Is This Safe? How Do I Clean It?

[Christy T.]

I use this piece a lot, almost every day. I always use those little covers that go over the handles to keep from burning my hands, but today the cover slipped, and I got shiny, silvery stuff from the handle on my finger. Any time I touch the handle it gets on my hands, whether it's cold or warm, but especially when it's warm. I don't know what it is. It does not behave like paint. It gets all over. Any helpful ideas?

If anyone has any thoughts as to manufacturer or age, that would be nice, too.

 

[Doug D.]

Unless marked, trying to ID the maker of older bottom-gated pieces is next to impossible. Could the grey residue be from the inside of the handle cover? I'm going to assume it wasn't there before you started using the cover.

 

[Christy T.]

Unless marked, trying to ID the maker of older bottom-gated pieces is next to impossible. Could the grey residue be from the inside of the handle cover? I'm going to assume it wasn't there before you started using the cover.

Actually, it was there before I put the cover over it. I thought it was just an area that had not been seasoned. Then I didn't think about it again until today when the cover slipped. It's shiny silver and sort of slick.

 

[Christy T.]

OK I seem to have solved the mystery. That pan had the silver stuff on its handle when I bought it.

I put an insulating sleeve on another pan that had a totally black handle, and this morning when I took the sleeve off, it was starting to develop the same silver stuff on its handle. The sleeve I used has a silver lining. So the most likely scenario is that the person who used the pan before I bought it used the same kind, or maybe a similar, type of sleeve. I'm going to look for a different type of sleeve because there's no telling if it's OK to have that smeary silver colored stuff on cooking surfaces. I don't want to chance getting it on my food. The skillets will get scrubbed, too.

 

[LVaughn]

Thanks for the update.