Many people shy away from using stainless steel pans because of how difficult they are to clean. I use non-stick occasionally but prefer to use my cast iron (easy clean) or stainless steel pans. For many years I just suffered through scrubbing my stainless steel pans but not anymore. All you need to easy clean your stainless steel pans is one common household staple and water. A few minutes on the stove and those dingy looking stainless steels will be shiny as the day you brought them home. Maybe even shinier if you thrifted them.
The secret is…
is Baking Soda
Easy Clean Stainless Steel Steps
- Put water in your pan until it covers the junk you need cleaned out of the pan.
- Add a nice scoop of baking soda (approximately 1/8 cup for frying pans and 1/4 for larger pots like 6-8 quarts).
- Put it on the stove on high.
- Heat the baking soda water mixture in your pan. Sometimes it just needs to get hot and a gentle scrubber will pull it right off.
- For tougher stains – Bring it to a boil then let it sit.
- Empty and use a soft/medium bristled kitchen brush on whatever spots are left.
- You may need to repeat for extra stubborn spots but I have never had to yet.
- Wash and rinse the pan.
- Admire its shiny new surface.
- Try not to get too addicted to this awesome tip. I do love my shiny pans though.
TIP: This works great on kitchen sinks too. Add a little water to some baking soda to make a paste and scrub that sink to shining perfection.
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Does this work on the outside of the skillet?
You can make a paste of baking soda and vinegar or water and the use the rough side of a sponge to scrub the bottom.
Thanks for your help!!..I actually added water, baking soda, AND vinegar to the pans and simmered for about 3 minutes and viola…rainbow and crud all gone.
Woohoo! I’m glad it worked. I love shiny new looking stainless steel pans.
It worked perfectly! Thank you. I’m new to stainless steel cooking. I’m a cast iron girl but they’re getting heavy. lol
I’m so glad it worked well. I’m truly a cast iron girl too. 🙂
I love cast iron too but my new stove with the glass top doesn’t support cast iron.