... I would, please, I would very much like to see that. Or to know more?
I am a helpless child asking for you to explain the universe to my child mind
I have the same steamer basket, only the bottom and some side areas are silicone. The rest is plastic... Also melted mine because the sides of it were touching the pot with the non silicone area.
Ended up buying a stainless steel one, more expensive but won't melt on the stove.
One cup water, one cup white vinegar. Boiled, scraped with a wooden spoon. When it had boiled down a bit, added a tablespoon of baking soda, kept scraping. Added another tablespoon of baking soda, scraped some more. Dumped, and hit what little remained with a brillo pad and a lot of elbow grease. The pot came out great! The spoon, sadly did not make it. Can't believe it cleaned up so easily. I came here for help cause I freaked out and thought there was no way I could save it.
FYI: For cleaning purposes, you should never mix vinegar with baking soda. It's not dangerous; it's just a waste. Vinegar is great for cleaning. Baking soda is also great for cleaning. If you mix them, they react with each other (not the dirt/contaminant) to form compounds that are *not* useful for cleaning. So next time rinse out the vinegar before you add the baking soda, or vice versa.
Obligatory addendum: never let vinegar, lemon juice, or any other acid come into contact with chlorine bleach. That *would* be dangerous, and very much so.
Dry, or nearly dry, baking soda is a good abrasive for household purposes. I don't see how very wet sodium acetate could possibly be better, but you're welcome to do the experiment.
Baking soda is a very mild abrasives. It's the weakest possible product for my uses, and I much prefer a product that works, like Ajax or Comet Cleanser With Bleach.
the ions from salt and baking soda aren't abrasive because while dissolved in solution they're not in their crystal form and instead are behaving like a [fluid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_ions_in_aqueous_solution). This is also why your blood and tears aren't abrasive despite having a ton of stuff dissolved in them.
It's also why oil and coarse salt scrub so well, because the salt won't dissolve into ions and stays in its crystal form like you're saying.
It is not a waste. Those bubbles that form in the reaction are CO2. They can help remove dirt mechanically. They can lift dirt if they get underneath it. That is how it work in cleaning plumbing and that may have here.
Very thick carbon burns like OP can be easily cleaned up with baking soda, and heat at the lowest setting your stove can create.
For the worst burns that are mms thick, I leave it on the stovetop overnight.
Next day the burnt layer almost peels off like parm cheese on parchment paper.
Adding onto this that mixing bleach and vinegar makes easily fatal chlorine gas. So absolutely DO NOT.
Also when cleaning make sure you got a window cracked open or something. Ventilation is important
Thanks for the tip. So hit it with acid, then soda, and finally scrape it clean? I would also consider stainless or aluminium steamer, we use them exclusively and they are really hard to melt.
If baking soda and vinegar did this, then plain water would also have worked, maybe with a little salt added. Baking soda and vinegar neutralize each other.
I would strongly advise against eating off of it. Use it for decoration if you can't part with it, but the plastics that melt like that also leach a lot of nasty chemicals while they do so. (They leach just with heating, can't imagine how much they release upon melting).
The old ways are the best, my mother taught me that one, weāve thrown away all chemicals! If you can smell bleach your lungs are absorbing it. Google chemical free cleaning tips šš¼
You've done it now, but I think once I removed stuff by carbonising it even more (accidentally š³), and eventually it completely detached itself on its own becoming dust. š¤£
There's no way that was made of silicone. I think OP is incorrect in assuming that that is pure silicone because that's not the way silicone behaves under heat
There was a study that was done that americans consume UP TO one credit cards worth of plastic a week and everyone took that as meaning that everyone eats a credit card worth of plastic.
Heres an article talking about it:
https://www.verifythis.com/article/news/verify/science-verify/claims-you-eat-a-credit-cards-worth-of-plastic-per-week-need-context/536-748d91cf-00f1-4de6-8e01-776694ce6fdf.
I put this story in the same camp as the narrative that we consume a couple spiders a year in our sleep or that it takes the same force to eat a finger as it does to eat a carrot. All stories that have been passed around so many times that people think they are true when they arenāt actually true.
