "2015-07-29T19:21:22Z")
**How dangerous is worn ‘non-stick’ cookware?** It can do some serious damage to a human when applied liberally upside the head. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/10 "2015-07-29T19:37:07Z")
Why on earth are you cooking with merkins? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/11 "2015-07-29T20:40:35Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Why on earth are you cooking with merkins? _Cooking With Merkins_ is a new series from the BBC. ---
**Author:** ![Alonzo\_John\_Blitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@Alonzo\_John\_Blitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alonzo_John_Blitz)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/12 "2015-07-29T21:09:02Z")
Spank all uv you for your kind respondents. They were most hapless. Disfortunately such infotainment came lately and we have all lapped into commas. Glad news! We have deposed the vaporous outguessing cookwhere and dragooned our charcoal brimming hibachi inside! All doors and widows have been sealed to lock in flavor. Yours, etc., etc., etc., The Right Reverend, Doctor Priest Preacher Tirade – En Croute ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/13 "2015-07-30T01:40:26Z")
Um … is the OP posting from a phone with an overactive autocorrect, or using translation software? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/14 "2015-07-30T02:33:53Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Um … is the OP posting from a phone with an overactive autocorrect, or using translation software? No, but he understands that language is a fluid thing – ever changing, adapting itself to the speakers who speak it. So he takes best advantage of that fact himself. > [@NO! – it is not AWESOME](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-it-is-not-awesome/289538/1): > > I know that language is a fluid thing – ever changing, adapting itself to the speakers who speak it; but there are certain words which should never be fucked with. > > Over the years, numerous words have been diluted to meaninglessness by the repetitious misuse rampant in the vernacular. Like stones knocked and tossed and made jagged, or worn smooth by the moving waters that move them, words have come to have meanings that suit the speakers. They evolve or devolve from the original definitions. See, _e.g.,_ [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=295848), [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=323672) and [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=384853). But he’s definitely getting better at it! 😃 ETA: He also did a [Ask the man who knows nothing](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=654365) thread. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/15 "2015-07-30T03:07:59Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Um … is the OP posting from a phone with an overactive autocorrect, or using translation software? Whatever it is, it’s a masterpiece. I loved it. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/16 "2015-07-30T03:51:35Z")
OP is synched directly with my brain oscillations. Truely perfluorinated and svelte. Pay no mind to the mild enuresis. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/17 "2015-07-30T14:09:54Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Um … is the OP posting from a phone with an overactive autocorrect, or using translation software? I thought maybe it’s a side-effect of digesting too much Teflon. ---
**Author:** ![Alonzo\_John\_Blitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@Alonzo\_John\_Blitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alonzo_John_Blitz)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/18 "2015-07-30T19:25:07Z")
Thank you **Senegoid** and \*\*Sattua \*\*for your kind words. However, I cannot take credit (or blame) for the language-mangled OP or the subsequent addition to the thread by the author. They were written by my great-uncle (on my wife’s side), who somehow managed to escape from the attic and gain access to my computer. Both are feats I would not have thought possible by a man of his advanced years and lack of technological expertise. I don’t know how he acquired my username/password to this board – but he has always been a bundle of surprises. I regret and apologize for his intrusion into this most august and somber forum. In order to recover some remnant of our family’s good name, I will provide more details in a separate thread. But now I must go find the good doctor, who is, I fear, scampering around the grounds with my laptop looking for a hot-spot. A.J. Blitz ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/19 "2015-07-30T21:50:28Z")
I will definitely have to remember this gambit. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359/20 "2015-08-03T00:57:27Z")
[**Teflon kills birds**](http://www.ewg.org/research/canaries-kitchen/teflon-kills-birds). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-worn-non-stick-cookware/726359.md?page=2)