Stronger Than Dawn Power Dissolver?
 

Was just wondering if anyone knew the name of a cookware cleaner that would
have more muscle than the Dawn. Any stronger commercial ones out there that can
be bought in a gallon size, or less?

Stronger Than Dawn Power Dissolver?
 

"Sheellah" > wrote in message
...
> Was just wondering if anyone knew the name of a cookware cleaner that
would
> have more muscle than the Dawn. Any stronger commercial ones out there
that can
> be bought in a gallon size, or less?

Oven cleaner is stronger than DPD. It works on non-reactive surfaces like
stainless steel, glass, ceramics, and Corningware. You can't use it on
aluminum or copper. The active ingredient in oven cleaner is lye (sodium
hydroxide). You can get lye in the supermarket on the shelf with the drain
cleaner. I have considered mixing up a solution and keeping it in a plastic
container so I can use it as a bath. I suspect that you could use it over
and over. Lye is very caustic, so be sure to wear skin and eye protection
and keep it away from children and pets.

I would be interested if anyone has any experience on using a lye solution
to clean cookware. My main interest would be for the drip pans and grates
on my stove. I only clean my cookware about two or three times a year, but
the stove could use a more frequent cleaning. Oven cleaner can get
expensive buy lye is cheap.

Stronger Than Dawn Power Dissolver?
 

> Oven cleaner is stronger than DPD. It works on non-reactive surfaces like
> stainless steel, glass, ceramics, and Corningware. You can't use it on
> aluminum or copper. The active ingredient in oven cleaner is lye (sodium
> hydroxide). You can get lye in the supermarket on the shelf with the drain
> cleaner. I have considered mixing up a solution and keeping it in a plastic
> container so I can use it as a bath. I suspect that you could use it over
> and over. Lye is very caustic, so be sure to wear skin and eye protection
> and keep it away from children and pets.

This is pretty common in chemistry labs - to keep a relatively mild
solution of sodium hydroxide (mild by chemistry standards - still pretty
concentrated by kitchen standards) and to throw glassware into it and
let it soak for days or weeks.

The problem is that it tends to damage many surfaces - plastics, some
metals, etc. (Even stainless steel will be damaged eventually.) In the
lab, most glassware is just glass, but in the kitchen, you have many
items that have handles, finished surfaces, etc. that would be damaged
by soaking in this kind of bath. But if you wanted to clean plain
Corningware that way, it would probably work - it would probably strip
off any decorative finish on the outside, but it would probably work.

I'd still be interested in alternatives to Dawn (that could be generally
used for all cookware, particularly plastic). Ever since Dawn changed
their formula to "ultra" Dawn, it hasn't been the same, especially in
cleaning grease on plastic. It just doesn't do as good a job any more -
and I've heard this from other people as well, so I don't think it's my
imagination. I don't have a dishwasher so this is really an annoyance
in the kitchen - getting plastic freezer containers clean has become
much more of a chore.

Karen

Stronger Than Dawn Power Dissolver?
 

"Vox Humana" > wrote in message
...

>snip<

> I would be interested if anyone has any experience on using a lye solution
> to clean cookware. My main interest would be for the drip pans and grates
> on my stove. I only clean my cookware about two or three times a year,
but
> the stove could use a more frequent cleaning. Oven cleaner can get
> expensive buy lye is cheap.

Sure, lye works alright, but why bother. If the pans and grate are
detachable, it's much easier to stick them in a large plastic bag, and pour
in an oz or two of triple strength ammonia water. Close the bag tightly,
and leave it for a couple of hours, or longer depending on how dirty, then
you can practically wipe off the burned grease and everything with a little
water and no effort.

Kim

Stronger Than Dawn Power Dissolver?
 