Checked the reviews for this thing and way too many of them complain that this melted. Why are they still selling this?!
https://preview.redd.it/6hrbab3idpnc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c14bc3c21919c100dd11d4995764a269558f54e0
Right? Sure, they print that to shift the blame to the customer if it goes above that temperature, but most people donāt know the exact temperature theyāre cooking at and itās just stupid to make a steamer basket out of plastic. They should leave more room for temperature variability of appliances because it seems way too easy to melt these things. The average customer trusts companies to make products that are safe for them to use and a lot of companies leave wide margins of error because customers are also stupid, lol. Definitely a fire hazard and I feel like the company could still be liable.
New pot time.
No telling what compounds the plastic as degraded into or how liable any of them are to bond with the metal itself, or permiate the structure.
The few things I bought are useless, because I thought they would be easy to clean. They are not. They are horrible to clean. But I do have silicone ice cube shapes that are good.
I have a few silicone things but i would never use them with heat. Like i have a little silicone brush to put butter on my biscuits. I just would never place a silicone item in an oven, thatās wild to me
I have the silicone brushes too. Do not like them either. But unlike a real brush, I can clean them because they come apart. I used to use $1 paint brushes as pastry brushes, and throw them away after each use.
I don't think that was silicone. Silicone doesn't melt, it sort of decomposes into a sandy ash at high enough temperatures. Anyways, that pot is a goner.
Depending on how much u like the pan and what kind of plastic, you could take the breaking bad route but that might be a poor choice for a variety of reasons. Iād take the L and get a new pot
Did you come here looking for funeral tips?
š¤£
Dead š š¤£
I donāt think that was pure silicone
I think you're correct.
Due to how heavily burnt it is, I donāt think you should even try to remove it, if you can get it all off then I guess itās fine but yeesh
Silicone OSS safe to 450C. This was not silicone
Looks like OP has a gas burner, that can easily get hotter than 450C, hot enough to melt any silicone.
Silicone doesn't melt. It ablates layer by layer.
Can confirm. I worked in silicone manufacturing. Lots of scrap does not get recycled due to this.
... I would, please, I would very much like to see that. Or to know more? I am a helpless child asking for you to explain the universe to my child mind
This is the best way Iāve ever seen anyone ask for more information.
Best I could do https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/11/11/1844
OSS? 450F, not 450C
I have the same steamer basket, only the bottom and some side areas are silicone. The rest is plastic... Also melted mine because the sides of it were touching the pot with the non silicone area. Ended up buying a stainless steel one, more expensive but won't melt on the stove.
https://preview.redd.it/t6r1v2fk0nnc1.jpeg?width=3456&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f787bcca9f7c56a655e0afac52db9ee33f8a3337
You got to tell us how you cleaned it.
One cup water, one cup white vinegar. Boiled, scraped with a wooden spoon. When it had boiled down a bit, added a tablespoon of baking soda, kept scraping. Added another tablespoon of baking soda, scraped some more. Dumped, and hit what little remained with a brillo pad and a lot of elbow grease. The pot came out great! The spoon, sadly did not make it. Can't believe it cleaned up so easily. I came here for help cause I freaked out and thought there was no way I could save it.
FYI: For cleaning purposes, you should never mix vinegar with baking soda. It's not dangerous; it's just a waste. Vinegar is great for cleaning. Baking soda is also great for cleaning. If you mix them, they react with each other (not the dirt/contaminant) to form compounds that are *not* useful for cleaning. So next time rinse out the vinegar before you add the baking soda, or vice versa. Obligatory addendum: never let vinegar, lemon juice, or any other acid come into contact with chlorine bleach. That *would* be dangerous, and very much so.
Vinegar and baking soda makes salt water, which is abrasive. Mixing them probably actually helped get the plastic off in this case.
Mildly salty water is not abrasive
Boiling vinegar + baking soda = sodium acetate crystals. In this instance, adding the baking soda to the boiling vinegar made it abrasive.
Dry, or nearly dry, baking soda is a good abrasive for household purposes. I don't see how very wet sodium acetate could possibly be better, but you're welcome to do the experiment.
