Not too long ago, I visited my sister’s house. Normally, everything is in almost compulsive order. On this day, however, a 5 quart stainless steel pot sat out of place near the kitchen sink. A quick peek revealed the scorch marks left after a mishap with her home made oatmeal. She tried for 3 days to scrub the pot clean and was ready to get rid of it completely.Before discarding these items, consider the stain and the pot. For this burned on mess of milk and carbohydrates, pour in enough lemon juice to cover the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle a light coating of salt and let sit overnight. In the morning, take a damp sponge or cloth and scrub lemon/salt mixture around stain. It should lift almost instantly.
For greasy stains and messes, try scrubbing with salt alone. For tougher stains, pour about 1 cup of vinegar into the pot. Fill the rest with water (for big pots, add another half to full cup of vinegar) and boil for 5 minutes. Then scrub with sponge and salt.
In place of a scrubber sponge, you can use a bit of crumbled aluminum foil. If you have old panty hose to recycle, you can cut them and tie around a regular sponge or cloth and use as a scrubber.
Pots that have reached their limits as cookware can easily be recycled. They make excellent planters, especially for seed starting. They can even be painted, etched with sand, or dented to add character to a patio garden. Pot tops can be used as bird feeders or baths.
