How To Remove Rust From Pots and Pans

Inside: Don't throw out your pots and pans because of some rust. You can easily get rust off pans. Check out how to remove rust from pots and pans.

A little while back my mom gave me a few of my grandma's old pie plates. I don't have very many, so it was nice to have a few extra.

Whenever I am making quiche I usually double the recipe and freeze one for later. Having a couple of extra meant that I could now triple the recipes.

However, after the first time or two of using them, I noticed they were rusting.

The rust wasn't real bad, they just had a couple of spots here and there that I needed to get rid of.

Getting rid of rust from pots and pans is pretty easy and only takes a few minutes of your time.

All you need is some baking soda and a sponge with a scrubber. If you are dealing with rust on some of your favorite baking pans check out how to remove rust from pots and pans to make them look like new again.

How To Remove Rust From Pans

To begin I want to say that the tips below work great to remove rust from most pots and pans.

I, however, really don't recommend using this on any non-stick pots or pans. If you have any rust that is building on a non-stick pan I would check with the manufacturer to see what they recommend. For any other kind of pan or pot follow the directions below.

Start by washing off the pot or pan. You don't need to use a bunch of soap, you just want it wet.

Then, shake the pan off getting off the excess water.

Don't dry it, you will want it slightly damp.

Next, take about a tablespoon of baking soda and sprinkle it over the rusted areas until the rust is well coated.

The dampness will help the baking soda stick to the pan. Let the pot or pan sit for about 30 minutes with the baking soda on it.

You can see below about how much baking soda to use.

The baking soda will help wick up and remove rust that is in the pan.

After 30 minutes you will want to lightly scrub the rusty surface.

Take a sponge with a scrubber and scrub at all of the rust spots using the heavy-duty scrubbing side. I usually use these sponges. They are just abrasive enough to remove the rust from the pan without being too abrasive.

The baking soda and the scrubber are both abrasive so it will remove the rust from both pots and pans.

Repeat If Necessary

You may need to rinse off the baking soda and reapply more baking soda once or twice if the rust is really bad.

For the small area on the pan in the pictures, I only needed to do it once, however, I have had cast iron that was really bad and I had to go through the steps multiple times.

You will want to make sure you have the rust 100 percent gone so it doesn't come back.

Prevent The Rust From Coming Back

Once you have all of the rust gone and it is down to metal you can rinse all of the baking soda off.

Now wash the pan as you normally would using soap and water. Once it is clean then towel dry it to make sure you get it 100 percent dry.

When it is dried you can now make sure it doesn't rust again by adding a small amount of cooking oil with a paper towel or rag to the pot or pan.  

Your pan should be rust free and stay rust-free with this simple tip.

I recommend oiling them about every 6 months to keep the rust from coming back. If it is a pan that I use daily I sometimes oil it about every 3 months.

It only takes a few minutes of my time but helps keep the rust away.

With these simple tips, you can easily remove rust from a pan and keep it away.

Don't throw those rusty pans away. Just get rid of the rust!

Need to remove rust from knifes or scissors? Check out this easy DIY rust remover. It works great!