Cleaning With Dishwasher Detergent Is The Key To Removing Baked-On Food

Cleaning stubbornly dirty dishes can be a pain. Whether you're dealing with Pyrex dishes, broiler pans, or even oven knobs, sometimes stuff just sticks on there and doesn't want to come off. Soaking in soap and water is a good starter method, but sometimes that doesn't take you all the way to Clean Town. You can always fall back on the cleaner's best non-toxic friends, baking soda and vinegar — but sometimes those don't do it. And you might not want to use more caustic stuff to get the job done, so where does that leave you? If soap and water aren't cutting it, and even the potent cleaning powers of baking soda and vinegar are nothing in the face of the Gunk Colossus, there's another option: dish detergent. 

The best part is that the cleaning process is extremely simple. You're basically just soaking the cookware in the detergent and letting it do the work for you.

To be clear, we're not talking about regular dish soap here. That stuff can be useful in cleaning, but for truly stubborn gunk, dishwasher detergent, specifically, is much more potent. 

It makes sense that it would be effective, too, considering its whole purpose is to deal with stubborn bits of food stuck on dishes, pots, pans, and the like. (It doesn't matter whether you're using powdered detergent or liquid; both work equally well here.) As an added benefit, it costs less — and is less caustic and abrasive — than more heavy-duty cleaning ingredients.

The first step in the process is simple — just let it soak. Fill the cleaning vessel with water above the level of the baked-on gunk, then squirt or sprinkle some dish detergent in there (depending on whether you've got liquid or powder). You want roughly a tablespoon of the cleaning stuff.

From there, let time do the work for you. It should take at least an hour, but it's fine to leave it for longer; truly stubborn messes can even be left overnight. After it's done soaking, just dump out the liquid and wipe with a non-abrasive sponge or cloth. That stubborn mess should come right off. Voila — you've solved the cookware gunk puzzle.

It's important to note that you should only do this with cookware that's safe to soak (meaning, not cast iron). You don't want to damage your hard-won kitchen products while trying to get them clean. And don't ever use an abrasive sponge on cookware with a non-stick coating, because that will ruin it.

The next time you're dealing with a stubborn pots and pans mess, give dishwashing detergent a try. It will make your life a whole lot easier, and it won't break your budget.