I left my copper-bottom pot on too long, boiling water. Is it possible to salvage?
Question:I have 2 pots/saucepans that I have left on the stove too long while boiling water. After rushing them outside a thin layer of carbon flakes off the bottom. and then I see the copper underneath... are these pots still usable? And if so is there anything I need to do before using them again? They are great RevereWare pots that have lasted 15 years or more. I really hope I haven't ruined them. but... if I have. does anyone have any ideas of other uses they could have?
Answers:
you ruined them but can still use them
You may have ruined the finish on them. As long as they have not warped, there should be no problem. Warping will cause uneven heating.
Lucky you, this time you may still use it to boil water. Next time the welded seam might cause a leak somewhere and its the end of it. Another prospect of copper bottom pot is that they might be of bi-metal. Copper is a good conductor of heat, cause water to boil real fast and save you energy; Again, its the problem of the seam and this time the copper layer might just segregate and drop off from the bottom of the pot. Use it with an alarm to remind you or a whistle to sound off then you will be OK. Accident does happen all the time.. Ciao and good luck.
It sounds to me like you just have some calcium leftover from the boiling water. If regular cleaning doesn't remove it; try some CLR or some other calcium remover in it. That should take care of that problem and then just give it a good cleaning with your regular detergent. It should be usable after that. Good luck and set a timer the next time to check on the boiling.
all my pots have been messed up and for years, it's part of being a good cook. Ok, so you can't boil water, it's ok. Sure they are still usable.
no
OOPS.......get you some copper cleaner it may take awhile but it will work..
To clean copper take a lemon cut in half, dip the lemon in salt then clean your copper with that it really works!
Baking soda and vinegar in a paste will clean up copper. I like copper but my favorite is cast iron. They only draw back is the weight but it cooks beautifully and no problem cleaning. It also makes an excellent weapon. If you like to pump iron you would love cast iron.
use vinegar to clean the pot.
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