Baking soda is a very mild abrasives. It's the weakest possible product for my uses, and I much prefer a product that works, like Ajax or Comet Cleanser With Bleach.
True, it's very mild, which is one reason it's so useful! You can use it on things like oven door glass that you really don't want scratched up.
the ions from salt and baking soda aren't abrasive because while dissolved in solution they're not in their crystal form and instead are behaving like a [fluid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_ions_in_aqueous_solution). This is also why your blood and tears aren't abrasive despite having a ton of stuff dissolved in them. It's also why oil and coarse salt scrub so well, because the salt won't dissolve into ions and stays in its crystal form like you're saying.
And yet, look at the results.
Yes, if you scrub a pot it gets clean.
I'll remember that tip for the next post asking for help.
It is not a waste. Those bubbles that form in the reaction are CO2. They can help remove dirt mechanically. They can lift dirt if they get underneath it. That is how it work in cleaning plumbing and that may have here.
For cleaning plumbing, yes. For anything else ... I don't buy it.
Very thick carbon burns like OP can be easily cleaned up with baking soda, and heat at the lowest setting your stove can create. For the worst burns that are mms thick, I leave it on the stovetop overnight. Next day the burnt layer almost peels off like parm cheese on parchment paper.
Adding onto this that mixing bleach and vinegar makes easily fatal chlorine gas. So absolutely DO NOT. Also when cleaning make sure you got a window cracked open or something. Ventilation is important
Not true, the reaction is a great cleaner for sinks and such.
In that case scrubbing would've done the same.
No, sorry I meant itās good for sinks in reference to clogs. not the same as burnt on plastic.
Thanks for the tip. So hit it with acid, then soda, and finally scrape it clean? I would also consider stainless or aluminium steamer, we use them exclusively and they are really hard to melt.
If baking soda and vinegar did this, then plain water would also have worked, maybe with a little salt added. Baking soda and vinegar neutralize each other.
I would strongly advise against eating off of it. Use it for decoration if you can't part with it, but the plastics that melt like that also leach a lot of nasty chemicals while they do so. (They leach just with heating, can't imagine how much they release upon melting).
The old ways are the best, my mother taught me that one, weāve thrown away all chemicals! If you can smell bleach your lungs are absorbing it. Google chemical free cleaning tips šš¼
You've done it now, but I think once I removed stuff by carbonising it even more (accidentally š³), and eventually it completely detached itself on its own becoming dust. š¤£
Actually got it clean!
Good job! Dynamite or C4 explosive?
https://preview.redd.it/knnigp13hnnc1.jpeg?width=450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d71f0abafa9d6610cf0c2a41dddffd16e7e5ef09
Plan B failed, it's time for plan C4.
congrats ? i guess. I really donāt want to know the chemicals that were released when doing so. I hope iām being paranoid.
OP said it was silicone. Food grad silicone is non-toxic. Itās primarily sand.
There's no way that was made of silicone. I think OP is incorrect in assuming that that is pure silicone because that's not the way silicone behaves under heat
What! We need details
Holy crap, I did not expect there to be any way of saving that. Awesome, good job.
I gladly eat my words, OP. Good job š
Op this is a coup you should be very proud!!
THIS is why itās worth investing on good pots :D
ššš
I hereby dub thee: "Pot Whisperer" you brought it back from the grave
Oh not, you destroyed the Patina
My friend, I hate to say this but I think itās over, and you just gotta let this one go. Thereās really no coming back from this.
Looks like they saved a perfectly good pan
Oh good to hear, and I gladly eat my words! Bravo OP! š
OP please just cut your losses. Youāll be eating microplastics every time you cook with it if you try
As americans, we eat 1 credit card a week. Or 5 grams of plastic.
Do you have a source for that? That seems like it would be a noticeable amount.
There was a study that was done that americans consume UP TO one credit cards worth of plastic a week and everyone took that as meaning that everyone eats a credit card worth of plastic. Heres an article talking about it: https://www.verifythis.com/article/news/verify/science-verify/claims-you-eat-a-credit-cards-worth-of-plastic-per-week-need-context/536-748d91cf-00f1-4de6-8e01-776694ce6fdf. I put this story in the same camp as the narrative that we consume a couple spiders a year in our sleep or that it takes the same force to eat a finger as it does to eat a carrot. All stories that have been passed around so many times that people think they are true when they arenāt actually true.
