late 20's early 30's Universal waffle iron question

[abcomatic]

HI everyone. I have my grandmother's late 20s', early 30's waffle iron. We had waffles from this when I was growing up in the 50's, 60's and then my mom gave it to me in the 80's. (Ok, you win, I asked her for it and she said, "Gary, just take it home. I know you want this)."
I have a question: How do I get the waffle plate,(built in and not removable; top and bottom)clean? Mom never cleaned it much, so what do I do to get it so the waffles don't taste kind of "funkie"? What sort of cleaner would you all recommend for me to use so that this beauty can turn out great tasting waffles once again?
Back in business I hope. Gary

 

[rp2813]

I had good results from baking soda and a toothbrush.  No water except to rinse off once the irons are clean. 

 

Dry the irons well and then season them.

 

[stan]

Maybe

Bon Ami ?

 

[launderess]

No Chemical Cleaners

Even Bon Ami, that is unless you wish to risk getting water inside the unit from rinsing, or fancy scouring powder dust on your waffles.

Know one is going to get noise for saying this but IIRC such waffle iron grid were not meant to be cleaned once seasoned.

And old suggestion was to soak thick paper towel or cloth in ammonia and place between the grids, leave overnight and in the AM wipe the plates clean with a damp cloth. For any stubborn bits you can gently scrub with a soft brush.

 

[arbilab]

At most, abrade the chunks off with a light wire brush. A "shiny" waffle iron won't work AT ALL.

 

[norgeway]

If you really want to!

Make it look new, take it apart and put the grids on the rack of a self cleaning oven, let it operate for about 15 to 20 minutes, no more or they might melt! But all that crud will just brush off, then wash and re season them,,but really,if they are good and black, they usually will not stick!

 

[chuffle]

Toaster Central...

...has wonderful "eye candy" to ogle, and sells toasters and waffle irons (among other things). The owner used to have a link for cleaning and seasoning waffle irons, but try as I might, I couldn't find the link minutes ago. I bet that a nice message sent to him would provide the info that you would like.

Joe

Working Vintage Toasters

Working Vintage Toasters, waffle irons

www.toastercentral.com

 

[crevicetool]

When I restore my Universal.....

Waffle irons, I take the plates to a local sand-blaster. He hits them with a fine grit and takes him ten minutes at best.....

 

[crevicetool]

Very nice....

 

[crevicetool]

I just re-season them and they are ready to go. This is a larger waffle baker that I had the plates blasted on...

 

[northwesty]

I'd say make a batch of throw-away waffles and see if it doesn't clean up in the process. See if the stuff doesn't loosen up with a little help between waffles.

 

[vintagekitchen]

I know I sometimes go to extremes, but when a friend found her grandmother's waffle iron while sorting the estate, we did some major cleaning. It was truly filthy, years and years of baked on crud and burnt waffle bits. I was of a mind that it wasnt worth saving, but she begged me to get it clean enough to use, so she could use it, since one of her best childhood memories was weekend breakfasts with her grandmother.

So, to get to the point, after studying the situation, and a few failed cleaning attempts, I decided to pull out the heavy guns. Remembering how my grandmother would annually clean the crud from the outside of her iron skillets by burning them in the embers of a fire, and then re-seasoning them, I attempted a similar method.

I first removed the bakelite handles to prevent damaging them, (just a screw in each handle), then lit a blowtorch. Set the torch as low as it would go, and began using it on the grids, working in small sections, keeping it in constant motion to prevent overheating and melting/cracking/warping the aluminum plates. After going over the entire surface of both grids, I let it cool slightly, then went at it with a stiff brush. It came spotless, just like brand new. I then coated the grids with melted lard (granny always said nothing seasons pans better than lard), set it on a med-low heat setting, closed it, and left it for 2 hours to absorb the lard. Then I turned it off and let it cool overnight. I repeated the lard step 2 more times, and then presented her with the waffle iron.

She says it is perfect, and never ever sticks. Of course I instructed her to treat it like cast iron, no soap, ever, and to clean it with a damp pastry brush after each use.

 

[abcomatic]

Thanks guys

Thanks to all who gave me advice on what to do with my waffle iron. I cleaned it up using Bar Keepers Friend and Kaboom cleaner, this was only on the outside.
I used Pam on the waffle plates and made several waffles to throw away and season the plates. After a few throw away waffles, the real ones tasted great.
I assume the finish is chrome and not nickel?
Thanks again for you all of your help, it has brought this waffle iron back to useable life. Gary