CAUTION! Caring for your Pyrex is pretty
simple. As glass, it is pretty much non-stick, so washing is easy.
However, occasionally food will get stuck on the surface, or some other item will
leave marks or scratches. Here are some things you can do:
For baked on food:
For utensil marks or stains on the white inside surface:
For marks or stains on the colored surfaces:
And now, some words for the eBay sellers of Pyrex.
NEVER wash your colored Pyrex in the dishwasher! Almost all of the automatic
dishwasher detergents are abrasive. They will wear the color off your Pyrex,
and this will begin to be visible even after only a few washings. ALWAYS
hand-wash your Pyrex. This will keep it bright and shiny for many years.
Here's an example of Pyrex washed in the dishwasher:
Soak your Pyrex in warm, soapy water for large areas of baked-on food.
Use a nylon spatula to scrape the food off. For smaller spots of baked-on food,
soak in warm water with baking soda added. Use a nylon scrubber to remove
hardened food. Or use a wet bug sponge (sponge with a nylon net over it)
with baking soda on it, as though you were using Comet or another scouring
powder. Do not use abrasive cleansers (Comet, Bon Ami, etc), as they will
leave scratches in the glass which will trap and hold more food the next time you
use your Pyrex. If this doesn't work, try treating as if for stains, below.
The best cleaner I've found for this is called
Zud. Zud is not an abrasive cleanser, it's a bleach, and a very powerful
one. YOU SHOULD NOT USE IT ON THE COLORED SURFACES - it will dull or remove
the color. If there is ANY doubt, try it on an inconspicuous place first -
like on or near the base. That way, you can tell if it will do what you want
without damaging your Pyrex. Zud will even remove those impossible marks made
by spoons and other metallic objects. (It will also remove spoon marks from
inside your favorite coffee mugs.)
If you can't find Zud locally in your grocery store, try a large, independent hardware
store. Ask them to order it for you. Or, you can order it online
here. Or look for it on
Amazon.com.
Use toothpaste, full strength, straight from the tube. Put a little on a
paper towel and rub the mark gently. Be careful - toothpaste IS an abrasive,
and could take off the color if you're not careful. NEVER use this on the
gold paint. It will, at the very least, dull the gold - and probably remove
it.
A viewer has sent another suggestion: "I have found that a lot of
"baked-on goo" can be removed, safely, by spraying the area with oven cleaner
and letting it sit for a few minutes. So far, knock on wood, it hasn't damaged
the surface or colors and it works about 75% of the time."
Please note that I have not personally tried this, and she didn't mention the brand
of oven cleaner that she uses. So please, proceed with caution.
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I've seen a lot of Pyrex on eBay. I've even bought some, myself. One
of my very pet peeves is people who sell soiled items on eBay. You know who
you are. I've received Pyrex from eBay sellers that still had old food stuck
in it! My advice is, if you wouldn't buy it in that condition to use in your
own kitchen, don't expect others to be thrilled to find out you're dumping it on
them.
I especially don't like to see in the description "I'll leave cleaning this up to
the buyer". That's an insult to your customers. It says you're too lazy
to clean it up and present quality merchandise for them to buy.
Buyers, when you see an auction like that, contact the seller (there's a link
on every auction page) and let them know how you feel about it. And then don't
buy. Another piece like that will be along sooner or later, and probably from
a more reputable seller. Let's get the bad sellers to clean up their act.
