How To Clean A Teapot That Has Been Burnt Dry

Tried and true, a good teapot can be hard to find. It needs to bring the water to a beautiful boil and linger there before hissing and singing its discomfort and getting burned on the stove top. Even though a teapot may have met its match with a high burner over a long period of time, it can still be saved by using a few tried and true cleaning tools and applications to get it back to work. There are a few ways to fix a teapot that has bits of burned batches on the inside or outside of its lovely structure.

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If you don't think water can burn, then you haven't seen a teapot lose its cool after a long stretch on a stove top. Although they may seem to take forever to get to a good boil, a teapot can become overheated if left too long on a hot burner. Teapots seem like durable workhorses when in fact they are designed to only heat water and hold that temperature for a specific duration for the teapot owner to enjoy a warm cup of tea, coffee or other warm beverage that simply requires hot water. Once a tea pot has reached its maximum temperature, it can lose its structural integrity.

When the insides of a favored teapot are burnt up from too much direct heat, there are a few factors about the pot to ponder when considering whether or not to save it or chuck the poor thing. A good teapot has a wonderful structure. It can withstand direct heat without melting. Once scorched or burnt, a teapot may lose its structural integrity, so it's important to remember the basics of aluminum teapot safety. Check that it can withstand a good washing and can be filled with hot water before setting it back on a burner once it has been thoroughly cleaned. A burned stainless steel pot is safe to use if the bottom is solid and the spout straight and not warped.

There are a few ways to thoroughly clean a burned tea kettle. Often a mild soap and sponge scrubbing will lift away caked ash and burnt markings. If the burnt areas are few and far between and don't seem to in any way affect the structure of the pot, a dryer sheet can rub away charred marks from an otherwise useful teapot. Aluminum pots can take a more aggressive scrubbing with a nylon sponge. A mix of vinegar, lemon juice and cream of tartar will also help scrub away difficult stains caused by excessive heat.