What's happening to the coating on the OUTSIDE of my roommate's non-stick cookware as we wash it?
My roommate has a set of non-stick pots and pans. They advertise themselves as dishwasher-safe, so we typically machine-wash them.
The exterior of the pans is not bare metal; it's covered in some kind of dark gray matte coating, as in the following picture:
However, we've noticed that the pans we use more often (and therefore wash more often) are starting to lose this coating:
The pans also give off a noticeable amount of dark gray dust if you scrub them too vigorously; I assume this is the coating coming off.
Questions:
- What is the exterior coating? Why is it there in the first place?
- Why is it coming off? Are the pans not as dishwasher-safe as they claim?
- Is there any reason to be concerned about this? Does it have any implications for food safety, or for using the pans?
A couple notes:
- The non-stick coating on the interior of the pans (which is Teflon or similar) isn't coming off - it's just fine, and the pans are still functionally non-stick.
- Pretty sure that brown splotch on the exterior of the second image is just grease spillage. The pans are aluminum, so shouldn't be rusting.
Best Answer
Are you SURE they were advertised as dishwasher safe? If so, contact the manufacturer because they were lying. It is, in fact, the bare metal you're looking at— those pans are made from aluminum which was anodized: an electrochemical process which changes the appearance of the metal. All aluminum pans including anodized ones that are not painted or otherwise coated will be damaged in the dishwasher because aluminum is sensitive to strongly alkaline chemicals, and dishwashing detergents are strongly alkaline. As long as the interiors have some sort of coating, such as Teflon or ceramic, the exteriors of the pans should work fine, but they'll never look quite as nice as they did. If the interiors of the pans aren't coated, you might want to consider seasoning them like you would a cast iron pan to avoid eating a bunch of aluminum that was softened in the dishwasher.
Pictures about "What's happening to the coating on the OUTSIDE of my roommate's non-stick cookware as we wash it?"
Is the nonstick coating toxic?
Generally speaking, Teflon is a safe and stable compound. However, at temperatures above 500\xb0F (260\xb0C), Teflon coatings on nonstick cookware start to break down, releasing toxic chemicals into the air ( 13 ). Inhaling these fumes may lead to polymer fume fever, also known as the Teflon flu.How do non stick pans lose their coating?
Too much heat on your nonstick frying pan can cause it to warp, and the nonstick coating to bubble and lose some if it's nonstick properties.When the non stick coating is coming off?
But what do you do when the non-stick pan coating starts coming off? The only solution to fixing non-stick pan coating coming off is to start seasoning your pan. There are also many ways to prevent the non-stick coating from coming off, such as avoiding metal utensils, cooking spray, and the dishwasher.What is the coating on non stick cookware?
Most nonstick pans are coated with polytetrafluoroethylene, also known as Teflon.Rnbstylerz \u0026 AREES - WHAT
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