How to Clean and Care for Your Cookware and Bakeware
Words Veronica ChanWe know it can be tricky to navigate a kitchen sink full of dirty pots and pans. What’s the best way to clean glass, non-stick, and stainless steel?


Lucky for you, we make the cookware and bakeware, as well as the tools to clean them, so we have a few good cleaning tips.
Non-Stick Bakeware and Cookware
Non-stick surfaces should be handled with extra care since you don’t want to overheat or scratch them. We’re strongly against using aerosol cooking sprays on non-stick surfaces since it can lodge onto them, which creates a barrier that can become rancid and compromise the releasing properties of the non-stick surface.
To clean non-stick cookware, try using distilled white vinegar with lemon juice on low heat and let it simmer for up to half an hour to loosen up any deposits that have made their way onto the non-stick nooks and crannies. For non-stick bakeware, instead of using strong abrasive scrubs or sponges, which will scratch off the non-stick coating, opt for brushes with a nylon bristle, which are hard enough to brush off deposits but will not damage the surface. This will restore the pan so it’s as good as new.
- Non-Stick Bakeware
- Non-Stick Pro Cookware
- Suggested cleaning tools: Soap Dispensing Palm Scrub
Glass Bakeware
While glass bakeware is dishwasher-safe, if you encounter a stubborn stain, try using baking soda or dish soap with a dish brush. We don’t recommend harsh, abrasive cleaners like scouring pads on our glass bakeware. A nylon brush works really well, plus a little elbow grease goes a long way.
- Glass Bakeware
- Suggested cleaning tools: Dish Brush (Pro Tip: use the head of the brush to chip away any stubborn baked-on food) & Kitchen Appliance Cleaning Set
Stainless Steel Cookware
For stainless steel surfaces, try soaking your cookware in distilled white vinegar for about 10 minutes. This is great for removing proteins that are deposited from butter and oil. These stains can look brown, yellow, cloudy or even rainbow-colored. If you can’t remove the extra-stubborn stains, try creating a solution of aluminum powder (available at most hardware stores) and hot water, and repeating the soak-and-scrub method. Look for a powder like Bar Keeper’s Friend that contains oxalic acid, which is extremely useful in removing the most stubborn stains. Stainless steel surfaces actually clean very easily if dealt with immediately after cooking. If you cannot get to cleaning your pans right after you’re done cooking, try to add hot water and a little soap immediately after cooking.
- Stainless Steel Pro 8 Qt Covered Casserole
- Stainless Steel Pro 10 Inch Open Frypan
- Suggested cleaning tool: Soap Dispensing Dish Brush
Cast Iron Pans
Cast iron pans might seem tricky (there are a lot of rules and opinions about seasoning!) but for any cleaning jobs we suggest using a brush with short, stiff bristles. It removes cooked on foods without damaging the surface.
- Suggested cleaning tool: Cast Iron Pan Brush (Bonus: Use the scraper tip to get into corners and grooves).
Want to get the rest of your kitchen sparkly clean? Get our best advice on deep-cleaning your kitchen, organizing your cabinets, and cleaning your oven.
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12 Comments
I want to clean the bottoms of my three non-stick pans, including a Pro. The methods I normally use aren’t effective. Your recommendations?
Loved this information! Thank You! One piece of feedback: when I went to Johnson & Wales Culinary School 25 years ago, we learned that when soaking any pan containing cooked-on protein, i.e., dairy, eggs, meat, fish, etc. is best to soak in COLD water — something to do with molecular structure. I have found it to make a huge difference in cleaning the pan.
Is your Pro nonstick bakeware dishwasher safe?
Post is less than two years old and the images are broken. Which shouldn’t surprise me… half the image links are missing on your product pages too.
So how do you clean bakeware if it does get aerosol cooking spray on it? My roommate used my cookie sheet and sprayed it with oil. Unfortunately just using soap and an acrylic brush does not get the residue off, no matter how much we scrub. Any alternative tips or do I have to throw the sheet away? It is brand new, unfortunately, and was lovely until my roommate sprayed it.
Extremely helpful article. Thanks for sharing!
Great article, and thanks for taking the time to publish it; really opened my eyes for some new perspectives that I hadn’t thought of before.
Thanks for this informative article. I use many different pan in my kitcheng. Now I get lots of informative how to cook in a pan. Thanks for your informative article.
Thanks for the description of how to clean glass kitchenware! I just barely received some new kitchenware as a gift, and it is ceramic tempered like you mentioned. I wasn’t sure how to clean it, but now I not only know how to clean but also know that it’s a non-toxic piece
It really helped when you mentioned how it is recommended to use distilled vinegar with lemon juice to clean non-stick cookware. I can see that taking the time to understand how your item should be cleaned can help you enjoy them for longer and avoid having residues of metal in your food. My wife has been talking about how we need to update our bakeware, so I’m glad I found your post and will make sure to remember it as we try to take care of what we buy to cook.