Blog post has been reviewed by a Cleaning Technician
If you’ve used up all the elbow grease you can muster and still can’t get rid of those burnt marks that are caked onto the bottom of your pot or pan, don’t fret! We have you covered. Here’s how to clean the bottom of a burnt pan without all the fuss.
How Do You Get Burnt Stains Off?

When those remnants of dinner just won’t budge, try out these tricks from our cleaning experts:
Items That You Will Need to Clean:
- Dish soap
- Baking soda
- Water
- An old toothbrush or abrasive sponge
For Stainless Steel Pots or Pans

Grab a pot or pan that needs attention and splash a little bit of dish soap in the bottom, followed by a tablespoon of baking soda. Then add water to the pot, filling it until the pot is about 1/4 full. Put the pot on your stove burner and turn the heat on high. Give it time to simmer so the baking soda and soap can work their magic. After about 5 minutes of simmering, carefully use a towel to move the pot towards the sink and pour it all out. Be extra cautious when doing this so you don’t burn yourself.
Throw in another tablespoon of baking soda and scrub away any remaining burnt residue using a spare toothbrush or pot scrubber. Don’t worry, this should be much easier and faster to do. Once you’ve scrubbed away all of the burnt parts, rinse it well under the tap and enjoy the look of your spanking clean pot or pan.
For Copper Pots and Pans

If you have copper cookware, all you need to do is use coarse salt instead of baking soda. This will be gentler on the pot.
Other Options
You can also use baking soda and vinegar since they form an abrasive solution when combined. For this, you’ll need to mix vinegar and water and boil it to loosen up the burnt parts. Then dump it out and add baking soda to the pot. Just like the above method, you’ll need to scrub to remove stuck-on bits and then rinse.
Alka-Seltzer

Believe it or not, Alka-Seltzer is very effective at cleaning stubborn grime too. Burnt on food is just one item it can tackle. All you need to do is add six or so Alka-Seltzer tablets to some boiling water in the pan. It’ll only take a few seconds until you see all of that citric acid fizz and break down the burnt bits. Leave this for about an hour, and then use some hot water and dish soap to scrub away any leftover areas.
Dryer Sheets
Another strange but effective tool is dryer sheets. For some reason, they’re pretty powerful at cleaning dirty pots and pans. In fact, cleaning gurus often swear by this method. Just add hot water to your pot, throw in the dryer sheet, give it an hour and then scrub until clean. Just make sure to thoroughly rinse your pots or pans afterwards to ensure no residue or scent from the dryer sheets linger in the cookware.
How Do You Clean the Bottom of a Burnt Nonstick Pan?
If you have non-stick cookware, the method to clean burnt bits is very similar. The only thing you need to adjust is the item that you use to scrub it. To avoid scratching the bottom, use a softer sponge instead.
Why not leave the tedious clean-up to our team at UrbanMop? We offer a range of professional cleaning services through Ottawa at affordable rates. Book your cleaning today!