# How to Removed Burned On Crud from a Nonstick Pan?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 6, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021 "2013-04-06T16:08:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/1 "2013-04-06T16:08:59Z")
Reminded by [this recently resurrected thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=50736), I have a related question.
How do you remove crud that somehow gets burned on.to a nonstick pan? The powerhouse methods mentioned in that thread will destroy such a pan. I’ve tried the boiling water and lots of scrubbing pad route with little luck.
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### Author:  [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2013, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/2 "2013-04-06T16:16:53Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#):
>
> Reminded by [this recently resurrected thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=50736), I have a related question.
>
> How do you remove crud that somehow gets burned on.to a nonstick pan? The powerhouse methods mentioned in that thread will destroy such a pan. I’ve tried the boiling water and lots of scrubbing pad route with little luck.
Have you tried scrubbing with coarse salt like kosher or sea salt? Use a generous amount of salt and a touch of water or cooking oil and scrub like crazy. It should be gentler on the non-stick coating that other methods, though I can’t guarantee it won’t do \*any \*damage. It’s very possible that the non-stick is already shot if you have something burnt in that badly.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/3 "2013-04-06T16:39:26Z")
Cook some bacon in the pan, leave the grease in for a few days. Rinse. If it doesn’t come clean, cook some more bacon. You always come out ahead with this method.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/4 "2013-04-06T16:50:55Z")
If something gets burned onto a nonstick pan to the extent that it won’t just come off after a good soak, it’s probably an indication that the non-stick surface has been overheated and destroyed.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/5 "2013-04-06T18:16:14Z")
I love that the title of this thread and the next right now are:
\*\* How to Removed Burned On Crud from a Nonstick Pan?
Is this a misuse of the word ironic?
\*\*
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/6 "2013-04-06T18:24:09Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> I love that the title of this thread and the next right now are:
>
> \*\* How to Removed Burned On Crud from a Nonstick Pan?
>
> Is this a misuse of the word ironic?
>
> \*\*
😃
You’ve just invented a Dope game. See you on mundane pointless things…
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### Author:  [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/7 "2013-04-06T18:33:11Z")
Madame Pepperwinkle suggests bleach water. Princess Pepperwinkle suggests hot vinegar water. Allons-y!
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### Author:  [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/8 "2013-04-06T18:44:20Z")
Scrubbing with baking soda can work pretty good.
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/9 "2013-04-06T19:56:51Z")
**Mangetout** is correct. If something is stuck to a non-stick pan, the pan is no longer non-stick.
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### Author:  [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/10 "2013-04-06T20:45:48Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#):
>
> **Mangetout** is correct. If something is stuck to a non-stick pan, the pan is no longer non-stick.
Agreed. I recommend pitching it and buying some real cookware.
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### Author:  [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/11 "2013-04-06T23:56:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Cook some bacon in the pan, leave the grease in for a few days. Rinse. If it doesn’t come clean, cook some more bacon. You always come out ahead with this method.
[The solution to everything.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSReSGe200A)
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### Author:  [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2013, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/12 "2013-04-07T02:16:23Z")
> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> If something gets burned onto a nonstick pan to the extent that it won’t just come off after a good soak, it’s probably an indication that the non-stick surface has been overheated and destroyed.
NOPE, I cleaned off black stuff off a non-stick and the non-stick stuff was alright still.
I reckon it comes down to the oilyness of the teflon at the time the food got burnt, the stuff being burnt , the exact temperature it burnt at, and how loudly sabres were rattling at the time… and a sample size of one. Just because when you did it , you wrecked the teflon , doesn’t mean that everytime food gets a bit too stuck to brush off then the telfon is wrecked.. Heard of Hydrogen bonding ? the teflon has plenty of hydrocarbon.. its hydrophobic, but the foot isn’t water when its really really cooked up.
The theory is that scratching it off with something made of a material a few notches softer than the teflon won’t damage the teflon too much.
THe scrubbing with salt crystals idea works because rubbing like that should scratch the surface…
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### Author:  [@PBear42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear42)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/13 "2013-04-07T17:14:01Z")
I can vouch from personal experience that the oven cleaner trick mentioned in the other thread also works with nonstick. And this was crud that resisted soaking, acid (vinegar) and Barkeeper’s Friend. The nonstick coating survived pretty well, mainly because it was a quirky culinary accident in the first place (3 lb chopped onions in a covered pot, then got distracted by something else), hot enough to carbonize sugars but apparently not hot enough to break down and off-gas much of the PTFE. YMMV.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/14 "2013-04-07T17:47:45Z")
> [@Isilder](#):
>
> Heard of Hydrogen bonding ? the teflon has plenty of hydrocarbon.
Really? Cite please.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/15 "2013-04-07T17:57:11Z")
> [@Isilder](#):
>
> nd a sample size of one. Just because when you did it , you wrecked the teflon , doesn’t mean that everytime food gets a bit too stuck to brush off then the telfon is wrecked.
Also, who said anything about a sample size of one? If you heat teflon above 260 Celsius, it starts to break down.
The conditions in which this may happen in a Teflon pan are the same conditions in which food turns into burnt, crispy, baked-on carbonised material.
Sure, you might be lucky in some cases, but the fact that there is burnt, insoluble food residue in the pan is an indicator that the temperature may have exceeded the limit for Teflon.
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### Author:  [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/16 "2013-04-08T03:56:11Z")
> [@Isilder](#):
>
> the teflon has plenty of hydrocarbon..
I don’t think you know what “teflon” or “hydrocarbon” or both mean.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2013, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/17 "2013-04-08T06:57:54Z")
> [@AaronX](#):
>
> I don’t think you know what “teflon” or “hydrocarbon” or both mean.
Or indeed ‘Nonstick’.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2013, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/18 "2013-04-08T13:20:27Z")
You can also try boiling/simmering/soaking water with dishwasher detergent in it. It’s low foaming and pretty effective at loosening up crud without manual agitation.
I am also swayed by Mangetout’s point that your teflon may already be toast.
I would NOT use salt, it is very abrasive, and I think is sure to scratch the hell out of teflon. I’ve seen it take the finish off of a cast iron pan (in spots), teflon is going to be no match.
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2013, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/19 "2013-04-08T13:36:16Z")
I’ve always had good luck with one of those [plastic scraper things](http://www.walmart.com/ip/19282473?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=&wl3=21486607510&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem).
With my beat up non-stick pans, once I got under part of it, I could basically chisel the rest off fairly easily, since the beat up non-stick coating still helped, even if it didn’t prevent the sticking in the first place.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-removed-burned-on-crud-from-a-nonstick-pan/655021/20 "2013-04-08T14:34:19Z")
It’s interesting that so many people are using teflon as a generic. I haven’t owned an actual Teflon brand pan for years and I don’t think I’ve seen one in a store in that long. I think of them as nonstick pans.
As a word usage, the amount of teflon in this thread surprised me and this [ngrams chart](http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=teflon%2Cnonstick&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=) backs it up.
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