Etching of Cladded Pots/Pans with current DW powders

[mobiledynamics]

Has anyone noticed any ill effects on the alum (core) of your SS cookware with the new DW detergents. A recent blurb somewhere else has shown how the ALUM core is slowly ~minutely~ etching thinner/thinner from the core with the new DW powders.

I'm still on phosphate Cascade so I don't have a reference mark to this.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Aluminum does not interact well with dishwasher detergents, but today, it's mostly encapsulated in better stainless steel pans.

 

[danemodsandy]

This Was My Advice....

....Back in the '80s, when I was in the housewares biz and taught four cooking classes a week:

If you care about your cookware, hand-washing it is the best possible care. Dishwashers can only do so much to clean cookware, and the chemicals in dishwasher detergent are not the kindest to fine cookware.

Dishwashers typically leave starch film on cookware that has been used to cook anything like rice, pasta or potatoes. Burned-on grease is not always removed. Anodized aluminum can be badly damaged by alkali in dishwasher detergent; so can Bakelite handles. Pyrex etches, becomes cloudy and can develop striations (grooves) in the surface from dishwasher detergent. Wood, cast iron and copper just don't belong in a dishwasher at all.

Hand care prevents all of this, and can keep cookware looking and performing like new. I get sad when I see expensive pieces of Calphalon in thrift stores turned cloudy white by dishwashers, or rare pieces of Pyrex with the decoration etched almost entirely away.

On the other hand, I get very happy when I see pieces of Farberware gunked up with burned-on grease, their aluminum bottoms turned black and their handles etched, because I get nice pieces of cookware for a buck or two, and can correct all these problems!

Once it's restored, my Farberware is hand-wash only, and over time, it burnishes to a beautiful gleam.

P.S.: I'm also very fond of gunked-up Corning Ware! It seems no one but us collectors know that oven cleaner takes care of the burned-on crud. Cheap![this post was last edited: 11/7/2013-19:22]

 

[arbilab]

Aluminum is a very reactive metal. Did you know that mercury will literally dissolve it?

 

[frigilux]

I'm gradually pushing aluminum cookware out the door due to what dishwasher detergents do to it. All pots/pans are stainless, and recently I purchased 4 stainless 9" x 13" cake pans and 4 stainless muffin tins. Only downside I've noticed is that cakes take about 5-8 minutes longer, and muffins about 5 minutes longer in the oven. My aluminum pans had darkened considerably, and that may have contributed to their shorter baking times. Really hated the powdery coating that developed on them from being machine-washed; it would rub off on tablecloths, etc. No such problems with the stainless pans!

 

[MrX]

I just don't buy aluminium pans/pots because I've an induction hob.

In general, if it's not dishwasher-safe and induction compatible I just avoid buying it as it's invariably just going to mean more housework!

It's hard to beat a heavy-bottomed solid stainless steel pan. Easy to clean, doesn't tend to scratch or mark, can be scoured carefully if it gets burnt on problems and it's completely compatible with all types of cooking appliance and will distribute the heat nicely if the bottom's heavy.

I also avoid bakelite handles like the plague as it's always quite useful to be able to put a pot/pan straight into the oven.

 

[iheartmaytag]

Due to the reactive properties of Aluminum

I have phased out most of it for cooking. Too many studies that aluminum is a contributor to Alzheimer's. I rarely, but have put my pots in the dishwasher. Just remember that the inside of a dishwasher is a hostile, hot, alkaline environment.

Sandy,
I always put my Corning ware in the dishwasher, Pyrex as well. Will this cause the glass to weaken? Is this possibly the cause of some of those "explosions" people are reporting?

I have heard that oven cleaner is good to clean up sticky, non-stick (Teflon)--any experience?

 

[retropia]

I tried a Farberware Classic stainless steel set for awhile. Using it for anything other than boiling water would scorch the inside bottom of the pot or pan. It wouldn't come clean in the dishwasher and required scrubbing by hand.

They looked pretty when clean, but it was too much work so I gave the set away. Most everything I own needs to be dishwasher cleanable, as I don't have the time to do hand washing.

 

[danemodsandy]

Harley:

Putting Pyrex in the dishwasher does not weaken it nor is it a contributing factor to those Pyrex explosions that are so ballyhooed on the Internet.

What dishwashers do to Pyrex is to etch it, roughen it and cause the decoration to deteriorate and fade on patterned pieces. Basically, Pyrex can't take the alkalinity of DW detergent. The damage is subtle at first; only a Pyrex collector would notice it. But later on, WHAMMO! - anyone could see it, and at that point, it's just too late. There is no cure for it. I've never seen any damage on a piece of Corning Ware that I would attribute to dishwashers or their detergents. Note that Corning Ware lids are usually Pyrex, however - they're not made of the same Pyroceram as the Corning Ware piece itself.

I've never used oven cleaner on Teflon, and would not do so. The reason is that a PTFE coating is somewhat sponge-like; Teflon works by holding moisture from the food against the surface of the pan. Anyone who has ever tried to rinse a real mess out of a sponge knows how hard it is to get every last vestige of mess out. In my opinion, traces of oven cleaner would remain behind after a Teflon piece was cleaned with it.

My own solution for dirty Teflon is avoidance. I always buy it new, and I always wash it well, by hand. It lasts me years.

Doug - I don't know what caused your problem with Farberware Classic, because it's heavy-bottomed, full-cap cookware. It's made in a way that used to be available only in very expensive cookware: A heavy disc of aluminum is bonded to the bottom of the pot, and a stainless cap goes over that, so there's no exposed aluminum to clean. I have a very few pieces of Classic, and I'm very happy with them. However, the vast majority of my Farberware is the old aluminum-clad stuff with the aluminum showing, made in the Bronx or Yonkers, New York. Blissful cookware - the late James Beard used to say it was really excellent cookware for the money.

 

[mobiledynamics]

For those contributing to this thread, just so we're all on the same page, the discussion is in regards to Stainless Steel CLAD pots/pans and the ~aluminum~ core. My Demeyere Atlantis pieces I generally handwash. But during heavy entertaining , I'm grabbing the pots and pans and in they go. I'm using good old fashion phosphate DW powder, but I've read blurbs where the newer formulaions is causing ~increased~ etching of the aluminum cores

 

[norgeway]

RE Aluminum..

I have every kind of cookware imagineable, but my aluminum never gets put in the dishwasher,,I never let it soak in water and I never leave food in it after cooking, that said, I would rather use it for most cooking than anything, I use stainless for tomato sauces etc, but aluminum for all frying, I have a bunch of Griswold iron, but very seldom use it, because ,like stainless it will burn water if you are not very careful.