How To Tuesday :: How to Remove Stains from Enameled Cookware
Find out how to remove stains from enameled cookware with easy, all natural steps! No harsh chemicals here, just a little elbow grease is all you need!
Yesterday’s Hawaiian Kalua Pork basically did a number on my dutch oven… Did you see it? Yeah, go see what 6 hours of slow roasting can do, besides create an epically delicious roast Pumbaa… I’ll be here when you get back. *Insert elevator music* Okay, we’re back! So, after six smokey, delicious, hours of roasting, my dutch oven went through the ringer and looked like there was no return.
But there was. And if you’re worried you can’t resuscitate your enameled cookware, you can! I’m not for using chemicals or anything funky – it can be done with natural cleaners you have in your kitchen cupboards already. Really!
Step one is washing your pan like you traditionally would to remove the big stuff, with regular old sponge and dish soap. After it’s all done, there may still likely be some gunky stuck to several bits still left, like there was on the lid of my dutch oven.
Next, I tackled it with my trusty Magic Eraser. Have you tried these? I swear they remove just about everything! Soak them in water as recommended and scrub.
Before. 
During.
And after!! And that’s just the lid. But the rest of the dutch oven was another story. So I went to Def Con 4. Or is that Def Con 1? We’re just taking it to the next step friends. The next step required you going to your kitchen cupboard and grabbing your box of baking soda and creating a one to one paste of baking soda and water.
Take a paper towel or two and wad them up, and gently scrub the paste into the stains around your enamelware. The stains will gently start to turn the baking soda brown and come right off. It’s a miracle!
You can see the difference here on the left and right at the rim of the dutch oven, and those brown bits of baking soda at the bottom of the pan.
I even tackled the bottom of my dutch oven, and you can see the difference it made below. Now, it didn’t remove all of the patina, I’ve had this dutch oven for four years now and done plenty of roasting. But you know, it adds character and shows how well loved this dutch oven is.
Your dutch oven isn’t ruined when it’s stained, it’s just aged to perfection. Just show it a little extra love and it will last you a lifetime!
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Ok, how did you know I’ve stained two of my most favorite enameled cast iron dishes lately? I keep staining them with burned milk (the worst!) thanks for the baking soda tip! And I can’t wait to try the magic eraser!
Magic erasers are my best friend! I am to ally trying this and the baking soda trick!
This is great, Megan! Mine are a mess. So I’m totally going to go spiff them right up now. I had no idea the magic eraser could be used on them. Brilliant!!
2 tablespoons of Oxiclean dissolved in water (almost to the top), bring to boil and then summer for one hour. Clean as a whistle!
Oh my goodness… thank you Jennifer for this awesome tip. I just purchased some cast iron enamel cookware, but haven’t used it yet. I was getting totally nervous when I seen pictures of how it can stain. I use Oxy clean all the time for things but I never thought about using it for this. Thanks so much, God Bless!
I just got a new enameled pot and I’m so nervous to scuff it up! Thanks so much for the tips, Megan. Saving these for later!
Great tips! Never thought of using magic erasers on a pot, and I’ve never heard of the baking soda tip. Thanks for sharing!
Enamel scares me. I’m afraid I’m going to ruin it. I’ve used baking soda on the yucky gas grill, but I never thought to try it on enamel. Thank you, thank you, Megan!
yep, this trick works awesome on enamel ware and if you add a bit of kosher salt to the paste it does a great job on the little rusty bits on cast iron pans.
GENIUS! I saw your pot on monday and wondered how you’d save it. Thanks for providing the tips!!
This is so helpful!! I always wonder how to get some of that stuff off, that magic eraser really is magic isn’t it? And Baking Soda!! It is pretty magical itself. Great post.
My dutch oven looks awful from a pulled pork I made two weeks ago….. so THANK YOU for this!
Thank you so much for this, my dutch oven, ( made me laugh as I am dutch too) needed a scrub badly! I did not want to use harsh chemicals so went and bought the white sponge today and the baking powder was in my cupboard and had a go, spotless now and dang the old spots, they will come back when winter arrives here but its very hot at the moment, thank goodness I live in Auckland between two bodies of water so nice and cool wee wind!
Baking soda works. And if you don’t have it, try rubbing lemon peels on the cookware and the stains should fall off.
BANKING SODA DOES not WORK
I’m sorry you did not get the results you were hoping for from this. Bar Keeper’s Friend may work as well. I opt for not using chemical based solutions on my cast iron, but that is a
personal preference, so my results may differ from a chemical based cleaner. Good luck!
I use a diluted bath of Clorox. Cleans it perfectly too. So, how to clean the outside bottom of the enamelware?
I learned the hard way on a cast iron enameled pan from Kohl’s (so glad it wasn’t an expensive one!) to never use bleach to get out tomato based stains and whatnot from my pot. Any kind of bleach will etch your finish in your pot and wear away at the enamel inside. I even diluted it. Ruined the finish in the pan. 🙁
I used oven cleaner, was that ok? brand new pot
cast iron with enamel finish.
Ok I never really get all the stains out , and I may have at some point even used something abrasive, the bottom of my dutch oven is not really Shiney any more…have I ruined it ? Can I still use it like that?
Hi Cathy, you should still be able to use it. Porcelain is quite resiliant. Just keep an eye out for chipping. If it is chipping and flaking, it’s best to buy a new one.
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I has severly stained pot. Tried the baking soda method to no avail.
stumbled across this and t worked in 30 minutes, no scrubbing.
Fill the bottom with Zep Mold stain and Mildew stain Remover, available from home depot and other home improvement stores.
Within 30 minutes, complete stain was gone. just rinsed and pot like new!
Try it!
Thanks, Rob! I’ll keep that in mind for next time!
you must be an advertiser for Zep mold stain, because Zep mold stain and mildew stain remover did NOT REMOVE ALL THE STAIN, MINIMAL AT BEST
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Thank you! I have been worried about my Dutch oven al day. I burned a chicken in it yesterday and after soaking it all night, it was full of burn stains. First I boiled water in it and added 3 tbsp of baking soda. Then I scrapped the burned parts with a plastic spoon and the burnt part came right off but the bottom was still covered with a brown stain. Next I tried a baking soda and hydrogen peroxide paste. It removed about 70% but still not perfect. Finally I bit the bullet tried a bleach bath. It worked for the inside but I don’t have anything big enough to soak the whole thing in. So I found your sight and tried my magic eraser and all of the blackened grossness is gone! Thank you!
Lisa, I’m SO pleased that it helped rescue your cast iron!! Those magic erasers are miracle workers!
I am amazed my cast iron enamel pan was so black from frying meat in it and I was devastated because I thought I ruined it and I found this website and use the baking powder water mixture and it is just like brand-new now. Thank you
I love this idea with the magic eraser! Have had one for years and never thought to use it on my enamel pots! Rushes off to try it out!
Thanks, AJ!! I hope you like these tips and tricks, and that the magic eraser works for you, too!
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Isn’t the Magic eraser a chemical?
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Bar Keeper’s Friend works much better!!!
Yes, it works great. I chose to use something more natural for this. But again, it’s personal preference.
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I feel like I’ve seen so many cleaning hacks where the answer is, “just use a little baking soda” that inevitably end up not working. I’m glad I ignored my skepticism on this one, because baking soda totally worked! Me and my enamelware thank you