Growing up in the “Muppet Era”, I had a special place in my heart for Kermit the frog. I still do for that matter. I took my daughter to the new Muppet movie on opening night. It horrified me that, not only did my 4 year old not know who Kermit was, but her 19 year old baby sitter didn’t know a thing about Kermit!
Wait…SERIOUSLY? That might have been the first realization I’ve ever had that….I am really getting old.
The phrase, “It’s not easy being green”, was something I heard all the time as a kid. Like everything else in life, time changes our perspective on things. I have started to realize that it IS easy being green these days. There was a time (many years ago now) when I defined effective cleaning by how the air smelled. It’s not really clean unless I can smell the chemicals!
Thankfully, that is no longer the standard by which I measure the cleaning prowess of the solutions I’m using. In fact, I now do everything in my power to avoid those toxic chemicals I believe are harmful to my health, and the health of the environment. Why? Because you can make your own cleaners with items from your pantry that work just as well, and smell better!
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 that is chemical-free, halves scrubbing time and let’s you keep your pan. Cheer!
What You Need
Materials
1 cup of 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 scourer, because I can’t find any way to avoid it entirely
Instructions
1. Fill the bottom of the pan with a layer of water.
2. Add the vinegar.
3. Bring the pan to the boil. It should be looking a bit cleaner already.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. Expect fizz!
5. Empty the pan and scour as normal, if necessary 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. Tad-ah! 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 is much, much easier. I’ve also been told that this works for really well baked on food and grime.
