We all know the pain of spending all day in the kitchen, making a delicious meal to have then to clean all the dishes, including those with grease stains.
Grease stains and baked-on grease can be a nightmare to get off of pans and dishes.
No matter how well you apply the cooking spray, butter, or oil, it seems that stains always happen.
If this sounds like something you have dealt with, you are not alone.
Every cook, from professional to amateur, has experienced the pain of a grease-stained pan.
Keep reading to find out how to remove grease stains from pans.
What You’ll Need
Baking Soda
Baking soda is always a great tool to clean remove grease stains, as it works to absorb the grease and help lift it from whatever surface it is on.
Dish Soap
A strong degreasing dish soap will work wonders to clean baked on grease. Make sure the dish soap you purchase is intended for degreasing and not merely cleaning.
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Scouring Pad
A scouring pad or another scrubbing tool will be necessary to remove the stain thoroughly. Just make sure whatever you use is safe for the surface of your pan.
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Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide has excellent degreasing qualities, and it will definitely come in handy to remove the toughest grease stains on your pans.
Vinegar
Vinegar will work well to remove grease stains from pans that are only mildly stained or lightly browned. For heavier stains, it will not have as much of an effect.
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Step By Step Instructions For How To Remove Grease Stains from Pans
#1. Make A Baking Soda Paste
Mix three parts baking soda to one part water to make a thick baking soda paste.
Hot water will work the best to ensure as much grease as possible is removed.
Mix the paste together and spread the paste onto the grease stains, and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes, depending on the severity of the stain.
You don’t need a tremendous amount of paste to remove the stain, just enough to cover the entirety of the stain completely.
#2. Scrub/Rinse The Pan
Using a scouring pad to scrub the stain off.
The baking soda paste should have done most of the hard work to loosen up and soak up the stain, so you shouldn’t have to scrub very hard to get the stain or baked-on grease off of the pan.
Rinse the pan and make sure all of the grease has been removed.
If there is still grease remaining, repeat this process as many times as necessary to remove all of the grease.
Pro Tip:
Don’t use a scouring pad on a non-stick pan, as it will cause severe damage to the coating.
Use a sponge or another more gentle scrubber on these sensitive surfaces.
#3.Repeat The Process With Hydrogen Peroxide
If hot water and baking soda don’t seem to be lifting all of the grease from the pan, make the paste again, but replace the water with hydrogen peroxide.
Hydrogen peroxide is a great way to remove grease from just about any surface, and that goes for baking pans and dishes, too.
Let the paste sit on the stain and repeat the process as above.
#4. Wash The Pan With Soap And Water
By this point, the grease should be lifted from the pan, and you should not have much more scrubbing to do.
A good degreasing dish soap will help get the last bits of grease off of the pan, and it will leave the pan looking as good as new.
You can even let the pan soak in hot water and dish soap to make the grease even easier to remove.
Pro Tip:
Use vinegar for mild stains.
If your pan is lightly browned or has a mild stain, vinegar will work really well to help remove the grease.
Fill your sink with enough vinegar to submerge the pan, or fill the pan with enough vinegar to completely cover the stain.
Let the vinegar soak the stain for about an hour, and then wash it with dish soap as usual.
Commonly Asked Questions
I don’t have any baking soda. Is there something else I can use?
The baking soda in this process can be replaced with cornstarch.
However, it will not be quite as successful.
The best tool to soak up a grease stain is baking soda.
Will this work for grease stains that have been sitting on the pan for a long time?
Yes, the above steps will work to remove old grease stains.
You will probably have the most success with removing an old grease stain if you start with hydrogen peroxide rather than hot water.
Can I use these steps on a non-stick pan?
Yes, these steps can be used on a non-stick pan to clean baked on grease.
For browning of a non-stick pan, start with the vinegar and then move on to baking soda and water.
Make sure to use a gentle scrubber on a non-stick pan, as the coating can easily be damaged.
Conclusion
Have you enjoyed learning how to remove grease stains from pans?
If you have ever dealt with the agonizing task of trying to remove grease stains from pans, you are in good company.
No matter how difficult the stain, there are so many methods to ensure that your pans come out of the day of use looking as good as new.
Now that you are equipped with how to clean baked on grease, you will have the most excellent looking pans in the neighborhood.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that you will come back to it whenever you are faced with a problematic grease stain on your pans.
