One of the best things about 360 Cookware stainless steel pots and pans is that they have a non-toxic cooking surface. Unlike raw aluminum cookware or brands that have nonstick coatings that can release harmful chemicals, our stainless steel cooking surface will keep your food free from any contaminants.
Cleaning is also usually a breeze, using one of these methods for removing even burnt-on food. Using the dishwasher for cleaning your stainless steel pots and pans isn’t generally recommended, and depending on the detergent that you use, it may cause some damage to your 360 Cookware.
Aluminum and Alkalinity
Each 360 Cookware piece is 3-ply, with a middle layer of aluminum sandwiched between two layers of surgical-grade stainless steel. While aluminum is much better at distributing heat evenly, it’s a relatively soft metal that can leach into food as it cooks. With our 3-ply construction, you get the best of both worlds: excellent heat conductivity and a safe, non-toxic cooking surface.
However, the lip of the cooking vessel is not sealed, so the aluminum layer is exposed just on the rim, where it won’t come into contact with the food. Ordinarily, this is not a problem, but certain dishwashing detergents may cause an issue. Let’s start by looking at the chemical components of detergent.
How Detergents Work
The standard dishwashing detergent is composed of surfactants, enzymes, and cleaning agents such as carbonates and hydroxides. Surfactants act to break down the surface of food particles or stains to enable the other components to do their job. Enzymes are natural proteins that break down both proteins and starches, while alkaline cleaning agents such as bleach, ammonia, or sodium hydroxide break down grease. Once these three have done their job, everything should be easily washed away by the spray in the dishwasher, leaving behind gleaming, spotless dishes.
That sounds great, doesn’t it? What could possibly go wrong? Well, unfortunately, some dishwasher brands are high alkaline, and that’s bad news for aluminum, which is prone to corrosion in alkaline environments. This can lead to sharp rims as the aluminum edge is eaten away. This can be exacerbated even further by chlorination in municipal water supplies, as well as high dishwasher temperatures.
Old-Fashioned Hand-Washing Wins
For these reasons, using the dishwasher for cleaning your 360 Cookware is not recommended and can, in fact, void the warranty. The good news is, of course, that handwashing is the best way to clean 360 Cookware and Bakeware. Whether you can wipe it clean with a damp cloth and mild detergent, use a high quality stainless steel cleaner, or need to give it a bit of a soak before using a cleanser such as baking soda paste to get rid of stubborn bits of food, you should have no trouble restoring your quality stainless steel cookware to its original gleaming condition!
