powder cleaner & polish

No mas sartenes y cacerolas con costras de cochambre en mi cocina

I have been using the powder version of Bar Keeper's Friend for YEARS. It works because of oxalic acid. The guy who put it on the market discovered the oxalic acid connection by observing that when he cooked rhubarb in a metal pan, the inside of the pan ended up shinier. He wondered why, did the research, and discovered that it was oxalic acid that did the magic via a chemical reaction that needed water to activate. SOOOO the powder has to be WET before the product does its magic. I have rehabilitated vintage French (and American) pans and made them look almost new. (I love certain French recipes and sometimes pretend I am a chef). I polished up vintage brass candlesticks from France. I clean frying pans with burned-on food in minutes. I cleaned up a vintage clawfoot bathtub. If something is REALLY dirty, do one layer, rinse well, reapply Bar Keeper and water, and scrub and rinse again. When I have really burned some stuff on a frying pan, I do an initial wipe with some paper towels (don't burn yourself on hot pan, but don't wait too long), put some water in the bottom of the pan, generously pour on some Bar Keeper, and use a non-scratching spatula to take off the top layer. Rinse. Repeat. It doesn't take that long if you don't let the burned stuff dry on the pan. For mildew, however, your magic solution is household vinegar (or lemon juice). Neither mildew nor its spores are killed by bleach. Bleach just bleaches out the color. But household vinegar (or lemon juice) kills mildew AND its spores. The photos contain the big copper Mauviel pan and some vintage copper cookware I ordered from France that I "Bar Keepered" and now use.

I just bought a condo last year with all new stainless steel appliances. They looked absolutely beautiful and modern when I moved in, but after a few months started to look dirty and old because of all of the finger prints and liquids that had dripped down them (ie wet dishes in the dishwasher or the Brita spilling a bit when put in the fridge). I was starting to get a little grossed out by how my appliances had started to look and wasn't sure how well this product would work. I can say that this was so easy to use, really quick to apply and clean up, and now my appliances look almost better than they did on the day I moved in. There was even some brown spots starting to show through my dishwasher (rust maybe??) and this cleaner took them right off. I'm so glad I bought the 4 pack because I will be cleaning my stainless steel appliances on a very regular basis now!

The best cleanser ever, does more than any other cleanser: It removes burn stains from my non-stick Scanpan cookware without scratching the surface. In fact, Scanpan rep. recommended that I use it before filing a claim to have my frying pan replaced. I wet the surface to be cleaned, I sprinkle enough Bar Keeper's Friend (BKF) to make a paste. Using my gloved hand, I rub this paste on surface in circular motions....and the paste gradually assumes the brown hue of the burn stains, becoming browner and browner. For some spots, i have to repeat the process. And it works! BKF cleans and shines all metals,giving them a fresh look. You don't have to use much either. Those are the reasons for which I ordered the pack of 4. Highly recommended! And get the 4 pack, it's a lot cheaper.

The product is amazing. The packaging was terrible, tape was attached to the bottles causing the paper to come off the bottle and one lid was taped on.