How to clean burn mark on stainless steel

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If you’ve ever experienced the pain of a burnt frying pan, I bring good news: You can put away your rubber gloves and rest your weary arms. I have found a solution to cleaning scorched pots and pans that is chemical-free, cuts scrubbing time in half, and lets you keep your pan. Cheers!

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What You Need

Materials

• 1 cup of white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of baking soda
• 1 cup of water (give or take depending on the size of your pan)
• A burnt stainless steel pan that was left empty and unattended on a heated hot plate (oops!)
• A scouring pad, because I can’t find any way to avoid it entirely (this one has a convenient handle)

Instructions

1. Place the pan on the stovetop and fill the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of water.

3. Bring the pan to a boil. (It should be looking a bit cleaner already.)

4. Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. Expect fizz!

Apartment Therapy Cleaning Tip: Many readers have commented that they experienced “dramatic fizz” that required a lot of clean-up. To avoid this, you can pour out the vinegar and then add the baking soda.

5. Empty the pan and scour with your scouring tool; if necessary, you can add an extra bit of dry baking soda.

6. If there are any super stubborn marks that don’t come off with scouring, make a paste of baking soda and a couple of drops of water. Leave the paste on the marks for a while and return to clean as normal.

7. Ta-da! Now you can put your feet up and enjoy the many hours you saved yourself standing over the sink.

Additional Notes:

I’m almost ashamed to say this is not my first time burning a frying pan (hopefully, it is my last), and you can get them clean with just baking soda, water, and a scourer if you’re super committed. But this boiling process is much, much easier. I’ve also been told that this works really well for baked-on food and grime, especially milk.

Some Other Methods to Try

We haven’t vetted these, but here are the best reader tips from the comments:

• Go to Amazon and look for “Carbon Off.” I have clean cookie sheets, pots, pans, and lots of other things because of it. It’s like paint stripper — wear gloves.
• We keep a bottle of cheap fabric softener around. Putting a small amount in the pan with some hot water and let it sit for 15 minutes or so, makes for less scrubbing.
• Put some water with regular washing powder in the burnt pan and bring it to boil and then let it simmer a bit. Works like magic.
• I use cheap non-diet cola — I just pour in about an inch and let it cook down as far as I can before the liquid disappears. The sugar softens the burned stuff and the acidity helps pull it up. Works on baking sheets too. Vinegar would do the same but value brand cola is cheaper around here!
• I do this with water and Dawn and bring to a boil for a few minutes. SOS pads take off the rest.

Edited from a post originally published on 3.02.2011 — TW

I have to imagine that anyone who has cooked regularly with stainless steel pots and pans has at one time or another attempted to clean burnt stainless steel pots and pans… Unfortunately in my experience, cleaning stainless steel burn marks does NOT work with regular soap and water scrubbing, regardless of how hard I try.

Luckily, there are a handful of great methods that effectively remove burn marks from stainless steel.

Why You Should Cook with Stainless Steel

If stainless steel is so difficult to clean, why bother cooking with it? Many choose stainless steel over non-stick alternatives like Teflon due to concerning links to cancer reported by the EPA.

How to Get Burn Marks Off Stainless Steel

There are a number of methods for removing burn marks from stainless steel. Below are four of my favorites:

1. Baking Soda Scrub – For mild burn marks, sprinkle baking soda into the dampened pan and scrub with a sponge then wash with soap and hot water
2. Vinegar Boil – For more serious burn marks, start by filling your burnt pan or pot with vinegar and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, and wash with soap and hot water. Add baking soda if you need more abrasive power.
3. Soapy Water Boil – Similar concept as the vinegar boil. Bring soapy water to a boil in the burnt pot or pan. Remove from the heat then wash with soap and hot water – adding baking soda if more abrasive power is necessary.
4. Bon Ami– Bon Ami is advertised as an all natural powder cleanser. It has been manufactured since the 1800s, is chemical-free, includes only 5 ingredients (limestone, feldspar, biodegradable detergent, soda ash, and baking soda) and is less likely to cause scratches than baking soda. You can use this on burnt pots and pans, a grimy sink, or bathtubs and showers.

How to Avoid Burning Stainless Steel Pans

The trick to avoid burning stainless steel cookware is to properly pre-heat your pans. You can best test the temperature of your pan by following the principles of Leidenfrost Effect. Observe a drop of water on your pan:

1. If the droplet separates into multiple drops that move around, it is not hot enough yet.
2. If the droplet evaporates immediately, it is still not hot enough.
3. If the water stays in one drop and moves around slightly on the pan, then the temperature is perfect. This effect is caused when the pan reaches a temperature where the droplet “floats” on top of a layer of vapor.

Add oil only after the pan has been pre-heated properly! Make sure to coat the surface with a thin layer of oil before adding any food.

Lastly, if possible it’s worth it to invest in high quality stainless steel. Quality stainless steel will distribute heat more evenly than lower-quality options, making it less likely to burn. Below are a few favorites:

• All Clad – This is the set we use in our home. It is not cheap, but it does not burn nearly as easily as our old Emeril cookware set. Plus, if taken proper care of this set will last for over a lifetime. A worthy investment in our opinion!
• Cuisinart Multiclad Pro
• Cooks Standard Multi-ply Clad Cookware
• T-Fall Stainless Steel Cookware

Green Clean the Rest of Your Home

Now you know how to remove burn marks from stainless steel using gentle, natural products… why stop there?

You can clean your ENTIRE home using sustainable tools and natural cleaning ingredients. If you’re interested in converting to greener cleaning habits, you need to sign up for my free Green Cleaning Guide.

I share the eco-friendly tools and natural ingredients that I use to clean my entire home effectively. Sign up below and receive your copy!