It can only be restored by reapplying the original non-stick material, which is done during the manufacturing process and cannot be done at home.
Throw it away. You cannot repair it. Once the teflon peels off, it is safe, as long as you don't heat it above 500 degrees F. But why use a pan that no longer has non-stick properties? It's just gross.
Get the ENTIRE PAN very warm to slightly hot. Turn off heat and allow to sit until cool enough to handle. Coat very thoroughly with non-salted oil (I use Wesson or Crisco etc.) and place in a 300 degree oven for 2 hours, then turn off oven and allow to sit overnight. The pan is now ready to use.
A simple rinse and scrub should get your pan back to good as new. Note that if you're regularly scrubbing stuck-on food residue out of your pan, that probably means the non stick coating has begun to wear down—plus, aggressive scrubbing can do further damage to the coating.
Recoating involves removing the used non-stick coating on a saucepan, frying pan, sauté pan, pancake pan, etc. in order to replace it with a new coating. Recoated products can therefore be used once again, while extending the life of the more durable parts, i.e. the body and handle of your cookware.
Vinegar to the rescue! Bring one part vinegar and two parts water to a simmer, and then cool and wash with soap. This should take care of all the sticky residue that has built up on the pan over time. Test Kitchen tip: Don't use cooking sprays on your nonstick pan.
Wash your nonstick pan with warm water, a gentle sponge, and dish soap. Dry well. Heat your pan over medium-low heat for about 30 seconds. Pour 1 teaspoon of neutral oil (like vegetable, avocado, or olive oil) into the pan and swirl to coat.
Add a high-melting oil like sunflower oil to the pan with two tablespoons of salt. Heat both until they reach a smoking point. Remove the excess oil and wipe the pan's surface with a paper towel. Like the earlier methods, you'll know it's now non-stick if it is shiny and reflective.
Mix One Part Vinegar and Two Parts Water
To make this buildup-busting and non-stick-restoring mixture, you'll combine one cup of water and half a cup of white vinegar. That's it!
The knock on Teflon is that it's unsafe if consumed or absorbed into the body and can increase the chances of cancer and other diseases. Studies have shown some connections (more on that below), but Teflon still exists and is used to make cookware, but the safety concerns around Teflon are mostly a thing of the past.
If the non-stick (PTFE-coated) cookware is worn out, it should be disposed of in the trash. Non-stick cookware is not recyclable due to the PTFE coating and are not accepted in curbside recycling carts or at the Drop-Off Station or Recovery Yard.
Constant exposure to high heat—both when cooking or in the dishwasher, neither of which we recommend—can cause your pan's non stick coating to degrade or even start to peel off. We advise sticking with medium heat or below to extend the lifespan of your non stick pan.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Place the pan upside down on the middle oven rack—this prevents the oil from pooling inside the pan. Put a sheet of aluminum foil on the lower shelf to catch any drips. Bake the pan for one hour to season it.
There are a number of ways you can damage a nonstick pan, from spritzing it with cooking spray to scraping it with metal utensils to putting it in the dishwasher.
Teflon® is a registered trademark of DuPont and a brand name for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) a nonstick finish. While Calphalon cookware features polytetrafluoroethylene-based nonstick finishes, we are not associated with, nor do we use, Teflon® branded products.
The best nonstick pan: GreenPan Valencia Pro frying pan
This pan has a high quality coating that maintains its fresh-from-the-box level of nonstick following months of regular use. GreenPan really distinguishes itself by the overall design of its pans in addition to the quality of their nonstick cooking surface.
Canola Oil
With its neutral flavor and low price point, canola is another popular oil among chefs. It has a smoke point of 400-450°F. It works very well for general-purpose frying and is ideal for a pan of fried potatoes.
So they can be ruined rather easily. Here are the clear signs that it is time to replace your Teflon non-stick pan: The non-stick coating is coming off. There are significant scratches on the surface and food is sticking in the scratches.
Water spots can be avoided by thoroughly drying your cookware after washing. However, if a water spot does appear, you can wipe the surface of your pan with distilled white vinegar. Avoid other types of vinegar as they contain additives that can harm the nonstick coating.
They are most likely carbon deposits. This happens due to overheating of fats and oils. Using an oil with a low smoke point will carbonize at high temperatures and cause residue from the pores of your pan to rub off onto your food. While unappealing, they won't hurt you in such a small amount.