"Kim Grauballe" > wrote in message
k...
>
> "Vox Humana" > wrote in message
> ...
>
> >snip<
>
> > I would be interested if anyone has any experience on using a lye
solution
> > to clean cookware. My main interest would be for the drip pans and
grates
> > on my stove. I only clean my cookware about two or three times a year,
> but
> > the stove could use a more frequent cleaning. Oven cleaner can get
> > expensive buy lye is cheap.
>
> Sure, lye works alright, but why bother. If the pans and grate are
> detachable, it's much easier to stick them in a large plastic bag, and
pour
> in an oz or two of triple strength ammonia water. Close the bag tightly,
> and leave it for a couple of hours, or longer depending on how dirty, then
> you can practically wipe off the burned grease and everything with a
little
> water and no effort.
>
> Kim

I've tried the ammonia, and it doesn't work as well as oven cleaner (lye.)
I think I will get a big plastic container and mix up a saturated solution
of lye and use it as a dip. I would like something more economical and
convenient than cans of oven cleaner and something that works better than
ammonia.

Stronger Than Dawn Power Dissolver?
 

"Vox Humana" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Kim Grauballe" > wrote in message
> k...
> >
> > "Vox Humana" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >
> > >snip<
> >
> > > I would be interested if anyone has any experience on using a lye
> solution
> > > to clean cookware. My main interest would be for the drip pans and
> grates
> > > on my stove. I only clean my cookware about two or three times a
year,
> > but
> > > the stove could use a more frequent cleaning. Oven cleaner can get
> > > expensive buy lye is cheap.
> >
> > Sure, lye works alright, but why bother. If the pans and grate are
> > detachable, it's much easier to stick them in a large plastic bag, and
> pour
> > in an oz or two of triple strength ammonia water. Close the bag
tightly,
> > and leave it for a couple of hours, or longer depending on how dirty,
then
> > you can practically wipe off the burned grease and everything with a
> little
> > water and no effort.
> >
> > Kim
>
> I've tried the ammonia, and it doesn't work as well as oven cleaner (lye.)
> I think I will get a big plastic container and mix up a saturated solution
> of lye and use it as a dip. I would like something more economical and
> convenient than cans of oven cleaner and something that works better than
> ammonia.
==
Have you tried Kaboom?
==
>
>

Stronger Than Dawn Power Dissolver?
 

Funny, it works a treat for me, could there be a difference in
concentration?

Still, you have to be pretty desperate to work with a saturated soution of
lye, I dont think anything in my kitchen has ever become that dirty.

There is actually an alternative, which is not quite as dangerous. Old
fashioned brown soap, the semi solid kind, that you have to scoop out, not
the fluid with loads of coconut oil etc. If applied liberally it works very
well as an oven cleaner, and will even remove paint if covered and allowed
to work long enough.

You can also combine the two. A mixture of brown soap and ammonia works even
better, although I admit it is a bitch to mix, it turns into a consistency
almost like freshly chewed gum.

"Vox Humana" > wrote in message
...

>snip<

> I've tried the ammonia, and it doesn't work as well as oven cleaner (lye.)
> I think I will get a big plastic container and mix up a saturated solution
> of lye and use it as a dip. I would like something more economical and
> convenient than cans of oven cleaner and something that works better than
> ammonia.
>
>

Stronger Than Dawn Power Dissolver?
 

"Kim Grauballe" > wrote in message
k...
> Funny, it works a treat for me, could there be a difference in
> concentration?
>
> Still, you have to be pretty desperate to work with a saturated soution of
> lye, I dont think anything in my kitchen has ever become that dirty.
>

When you have a gas range, eventually all your cookware gets a varnish like
coating. The burner grates and drip pans along with the grill parts also
get pretty nasty. I don't like to scrub my cookware with abrasives because
they scratch the surface and that accelerates the problem. While I don't
think I am compulsive about maintenance, I do like to bring everything back
to "like-new" condition periodically.

Stronger Than Dawn Power Dissolver?
 

