<p>My son is living with 3 roommates in a NYC apt. Three of them went out and when they came back after several years the apt was very hot and they realized that a pot had been left on the stove by the 4th roommate with the burner still on. The water had boiled away and there are now dark marks on the inside of the pan. Miraculously, this did not cause a fire, but now my son wonders if the pot is safe to use. It is a metal pot, not coated with teflon. I said I thought it would be safe, that they should wash it, maybe boil one batch of water in it and it should be good to go. I also said they should put a sign by the stove reminding everyone to check burners. Now that I think of it, a sign on the door would be good too, so they will check the burners before leaving the apt. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I think they should get a whistling teapot to boil water in.</p>
<p>Several years? They’re lucky it didn’t burn the place down Personally, I like to forget about pots of hard-boiled eggs. Umm, smells good.</p>
<p>But I think, if it’s not non-stick, it should be okay.</p>
<p>I sure hope so, as I’ve been using one for years.</p>
<p>Oops, I meant several HOURS. Even so, I thought it sounded really dangerous. EK, This was like a pot for making pasta in, not heating water in for tea. I was wondering about suggesting a timer, but I don’t think that would help because the person could wander out of the apt before the timer went off. He’s apparently very forgetful and distractible.</p>
<p>I usually throw mine away once it’s burned.</p>
<p>I’ve done similar things and am still using the pots years later.</p>
<p>Why don’t you make a gift of an electric kettle? It will turn itself off when it is dry and you will sleep better!</p>
<p>Here’s one that is only 14.13 (plus shipping)
<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-K2070-Kettles-Electric/dp/B002KF1YI0/ref=sr_1_23?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1312231390&sr=1-23[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-K2070-Kettles-Electric/dp/B002KF1YI0/ref=sr_1_23?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1312231390&sr=1-23</a></p>
<p>mafool–H and I have one of those and love it, but you can’t use it for every cooking need, unfortunately.</p>
<p>Of course. Not having read very carefully, I thought that they were simply boiling water and left the pot on, but it seems not to have been the case.</p>
<p>I’m confused. If it’s not a teflon pot, why on earth would it be unsafe once the burnt material has been cleaned off? Burnt food is not particularly dangerous (lots of people actually eat charcoal to help with digestion, weird as that seems); burning food does not change the metal in any way.</p>
<p>The pot should be fine. But make sure they have a good smoke detectors with fresh batteries.</p>
<p>Oh, good call, GRITS80!!</p>
<p>I’m going to chime in and say THROW THE PAN OUT !! Non stick surfaces , if left unattended can exceed the heat that keeps the cookware safe for use…if it was left to burn, it is highly likely that it exceeded the temps and can now release toxins from the compounds used to create the non-stick surface. Please tell him to replace it</p>
<p>Lje, it was a regular pot, not a non-stick one. As long as they clean all metal oxides and such off, the pot should be OK to use. If it was stainless steel, Barkeeper’s Friend should do the cleaning trick.</p>
<p>I second the idea of a bright reminder poster on the door.</p>
<p>I just texted him and he said the smoke detector was ok because they had recently set it off. That’s reassuring.</p>
<p>Yeah, the first question I asked him was whether it was non-stick and it is just metal. I’ll pass along the Barkeeper’s Friend idea.</p>
<p>At a quick glance I thought it said “is burning pot safe to inhale” then I said hell yes </p>
<p>Sent from my HTC HD2 using CC App</p>
<p>That’s the only kind I’d consider inhaling!</p>
<p>Put some baking soda and water in it and boil a good long while. Then scrub. This should clean it sufficiently, and take out any burned taste.</p>