Did I ruin this pot?

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Okay, I'm a space cadet today! :alien: And NO, it's not THAT kind of pot!

I put a pot of water on to boil for noodles and forgot about it. It's a stainless steel Revere-ware pot with a copper plated bottom.

Other than the fried minerals from my hard water that are all over the inside of the pot (I'm thinking that should come off pretty easily with vinegar), and the now-black outside bottom (maybe that would clean with some salt and lemon juice?), the pot looks o.k.

What do you all think? Can I still use it?
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
Maybe baking soda? It's really good at taking off tea stains from the pitcher. Or copper cleaner?

You're lucky it's just burned...my mom melted one of those. She was at the front door, chatting with a neighbor, and kept telling us (me and my brother) not to interrupt. Instead, we watched the pan melt on the stove. It was pretty cool. Huge hole in the pan, and she never could get the lump of metal off the stove.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
It should be fine to use. I would try copper cleaner for the bottom at a later time. For starters, heat baking soda and vinegar in the pot. Simmer it for a while (maybe 1/2 c baking soda and 1 c vinegar with some water to fill the pot) after the bubbling reaction stops.

You may not be able to get the burnt color off of the bottom. If you cannot get it out of the inside you might be able to get it ground out and polished at a place that does welding and auto part resurfacing. But it may be cheaper to replace the pan if it comes to that.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Go to the store and get a cleanser called "Barkeepers Friend". It will both take off the staining inside the pot, and clean and shine the copper for you.

It's made for cleaning up these types of situations and is made not to scratch or etch metal.

Vinagar on copper is not a good idea as it will etch the metal. Salt with scratch it up. Baking soda's OK, but I've found the above cleanser to do a better job with less elbow grease.
 

smallworld

Moderator
For the inside of burned pots, I soak in dishwasher detergent (like Cascade) overnight. The next morning they look really clean. Can you tell I've had experience?

I use copper cleanser for the outside bottom of copper-clad pots.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
If you search "baking soda and vinegar" on youtube, you will find many many videos called "baking soda and vinegar bomb" under the heading "stuff that blows up". They use MUCH LESS than 1/2 cup baking soda.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Okay, thanks everyone. The only thing that burned IN the pot was water (thankfully).

I've got that Barkeepers Friend and it works great on my porcelain sink (better than bleach) for getting stains out... I'll give that a try on this, too.

Wow, I'm VERY glad it did not actually melt! I think though that stainless steel has a pretty high melting point... probably higher than my little ol' gas stove can muster up (thank goodness)!

Now, shhhh! Just don't say anything to husband or I'll never hear the end of it. Hmmmm.... how to keep the difficult child's and easy child quiet about this...?
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Copper has a considerably lower melting point that stainless steel. The bottom of the pot would've melted off before the steel started to melt.

I'm just glad it wasn't me. I use Circulon cookware, and doing that would've ruined the pot, at least the non-stick characteristics.
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
I burned oil in two of my good stainless pans....twice. The first time, my dad buffed it with a buffer on the end of his drill. When I did it the second time, husband did the same thing. Made the pans look like they were brand new. My dad actually wrapped it and gave it to me at Christmas (I didn't know he had taken the pan) and I thought it was a new pan. He was cracking up when he told me that it was my old pan.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Oh, what a great idea Loth! I'll have to remember that... IF I ever burn something in a pot again :D I'm just glad it was only water this time!
 

Marg's Man

Member
Marg and I have burned our old stainless pots occasionally the same way. We just put a dose of the strong detergent for dishwashers in the pot, brought it to the boil and simmered it for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool and rinse thoroughly. Be careful of the water; it is HIGHLY caustic!

In a former life I used to clean out the vessels at the paint factory this way (think: 25 TONS of boiling oil!!)
If still stained I would mount a wire brush into my electric drill and attack the same way Loth's father and husband did

Marg's Man
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
OMG don't you know how to blame ANYTHING on gremlins? :alien:
Then you wrap it in newspaper......and.....out.......to......the......cur..b....ahhhh....yeah. That's lying. :hellyes:

Revere Ware has a 1-800 # you can call and talk to a specialist about your boo-boo. They may even offer to replace it for you free of charge or at a reduced rate. :D
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
S.O.S pads and elbow grease.

One good thing about Revere ware is that it cleans up wonderfully. You may go through the entire box......but it will get the job done. Cheap and efficient.

If it worked on mother in law's egg disaster and her hard water........Yeah. Nor has it ever failed me yet. My pans are old as hades..........they clean up beautifully with SOS. :)
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
LOL... I have burnt 3 teapots like this.

First was enameled stainless...
Second and third were just plain stainless...

Almost killed #4 this weekend. Scorched metal smells BAD.

However - the nifty burned calcium in the pot came out with a mixture of 1/3 vinegar & 2/3 water, soaked overnight. Just rinsed clean, no scrubbing involved.

As for the copper - I swear by Barkeeper's Friend, too. That stuff's amazing. Between it, CLR, Brasso and Goo Gone... Oh yeah, and Murphy's Oil Soap.
 
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