Sometimes in this process, you may realize it isn't a stain but baked-on food. To remove those stubborn bits, boil 2 cups of water and 4 tablespoons of baking soda for a few minutes. Then use a pan scraper to loosen the food.
Baking soda is really good at getting browned oil off enamel. Wet the pot, dump water out, sprinkle in plenty of baking soda and a bit of dish soap, scrub with a sponge. You're looking for a paste consistency.
Sprinkle salt onto the stain, making sure there's enough to cover it. Cut a lemon and squeeze the juice over the salt and let it soak into the stain. It should turn into a paste that you can use to scrub against the stain with a sponge.
The method I tested and found to be the best is simple: Let the water come to a boil, add the baking soda, and give it a good stir. After a few minutes of simmering, use a wooden spoon (no metal on that enamel surface!) to nudge off the burnt-on bits.
My foolproof method for cleaning my cast-iron kitchen sink is using Bar Keepers Friend with a Magic Eraser, which works every time. I've never met a scuff mark I couldn't beat.
Combine lemon juice and coarse salt for a natural cleaning solution that won't damage enamel coating. Apply salt to the surface of the pan or the cut side of the lemon, then scrub. Rinse with warm water and dish soap.
Don't use them on:
Nonstick pots and pans: An eraser sponge will probably scratch nonstick surfaces, allowing small flakes of the coating (and the chemicals it contains) to get into food. Wood furniture: These abrasive sponges can strip the finish on wood furniture and wood floors, Sansoni says.
As for cleaners, our Le Creuset Cast Iron Cookware Cleaner will help keep your Dutch oven looking great, and is ideal for removing metal marks caused by metal tools. Bar Keeper's Friend, or a paste of baking soda and water, also comes in handy for cleaning tough stains, oil residue and marks on your Dutch oven as well.
There are a couple of straightforward fixes for attacking any major staining on your Dutch oven. One is to simmer warm water and a few tablespoons of baking soda in the pot for 8 to 10 minutes. Another option is to combine a 50/50 mixture of white vinegar and water, and bring it to a boil.
Magic Eraser. Warm Water + Baking Soda + Vinegar or Lemon. Warm Water + Baking Soda + Hydrogen Peroxide: Bring it to a boil with lid covered; it comes out pristine once you wipe it with a paper towel. Easy-Off Oven Cleaner: You can spray the pot, put it in the oven, and shut the door.
Staining of the enamel is not permanent and can be easily reversed with treatments through professional stain removal and tooth whitening. Steer away from home remedies. Often these products are abrasive and can scratch the enamel making them more susceptible to staining - such as whitening toothpastes.
Do not use on exterior oven surfaces, aluminum, chrome, baked enamel. Do not use on self-cleaning or continuous cleaning ovens. Avoid spraying over pilot light. Keep off all electrical connections such as heating element, thermostat, bulb receptacles, light switch.
Enamel can repair itself by using minerals from saliva, and fluoride from toothpaste or other sources. But if the tooth decay process continues, more minerals are lost. Over time, the enamel is weakened and destroyed, forming a cavity. A cavity is permanent damage that a dentist has to repair with a filling.
Salt, especially coarse Kosher salt, is great for alleviating scorch marks in pans and is especially great for greasy messes. Try pairing it with Dawn dish detergent and hot water, or massaging it into the burnt pan with the juicy core of a cut lemon.
Baking soda-water paste
No newcomer to the altar of baking-soda-fixes-everything, I next tried a paste of equal parts baking soda and water. More circular scrubbing with the rough side of a sponge ensued, and with avail: It significantly decreased the amount of cooked-on oil stains on the pan.
To repair your chipped porcelain enamel from scratch, purchase a food-safe epoxy. Use the epoxy to gently fill in the space left from where the vitreous enamel chipped away. Let the epoxy harden slightly, and then press a piece of waxed paper over it.
My way: Add 1/2 inch of water, add bar keepers or liquid dishwasher detergent, boil it for 3-5 minutes, scrub with soft scrub sponge with handle and rinse. Repeat if needed. It works for me 100% of times!
To keep things tidy, give your Dutch oven a wipe-down before putting it in an oven. But if it already has deep brown staining, Michael recommends using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
After You Clean Your Le Creuset With Bleach
The bleach and water soak is the step that really cleared up the last of the stubborn brown stains in my pot.
Don't Use Them On Your Car
Or any other delicate surface, for that matter, like silverware, glass, or metal surfaces. Dry erasers have the abrasiveness of a 3000 grit sandpaper – very fine, but can still mar shiny surfaces – like your stainless steel appliances!
I got the Eraser wet, put a dry towel beneath the stain, and worked at it using the corner of the sponge. As I would have predicted, the red spot totally disappeared — I think the Dawn cut through the oil in the stain, and the Eraser had no problem at all “erasing” the tomato residue. A winning combination!
Drop a Magic Eraser corner straight into the toilet bowl. Before washing the toilet ring, let the Magic Eraser soak in the water for a few minutes. Once the stain is gone, swirl the Magic Eraser around the toilet bowl. To have the cleaning residue washed away, flush the toilet.