# Plastic "astroturf" melted to the bottom of a saucepan - removal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 8, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-astroturf-melted-to-the-bottom-of-a-saucepan-removal/618142 "2012-04-08T01:58:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-astroturf-melted-to-the-bottom-of-a-saucepan-removal/618142/1 "2012-04-08T01:58:44Z")
Yup, I really am that dumb ☹ I put some frozen chicken in some water to cook in a small saucepan, then forgot about it. I remembered when the downstairs started filling with smoke, as the water boiled off and the chicken was burning black to the bottom of the pan, along with all the chicken grease. I took the pan outside, to try and alleviate some of the smoke-filling-the-house issue. I needed to grab water, so I set the pot down on the porch, then ran inside for water to pour over the offending pot to make it stop smoking. Unfortunately, in my panic, I failed to really think about the fact that my porch is covered with heavy duty outdoor “astroturf” type carpetting. It is now melted in a thick layer to the bottom of my husband’s favorite saucepan. Thankfully, he’s too exasperated with how flaky of a move that was to be mad about it. So my question is - how do I clean the bottom of the pan? Trying to scrape it off produced zero results, it is on there but good. The only thing I can think to do is try to melt it off, but clearly I don’t want to do that either on the stove or the grill, since what comes off the bottom will be pretty horrible. Help a flaky wife save her hubby’s favorite saucepan, please! ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-astroturf-melted-to-the-bottom-of-a-saucepan-removal/618142/2 "2012-04-08T02:14:32Z")
Do you or your husband have an orbital sander? Those are cheap, and sandpaper will take it off. You might be able to do it by hand, but it sounds like the whole bottom is thickly covered, so it might be a lot of work. ---
**Author:** ![newme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e0b2c6/32.png) [@newme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newme)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-astroturf-melted-to-the-bottom-of-a-saucepan-removal/618142/3 "2012-04-08T02:17:56Z")
Try freezing the pan and peeling off the plastic. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-astroturf-melted-to-the-bottom-of-a-saucepan-removal/618142/4 "2012-04-08T02:44:14Z")
where it is thick use a wire brush or rotary wire brush on a drill. wear eye protection. ---
**Author:** ![ExcitedIdiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ea5d25/32.png) [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-astroturf-melted-to-the-bottom-of-a-saucepan-removal/618142/5 "2012-04-08T11:38:46Z")
Cover the bottom of the pan with several layers of newspaper. Run a hot iron over the paper, remove and repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-astroturf-melted-to-the-bottom-of-a-saucepan-removal/618142/6 "2012-04-08T12:11:21Z")
> [@newme](#): > > Try freezing the pan and peeling off the plastic. That’s what I was going to suggest. The plastic will get hard and brittle, and the pan will shrink slightly. Should be easy to scrape off with a putty knife.