I think I ruined my hard anodized cooking set?

Question

Put a question on here a while back regarding dish washing cast iron cookware. Anyways, it turns out it is actually hard-anodized cookware. We ran 4 pieces through the dishwasher and they came out with a gray flaky film on them. We received these pans as a wedding present and did not know that you could not dishwash them. They appear to be bleeding color everywhere now when combined w/ water. My question is, is should I throw these pots away or is it still safe to cook in them? The insides seem fine still, but I read something about the flaking film being toxic.

Answer 1

Call a premium housewares store like Williams-Sonoma.
They will KNOW and not just offer an 'expert opinion'!
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/cust/storelocator.cfm?flash=on&cm_ref=http%3A//www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dwilliams+sonoma%26ie%3Dutf-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26aq%3Dt%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial%26client%3Dfirefox-a

Answer 2

I've read a lot of people asking similar questions. Remember -- in order to ruin cookware you almost have to drop it off of the Empire State Building or melt it in a kiln.

No! It isn't ruined! Use SOS or a steel pad with hot water and give it a good harsh wash. Rinse with HOT water. Dry on the stove top. Lightly oil it inside and out. Bake in a 250-300 degree oven for 1/2 hour or 45 minutes or so. You should have it back. It will still work well. Only teflon and non-stick cookware actually is ruined. That and the severly cheap stuff that gets holes.

Answer 3

Anodized cook ware is actually aluminum. I'll bet your Anodized cookware was touching some stainless steel cookware. Which causes a reaction when washed in a dishwasher.

Get some SOS pads and scour the the area that looks flaky. It probably won't change the color back to shiny but it will remove the flakiness. Then don't put back in the dishwasher. Or be sure to not let it touch stainless when you wash it in the dishwasher.

Answer 4

First, I'm sorry to hear your news. That cookware is terribly expensive, and if it was mine, I'd be crying over it.

Here's what you need to do. Find a web-site for the manufacturer of your cookware, and see if their site includes any information (on a FAQ page) that answers your question. If not, contact them by telephone (not email) and tell them what you did, and ask if they're now kaput. If they say they're history, ask if they'll replace them, because the dishwashing instructions weren't clearly and visibly stated on the packaging. Hey, they might tell you "no" ... but, it doesn't hurt you to ask.