"Max Hauser" wrote in
:

"Jerry Avins" in :
Jim Yanik wrote:

I find that automatic dishwasher detergent is good for soaking
crusted stuff in; it really attacks organics. ...

Many dishwasher detergents contain grit. The chemicals are powerful,
but rubbing Teflon with it would be ill advised unless it was tested
first

Hi Jerry, Jim Yanik's point may have been the same one I offer on this
subject..

Cleaning nonstick surfaces is not about scrubbing, but loosening the
residues chemically. Then they'll either float off, or come off with
a wipe from a sponge. Various cleaning agents that loosen organic
material are good for this, they will soften or saponify the food
residues. (Avoiding abrasion is fundamental to nonstick coatings.
When PTFE or "Teflon" coatings first appeared, they were described
like highly inert waxes, to be handled accordingly. Commercial pan
coatings have since gotten tougher. Look in a restaurant supplier with
a display room and you'll see arrays of inexpensive nonstick fry pans
of identical size going up in durability, and price.)

Conventional powdered dishwasher detergent is based mostly or entirely
on TSP (trisodium phosphate) which softens organic matter, just like
ammonia and other alkalies (that attack aluminum more aggressively).
It's excellent for soaking food deposits, not just on Teflon, I use it
all the time. (TSP also is sold in bulk as an all-purpose cleaner
concentrate.) That's the relevance of dishwasher detergent to
nonstick coatings, as far as I know.

Finally there's a "seasoning" ritual for nonstick coatings, analogous
to (but briefer and lighter than) for cast iron. This maintains the
like-new stick resistance. After cleaning and drying, you rub with a
tiny bit of oil and heat a bit then rub off the exces. (More or
less.) It has to do with filling micro-pores if I remember. But go
by instructions that the manufacturers give, not my offhand memory.
(Do NOT ask for advice about that subtle point on an online forum like
these. Experience shows you will get even more heartfelt
misinformation than drivers get from passers-by when their car is
stuck in mud.)





I use liquid or "gel" auto-dishwasher detergent;I haven't found any grit in
them,and they dissolve much better than the powders.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net