Despite the large number of high-tech non-stick dishes, modern housewives do not forget about simple aluminum pans. And this is not surprising, because aluminum is an unpretentious material, easy to care for, and quite light, which makes the use of such dishes quite pleasant. However, over time, shiny aluminum dishes lose their appearance, darken, unaesthetic dark spots, soot, scale appear on it. Let’s consider how to clean an aluminum pan at home and return it to its former appearance?
Cleaning from burnt food and scale
The easiest way to clean an aluminum pan is to soak it in warm water (you can’t use hot water, as this can lead to deformation of the product). You can add a little detergent to the water, which you usually use for washing dishes.
If soaking did not help, and traces of contamination remain on the aluminum pan, you will have to clean it with more radical methods:
- Boiling in water with the addition of vinegar. Boil the pot for at least an hour. At the end of this time, you will notice that the aluminum walls have been cleaned, brightened, and returned to their original shine. If necessary, you can wet a sponge in water with vinegar and clean it additionally.
- Use baking soda to remove a small amount of burnt-on food. To do this, pour water into the pan, add a small amount of soda (2 tablespoons), and put it on fire. Burnt food comes off easily.
- Citric acid. The principle of action is similar to soda.
- Simple dirt can be cleaned using sour apples. To do this, cut the apple into pieces, wipe the damaged surface. After the procedure, the pan must be rinsed.
- Onion will help to remove soot. Several bulbs are cut into 2-4 parts, boiled for half an hour in a pan, which must then be cleaned in the usual way.
Ways to clean an enamel pot are discussed in this article .
We get rid of dark spots
Over time, the aluminum pan loses its original appearance, ugly dark spots appear. The following means will help to get rid of them:
- Citric acid, table vinegar. Wet a soft cloth, rub the darkened surface.
- Baking soda. Dilute soda with water to the consistency of gruel. Carefully rub the dishes with the resulting product until the dirt is completely removed. After the procedure, rinse the product in water with the addition of a small amount of ammonia. This will allow not only to remove darkening, but also to return the pan to its original shine.
- Sour milk products help to clear dark spots. To do this, you need to fill the pan with, for example, kefir, leave it for several hours, and then rinse it thoroughly.
- To remove dark spots from the outside of the pan, it must be boiled in a solution of silicate glue and soda. The solution is prepared as follows: equal amounts of glue and soda are added to warm water, the resulting mixture is poured into a large container. Place the pan in the container so that the solution covers its entire surface. Put on fire for 40-50 minutes.
What means should not be used?
Aluminum is a material that easily enters into a chemical reaction with aggressive compounds (containing acids and alkalis). Therefore, it is not recommended to use these products to clean aluminum products.
In addition, it is undesirable to use abrasive products that can scratch the soft metal, and your pan will forever lose its former attractiveness. On the edge, you can use table salt, which is used to rub the contaminated surface.