How to remove caked-on food from pots and pans without using toxic chemicals

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By yvana
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Tired of all the elbow grease needed to take off stubborn food stains from your pots and pans? Looking for a non-toxic and eco-friendly way to clean them? This tried and true method is sure to work every time. Once you try it, you will never buy another toxic de-greaser or detergent again! All you need are three simple ingredients.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Step 1

Add about 1 tsp. of baking soda and 1/4 cup of vinegar to your dirty medium-large size pot, pan or dish. The mixture of baking soda and water will fizzle. (That means it's working).
Step 2

If you don't hear a fizzle, you might need to add either a bit more baking soda or a bit more vinegar.
Step 3

Next, add water to cover the pan's dirty contents.
Step 4

Let the mixture of water, vinegar and baking soda sit for about five minutes or longer, depending on how deeply caked on the food is. You can leave this mixture overnight, if desired.
Step 5

Using a sponge, wipe the food contents off of your pot or pan. The food should slide off easily, or at least with little effort.

Tips & Warnings

If your food stain is really stubborn and you still can't get it off easily, try the process again, this time using a bit more vinegar. When really necessary, I like to add a drop of Palmolive Oil soap, just to help bring up the grease.
CAUTION: DO NOT USE THIS PROCESS ON CAST IRON PANS!