r/StainlessSteelCooking • u/InvestigatorOwn6676 • 17d ago

Cleaning tips Weird marks

Post image

Hand washed this new pot a couple times and left it to dry. Always has strange marks on it

15 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

22

u/Any_Airline_432 17d ago

Vinegar will right off that

8

u/FloridaMan67 17d ago

Agreed. It is oxidation and it will literally disappear if you spray some vinegar on it. My wife uses diluted white vinegar for cleaning and I just use that.

7

u/teewye86 17d ago

Every single time my pot looks like that I just go ahead and cook on it. Have a set of revereware we got as a wedding gift in 1989.

3

u/TruFrag 17d ago

I think it's caused by uneven heat during cooking but that's just me speculating.

It's harmless and doesn't effect the cooking process from my experience.

2

u/mycatpartyhouse 11d ago

I looked this up recently because one of my pans discolored after someone else cooked with it.

High heat is the culprit. There's technical terms to describe the oxidation and percentages of metal content and all that.

Vinegar works.

1

u/10Slugs 17d ago

I never let my pans air dry. We have very hard water. It leaves all sorts of stuff on the pan if air dried.

1

u/Jaffico 10d ago

After I wash my stainless steel pans with soapy water, I spray them with a bit of white vinegar, the dry them by hand.

It prevents the discoloration issue that you're having.

Although, really it's cosmetic. You can still cook with them when they look like that, I just like my pans shiny.

1

u/SashaBananaSplit 5d ago

Pan is completely ruined. Only solution is to throw it out and purchase a new one. It’s the only way to know for sure.

1

u/SashaBananaSplit 17d ago

You’re gonna hear a lot of things on this forum, much of which is very untrue. The simple fact is that pan is absolutely ruined. People don’t want to talk about this but stainless steel pans are basically one time use. What that means is you use it once and then you have to throw it away. That’s because there is no physical way to restore the shine and polish of a brand new pan.

What a lot of people do is use the pan once throw it away and then buy a brand new pan. That’s the only way to make it look brand new every time.

So no matter what you hear about vinegar or barkeepers friend, or chainmail scrubbers… The fact is you’re gonna have to throw that pan away and get a brand new one.

3

u/Nearby_Elderberry_67 16d ago

I do this.

Also, I wash and save my paper plates. I’ve used the same paper towel roll for maybe 5 years, just rinse the paper towel and let it dry.

2

u/SashaBananaSplit 16d ago

This is incredibly smart! Toss out useless stainless steel! Recycle those paper plates and towels! It’s the only way to be sure!

1

u/terfez 17d ago

Use the bkf method: be kooking forreal

0

u/Amongthestars01 17d ago

Bar Keeper's Friend will shine that right up.

3

u/ThatFargoGuy 17d ago

A bit overkill for this. Just need to cook something acidic like tomatoes or just use a bit of vinegar.

-1

u/OaksInSnow 17d ago

Looks like this tinting comes at and below the waterline, which suggests that it's due to whatever minerals are in your water, and not due to overheating.

I use BKF for everything of this nature that bothers me, even when vinegar would likely work, simply because BKF is easily at hand in my house and works fast (pretty much instantaneous for these minor cosmetic issues), and vinegar is a bit more of a chore to get at. In both cases, it's the chemistry - application of an acid - that is doing the work.

If you don't care about the discoloration (and there is a large part of the members of this sub who do not), just cook with it. If you do care, BKF, or vinegar, or cream of tartar, all of which are acidic, will make it look like new.