How to clean pots and pans to look like new

A creamy, cheesy, slightly crispy-on-the-top-and-round-the-edges lasagne; a thick, cosy and comforting lamb stew; a beef roast, dripping in all the good kinds of fat, roasted with sticky honey parsnips.

Índice Show

1. Dryer sheets will make pots & pans sparkle
2. Tin foil is the best for scrubbing dirty pots
3. Vinegar & baking soda will make pans sparkle
4. Clean dirty pans & pots using sugar cubes
5. Barkeeper's Friend is amazing for cleaning pots, pans & oven trays
6. Rhubarb makes cleaning pans easy!
How do I clean the outside of my pots and pans to look like new?
How do you make the bottom of a pan look brand new?
How do you remove brown stains from pots and pans?

All of these things are absolutely delicious. They'll also all guaranteed to make an absolute mess out of your pans.

When you're faced with stuck on food, burnt bottoms and thick grease, you need all the help you can get. Expert Home Tips have got 6 rather unusual, but extremely effective cleaning hacks to get your dirty pots, pans and oven trays spotless again.

Don't waste time scrubbing - try these cleaning hacks today!

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1. Dryer sheets will make pots & pans sparkle

Weird but it works!

Forget a scourer - what your dirty pot needs is a dryer sheet! It's a mystery as to why this works, but we're certainly glad it does.

To try this weird pan cleaning hack out, fill your pot with hot water and washing up liquid. Add a dryer sheet, and leave to soak for an hour. When you return, the dirt should be easy to remove, requiring little to no scrubbing from you.

What a miraculous cleaning hack! Time to stock up on those dryer sheets.

2. Tin foil is the best for scrubbing dirty pots

Be careful with sharp edges.

Tin foil is your best friend when it comes to removing burnt on food from dirty pots and oven trays. It's particularly effective on glass and large roasting trays.

Make sure you don your rubber gloves for this one - they'll give you more grip and also protect your hands from the foil's sharp edges.

Tear off a sheet of aluminium foil, then scrunch into a ball. After you've soaked your pan in hot soapy water, begin to scrub with aluminium foil. It will make removing food and burnt spots easier than any other washing up tool you own.

For more ways to clean burnt pans, check out our blog post.

3. Vinegar & baking soda will make pans sparkle

Now time for that fizz!

You know how much we love using natural products here at Expert Home Tips. We're happy to say that one of our favourite combinations, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar, is extremely effective for cleaning dirty pots and pans.

These natural products will do wonders for burnt marks, and really will make your pans, pots and oven trays look like new again.

Sprinkle the surface of your dirty pan with baking soda, then pour on a solution of 1 cup hot water and 1/3 cup vinegar. Allow the mixture to fizz away, and it will lift the food particles clean off, making your job much easier.

4. Clean dirty pans & pots using sugar cubes

This one is truly bizarre, but it does in fact work!

Just like aluminium foil, the hard and rough edges of sugar cubes means they're ideal for breaking down tough, stuck on food.

Soak dirty pots and pans as normal, then remove any extra liquid before you start scrubbing to help prevent the cubes from dissolving.

They'll make your job much easier!

5. Barkeeper's Friend is amazing for cleaning pots, pans & oven trays

Time to get cleaning!

Every cook should have Barkeeper's Friend in their cleaning cupboard.

This product is specifically designed to tackle tough baked on food and scorch marks. It's an absolutely brilliant tool to have in your kitchen, and makes cleaning pots, pans and over trays easier than ever.

Want proof? Just check out the amazing results The Kitchn got using Barkeeper's Friend on their dirty pots and pans - seriously amazing!

6. Rhubarb makes cleaning pans easy!

Make light work of tough stains!

This is a new one - or should I say old? It's rumoured 1940s housewives used to rely on rhubarb to get their dirty kitchen pans clean.

Lacking in sophisticated products and cleaning tools, they would boil rhubarb in a burnt pan for 10 minutes, then remove, and clean as normal - astonishing!

It's a pretty unusual idea, and not one we'd turn to every day. If you've got some rhubarb growing in your garden though, why not give it a try?

Now that's what I call amazing cleaning hacks! Which one will you use to get your dirty pans, pots & oven trays clean?

How do I clean the outside of my pots and pans to look like new?

Make a thick but spreadable paste of three parts baking soda to one part warm water. Spread a paste over the outside part of your pan and let it sit there for at least 10 to 20 minutes. Then, clean the pan with a scrubbing pad or non-scratch sponge. Finally, rinse and dry your cookware thoroughly with a paper towel.

How do you make the bottom of a pan look brand new?

How to Clean the Bottom of a Pan.

Step 1: Rough it up. Flip the pan upside down and run some steel wool over the burnt bottom..

Step 2: Add salt and baking soda. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt onto the bottom. ... .

Step 3: Soap it up. ... .

Step 4: Let it sit. ... .

Step 5: Reveal the clean pan bottom..

How do you remove brown stains from pots and pans?

Pour a small layer of equal parts water and white vinegar on the bottom of the pan. Heat the diluted vinegar on the stovetop and allow it to come to a boil. After it boils for a minute, remove it from the heat and drain the vinegar down the sink.