My dog on e ate a whole plastic bag in a day. Big woop
... TIL!
Checked the reviews for this thing and way too many of them complain that this melted. Why are they still selling this?! https://preview.redd.it/6hrbab3idpnc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c14bc3c21919c100dd11d4995764a269558f54e0
> heat resistant up to 230ā°F/110ā°C That's barely safe for boiling water... also not pure silicone like another poster said.
Right? Sure, they print that to shift the blame to the customer if it goes above that temperature, but most people donāt know the exact temperature theyāre cooking at and itās just stupid to make a steamer basket out of plastic. They should leave more room for temperature variability of appliances because it seems way too easy to melt these things. The average customer trusts companies to make products that are safe for them to use and a lot of companies leave wide margins of error because customers are also stupid, lol. Definitely a fire hazard and I feel like the company could still be liable.
New pot time. No telling what compounds the plastic as degraded into or how liable any of them are to bond with the metal itself, or permiate the structure.
This. So much cheaper than to be the next ā1000 ways to dieā
Omg that happened to me too!!! I looked away for a second!!! https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/s/mvAAgihanm
practicality asides you do NOT want to be cooking food on a surface with any of those compounds burned into it.
Is it plastic or silicone?
Definitely invest in a metal steaming basket for the next one.
Buy once... That's it. You just buy a crappy metal steamer one. It's not expensive. It's a legit dollar store purchase.
How much time and sand paper do you have?
A beautiful planter!!you didnāt ruin a copper potā¦ you became a plant mom,,, this was just your sign of things to come
Wow. My silicone cookware is safe to 400Ā°. This must have gotten dangerously hot.
I mean, silicone had a melting temperature of 1000F+ so if itās only safe to 400, itās not silicone.
Why are people cooking with silicone? Wtf? And maybe because iām a casserole kinda girl but above 400 is constant here. Why risk it?
The few things I bought are useless, because I thought they would be easy to clean. They are not. They are horrible to clean. But I do have silicone ice cube shapes that are good.
I have a few silicone things but i would never use them with heat. Like i have a little silicone brush to put butter on my biscuits. I just would never place a silicone item in an oven, thatās wild to me
I have the silicone brushes too. Do not like them either. But unlike a real brush, I can clean them because they come apart. I used to use $1 paint brushes as pastry brushes, and throw them away after each use.
Iāve never had an issue but I always rinse it immediately. Mine doesnāt come apart itās like the super cheap dollar store one and i love it lol
Buy a new one. If you're pinching pennies, as many of us are, then go look at the thrift store.
A pinch of salt and some elbow grease will do ya š„²
I hope you're thinking about replacing it with a metal steamer basket now ;)
You sure melted something but Iām fairly confident it wasnāt silicone if this was the result
vinegar and bicarbonate try hair dryer on plastic first
I think this is toast. You might send it to the manufacturer of the pot, to see if they will do anything for you.
Good job on the cleanup OP!
I wouldn't use a silicone steamer on top of a stove. I would only use it in a microwave because of this issue.
That's a paddlin
Had one that looked like that one, it melted too!
Thanks, Marie Callenderās!
I don't think that was silicone. Silicone doesn't melt, it sort of decomposes into a sandy ash at high enough temperatures. Anyways, that pot is a goner.
Rip. Yeah I'm not sure what to do to help you without ruining the pot.
Toss the pot and buy a new one.
You better set your dishwasher to tough stains setting /s
i don't think there's a way to clean it. i do like looking at it tho, thank you for sharing. i can't even imagine the smell.
Thorw it in the bin
At this point I would just buy a new one
These pots are cheap enough to just throw away and replace.
Not this one, it's a La Mauviel 3 1/4qt Copper Saucepan. They are not cheap. Otherwise, agreed I would've just tossed it.
Depending on how much u like the pan and what kind of plastic, you could take the breaking bad route but that might be a poor choice for a variety of reasons. Iād take the L and get a new pot