Barkeeper's Friend

[cjsmith]

After a very long and singularly useless thread about getting oil varnish off nonstick cookware, I bought some Barkeeper's Friend (the liquid/spray). For a while, though, it was clear I didn't have any actual use for the stuff.

Well, I found out what it's good for. Stainless steel. ... Wait, let me rephrase.

IT IS PHENOMENAL FOR STAINLESS STEEL I LOVE IT AND I WANT TO MARRY IT AND HAVE ITS BABIES.

There, that's more like it.

Comments

[eichin]

I recently discovered it because I ruined a cookie tray in the dishwasher, and based on some internet advice, a bit of soaking in (the powdered version of Barkeeper's Friend in some water) un-ruined it :-)

[cjsmith]

Nice! Not a non-stick cookie tray I presume? ...wait, how does one ruin a cookie tray in a dishwasher?

[eichin]

nordicware "natural aluminum" which turns out to even be documented as "discoloration will occur due to the cleaning agents used in automatic dishwasher detergent" and discoloration turns out to mean "grey and white mottled surface with an odd texture" (so probably not *just* aluminum oxide, but definitely an "it's not supposed to look like that" result.) Since dark vs light surfaces are supposed to matter for cookie baking (no I haven't dug into the theory on that one) it seemed worth fixing, and the result was definitely back to shiny....

[cjsmith]

Excellent! In my case it was the dishwasher itself which was discolored, probably due to the interaction between dishwasher detergent and a half a lime. :-) Glad yours got cleaned up! It's so satisfying to have stuff back to clean and shiny.

[cjsmith]

Okay, the spray version does zilch for aluminum baking trays. (I ruined one in the dishwasher too, though interestingly enough the failure mode was different from what you describe.) I may go get the powder. My measuring spoons are aluminum (from circa 1970?) and I’m tired of how they look and feel after the dishwasher, too.

[cjsmith]

Update: the powder in water is definitely way more effective on my cookie tray than the spray was. Unfortunately when I filled the tray with a half inch of soaking solution, the upper rim of the walls of the tray got dark - maybe this stuff is giving off fumes. So I’ve now filled the bathtub to a depth of a couple inches for this task. My cat is annoyed. :) Will report back.

[eichin]

Interesting - the part above the liquid line on mine is also still discolored, but I'd assumed it was just the previous damage. (Also I floated one tray in the other to clean the bottom, and that probably spread it around some.)

[cjsmith]

Mine is now all an indeterminate gray, as if it's telling me "look, kid, you had your chance." And my measuring spoons, which I'm pretty sure are aluminum, are now really dark. Sigh! :)