# Pizza Stone cleaned with Oven Cleaner - is it dead to me now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903 "2012-05-04T18:33:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/21 "2012-05-04T23:13:30Z")
Rinse it in running water for a couple of minutes (not too long). Let it dry for a day. Put it in the oven at 500 for 15 minutes. Take it out and smell it. If it doesn’t smell chemical-y, it’s fine. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/22 "2012-05-05T01:55:59Z")
Lye plus vinegar makes sodium acetate, called “moderately toxic by ingestion” in my old chemical dictionary. The LD-50 is pretty high, though, and it is very soluble in hot water, so it should rinse away well. You could soak the stone thoroughly in white vinegar, perhaps by submersion, and then rinse well with hot water from a tea kettle. Rinse until you don’t smell vinegar, dry in a low oven for a couple hours. Or buy a new one. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/23 "2012-05-05T02:14:35Z")
Seems easier to just spend the $20 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/24 "2012-05-05T03:32:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **3waygeek** : > > You might try using some mild acid to neutralize the lye. Dilute hydrochloric acid might be best – it would react with the lye, producing salt & water. However, HCl being scarce in most kitchens, white vinegar would probably do the job. I would _not_ recommend hydrochloric acid-- I don’t know what kind of stone pizza stones are made of, but many stones will be eaten away by HCl. For that matter, some stones will also be eaten by vinegar. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/25 "2012-05-05T04:23:12Z")
Now I’m wondering about other acids. Could you neutralize the lye with bird droppings (uric acid) and then heat-sterilize the stone? ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/26 "2012-05-05T05:40:24Z")
Those cheap and greasy refrigerator biscuits are nicely absorbent. You can cover the whole thing and bake a few sacrificial batches to pull up residue out of the stone. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/27 "2012-05-05T06:07:16Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Seems easier to just spend the $20 Seems less cheap, for sure. I mean, are we really suggesting lying to the makers in order to score free stuff? Don’t we normally point and laugh at this kinda stuff on [notalwaysright.com](http://notalwaysright.com)? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/28 "2012-05-05T09:59:05Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Lye plus vinegar makes sodium acetate, called “moderately toxic by ingestion” in my old chemical dictionary. The LD-50 is pretty high, though, and it is very soluble in hot water, so it should rinse away well. . Table salt is moderately toxic by ingestion with a high LD-50 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/29 "2012-05-05T11:46:03Z")
I recall an older thread in which a number of people vouchsafed that pizza stones eventually crack anyway, so you have to replace them now and then. ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/30 "2012-05-05T13:10:31Z")
Wait, why even bother with the acid? Last I checked lye(and admittedly I don’t know if that’s what’s in easy off or if there’s other stuff too) is really water soluble. [http://www.inchem.org/documents/icsc/icsc/eics0360.htm](http://www.inchem.org/documents/icsc/icsc/eics0360.htm) Actually reading that it looks like it’s 3x more soluble than table salt is. If easy off really is just sodium hydroxide all you have to do is fill the sink up with water, put the stone in and wait awhile for the water to dissolve it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/31 "2012-05-05T13:36:47Z")
My way: [ol] [li]Make a pizza[/li][li]Give it to MIL[/li][li]If she is fine, you are golden[/li][li]If she dies, I’m sure she’ll remember you in some financial way, allowing you to replace the stone.[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/32 "2012-05-05T13:46:09Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Go to a masonry place and buy an unfinished (no glaze) stone tile. According to Alton Brown, it’s the same thing, only a lot cheaper. I wanted a pizza stone, but I didn’t want to pay $40 for one. (The Pampered Chef ones cost $40 to $50 depending on size.) I saw the _Good Eats_ episode where Alton Brown suggests using an unglazed paving stone. I think it was terra cotta or something similar. I went to the rock store, and they didn’t have that sort of thing. A guy took me around the yard and we found a roughly-parallelogram shaped piece of slate. Neither one of us knew if it was suitable for pizza, so he said ‘Just take it. If it doesn’t work, bring it back.’ So I got a ‘pizza stone’ free. It works well, but I’ve found it’s easier to use a large cast-iron skillet. That way I get a round pizza. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/33 "2012-05-05T15:24:17Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I wanted a pizza stone, but I didn’t want to pay $40 for one. (The Pampered Chef ones cost $40 to $50 depending on size.) I saw the _Good Eats_ episode where Alton Brown suggests using an unglazed paving stone. I think it was terra cotta or something similar. I went to the rock store, and they didn’t have that sort of thing. A guy took me around the yard and we found a roughly-parallelogram shaped piece of slate. Neither one of us knew if it was suitable for pizza, so he said ‘Just take it. If it doesn’t work, bring it back.’ So I got a ‘pizza stone’ free. It works well, but I’ve found it’s easier to use a large cast-iron skillet. That way I get a round pizza. [This cast iron pizza pan works great](http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Logic-Cast-Pizza-Black/dp/B0000E2V3X), too. I don’t bother with a stone anymore. The best part (for me) is that you can superheat it on the stovetop, cook the pizza for a minute or two on the stovetop, then stick it into the oven to finish, to at least mimic some of the charring and flecking you get from a wood-fired style pizza. (This technique is not appropriate to all styles of pizza). Even used the conventional way, the cast iron heats up a heck of a lot faster. I don’t understand that the description says it only oven safe to 400F. I use it at 500F all the time, and much higher temps on the stove. ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/34 "2012-05-05T16:55:09Z")
I just got a square, brick, unglazed “stepping stone” type stone from Home Depot. It’s not terra cotta, just regular brick. Was less than $3. It’s super heavy. The bottom is flat/smooth, so I put it in the oven upside down. The oven takes a while to preheat now, but it crisps up a pizza perfectly, for like 7% of a Pampered Chef or Williams-Sonoma one. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/35 "2012-05-05T18:10:38Z")
Did you tell your MIL how to clean it? ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903/36 "2012-05-06T00:18:07Z")
Oven cleaner is used to clean cast iron for reseasoning. Cast iron is also porous, though a bit less than stone. Have done this with pans I use. No one is sick or dying. Soak the stone overnight, let it dry, bake it and then use normally. 50/50 dilute vinegar is ok to soak in if you are really paranoid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-stone-cleaned-with-oven-cleaner-is-it-dead-to-me-now/620903.md?page=1)