how do i revive my bakeware?

Question

i have some metal cake pans, cookie sheets, and pie pans that have seen better days. some are getting rusty. i was wondering if anyone knows how to remove the rust or do i just throw them out and put them on my holiday wish list?

Answer 1

I don't know the extent of the grime/rust on these pans, but if money isn't an issue, save yourself the time and trouble and buy new pans. If the damage isn't too great and you want to try to save the pans, you can try to clean them with oven cleaner…but DO NOT leave it on very long, or use it on nonstick pans...it may cause discoloration. Steel wool may help get rid of the grime and some of the rust, but it will also scratch your pans. Again, not good if these pans are nonstick. I recently ran into this problem too when I moved into a new house. The oven drip pans and broiler pans were covered in grime and rust. I sucessfully cleaned the gunk off by using oven cleaner and a brillo pad, however the rust was so bad that there is no way it was coming off. I basically had to replace all the pans. I will be sure to clean my new pans properly each time they get dirty that way the grime doesn't build up on them.