Is it possible to wash pans in the dishwasher or have to buy new ones?

You can wash the pans in the dishwasher or not, depending on the material of the kitchen utensils. If the product is cast from stainless steel or has a ceramic, titanium, enamel coating, then you can safely use a dishwasher. With such pans, nothing will happen during the washing process. But as for aluminum, cast iron and especially the popular Teflon, here everything is much more complicated. If you understand the operating principle of the dishwasher, it becomes clear that after several washing cycles in the device, such kitchen utensils will become unusable.

How does a dishwasher remove dirt?

After the device is turned on, cold water under pressure fills a special container located in the lower chamber. When the required level is reached, the water supply automatically stops. Then the heater heats the water to a previously set temperature.

The circulation pump is activated, which pumps hot water to the sprinklers. Under strong pressure and at a high speed, jets of water with detergent are fed in different directions and, hitting the dishes, wash away the dirt.

To prevent food particles from settling on the dishes again, the filter works. When the washing cycle is completed, dirty water is drained by a pump, clean water is supplied. Rinsing takes place in several stages.

The final stage is drying. It can be condensation (moisture evaporates from the surface of the dishes) or in the “turbo” mode (blowing with hot air).

Detergents, jets of water that are supplied under pressure, and the high temperature of washing or drying leads to deformation of some materials:

• aluminum;
• cast iron;
• Teflon coating.

What happens to aluminum, cast iron and teflon?

If the frying pan is made of aluminum and the material is not anodized, then the detergent leads to corrosion, oxidation, corrosion, and the formation of a dark coating. Alkalis can cause white spots that cannot be washed off. The only option is to scrape away the coating. But with this, the user also harms the coating, which leads to food sticking.

Cast-iron frying pans are characterized by increased strength and serve with care for many years. However, this metal is porous and absorbs fats during operation. Strong detergents when washing in a car not only remove the fat layer, which provides protection against food burning, but also lead to spoilage of cast iron:

• reduce the strength of the material;
• provoke the formation of rust.

As for the common Teflon coating, harsh chemicals and high drying temperatures lead to damage.

Teflon contains perfluorooctanoic acid. This substance is toxic, carcinogenic. If the coating is damaged, it enters the food. Therefore, numerous scratches in such a pan should be the reason for replacing the product with a new one.

If the pan is made of aluminum, cast iron or has a Teflon coating, but the manufacturer still indicated that it can be washed in a dishwasher, it is still better to do it by hand. Even gentle operating modes of the device reduce the service life of such pans. As for ceramic, enamel, titanium coatings or stainless steel products, they can be safely washed in a dishwasher.