In article >,
"Vox Humana" > wrote:

> "Kim Grauballe" > wrote in message
> k...
> > Funny, it works a treat for me, could there be a difference in
> > concentration?
> >
> > Still, you have to be pretty desperate to work with a saturated soution of
> > lye, I dont think anything in my kitchen has ever become that dirty.
> >
>
> When you have a gas range, eventually all your cookware gets a varnish like
> coating. The burner grates and drip pans along with the grill parts also
> get pretty nasty. I don't like to scrub my cookware with abrasives because
> they scratch the surface and that accelerates the problem. While I don't
> think I am compulsive about maintenance, I do like to bring everything back
> to "like-new" condition periodically.
>
>

When I was a research chemist in the pharmaceutical business we would
use a solution of sodium hydroxide dissoved in ethanol (grain alchohol).
Soak the glassware overnight and it would be as clean as it could be.
Sodium hydroxide solutions will etch glass, so you wouldn't want to soak
for too long. BTW these solutions are stored in plastic, not glass
because of this.

CAUTION: I would NOT recommend using sodium hydroxide (lye) for cleaning
in the kitchen because of the extreme danger. You can develop very
serious burns without knowing it. You will not feel any pain until it is
too late. DO NOT USE!!

--
To respond by email, please remove nospam from my address.

Stronger Than Dawn Power Dissolver?
 

Being a doctor, and having seen some horrifying examples I couldn't agree
more.
The stuff just continues to eat it's way inwards in a manner many times
worse than acid.

I've used it myself many times, where it belongs. That is drain cleaning and
paint and varnish removal, but you have to take extreme care.The stuff is
almost explosive, when it starts working in other than small amounts. I'd
want a complete chemical protection suit, befor I'd plunge things like
grates and drip pans into a vat of it.

I know exactly what is meant by that burned glaze, although it's many year
since I cooked over gas. It's precisely that, which I find ammonia so
effective for.

Anyway I guess we'll just have to write it off as being due to a difference
in climate or something. None of us will have the time to do a major
cleaning operation in the kitchen over the next couple of weeks anyway.

Therefor I wish you and everybody else here a Merry Christmas and a Happy
New Year.

Kim.
"pduck" > wrote in message
.. .
> In article >,
> "Vox Humana" > wrote:
>
> > "Kim Grauballe" > wrote in message
> > k...
> > > Funny, it works a treat for me, could there be a difference in
> > > concentration?
> > >
> > > Still, you have to be pretty desperate to work with a saturated
soution of
> > > lye, I dont think anything in my kitchen has ever become that dirty.
> > >
> >
> > When you have a gas range, eventually all your cookware gets a varnish
like
> > coating. The burner grates and drip pans along with the grill parts
also
> > get pretty nasty. I don't like to scrub my cookware with abrasives
because
> > they scratch the surface and that accelerates the problem. While I
don't
> > think I am compulsive about maintenance, I do like to bring everything
back
> > to "like-new" condition periodically.
> >
> >
>
> When I was a research chemist in the pharmaceutical business we would
> use a solution of sodium hydroxide dissoved in ethanol (grain alchohol).
> Soak the glassware overnight and it would be as clean as it could be.
> Sodium hydroxide solutions will etch glass, so you wouldn't want to soak
> for too long. BTW these solutions are stored in plastic, not glass
> because of this.
>
> CAUTION: I would NOT recommend using sodium hydroxide (lye) for cleaning
> in the kitchen because of the extreme danger. You can develop very
> serious burns without knowing it. You will not feel any pain until it is
> too late. DO NOT USE!!
>
> --
> To respond by email, please remove nospam from my address.

Stronger Than Dawn Power Dissolver?
 

"Kim Grauballe" > wrote in message . dk>...
>
> Still, you have to be pretty desperate to work with a saturated soution of
> lye, I dont think anything in my kitchen has ever become that dirty.

That's exactly what I was thinking. I have a gas range, too, and I
have no problem cleaning it with just a soapy sponge. I've also never
seen the "glaze" other posters spoke of. I never fry & I don't cook
with a lot of oil or fat so maybe that's why.