Dishwasher Safe?

Quoted message said:

Does anybody have an opinion of whether it is OK to put bakelite in the dishwasher? I have an
antique coffee pot that I use as my everyday coffee maker, and it has a bakelite handle. Will the
detergent take the shine off the bakelite or otherwise harm it?

Why would you even risk it?

nancy

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Quoted message said:

Does anybody have an opinion of whether it is OK to put bakelite in the dishwasher? I have an
antique coffee pot that I use as my everyday coffee maker, and it has a bakelite handle. Will the
detergent take the shine off the bakelite or otherwise harm it?

A quick Google search found this: veryartique.combakelite.htmOpen ↗ To care for your Bakelite,
always wash Bakelite by hand with soap and water, never in the dishwasher. The dishwasher can cloud
the plastic and loosen joints. Exposure to the sun or other heat sources can make Bakelite brittle.
Sunlight may also make the color fade. It's best to store your bakelite utensils in a drawer with
dividers in a cool room.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Does anybody have an opinion of whether it is OK to put bakelite in the dishwasher? I have an
antique coffee pot that I use as my everyday coffee maker, and it has a bakelite handle. Will the
detergent take the shine off the bakelite or otherwise harm it?

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

A dishwasher will never touch my bakelite. Warm water and mild dish soap will keep the bakelite
pretty for many years to come. Bakelite will hold up to extreme heat, think black part of light
fixtures...but they certainly don't hold the shine that a well cared for bakelite handle does. Over
time the heat and harsh detergents from the dishwasher will remove the sheen, lossen connective
pieces and cause the bakelite to become brittle.

Bakelite lovers learn to identify bakelite by smell, feel, don't go for the damaging and inaccurate
scubbing bubbles test, or worse the hot pin test. I couldn't begin to tell you how many bakelite
pieces I've passed by because someone tested them with bubbles and lucite pieces that someone melted
with a hot pin test.

Jessica

in article [email hidden], [email hidden] at
[email hidden] wrote on 2/3/04 7:57 PM:

Quoted message said:

Does anybody have an opinion of whether it is OK to put bakelite in the dishwasher? I have an
antique coffee pot that I use as my everyday coffee maker, and it has a bakelite handle. Will the
detergent take the shine off the bakelite or otherwise harm it?

You just don't like handwashing cooking utensils, is that it??? No, I would not put Bakelite in the
dishwasher any more than I would put Calphalon pots and pans in the dishwasher, for the same reason.

How hard is it to wash out a coffee pot?????

Rinse it in hot water, swish the inside with a soapy sponge, rinse it again in hot water..Done! It
takes as long to do it as it does to describe it, and you don't have to worry about the beautiful
Bakelight handle getting ruined.

I don't understand something, maybe you can explain: You spend time and money (even if it's not a
lot of money, it's still money) buying things you like, quality objects like Calphalon and wonderful
antique coffee pots with Bakelite handles...

And then you want to risk ruining them by putting them in the dishwasher.

WHY?????

The fact that you're asking here means you have an idea that it might get ruined. Why would
you risk it?

No matter how little or how much money something costs me, especially if it's something old or
relatively rare (by today's standards), if it's something I like, I'm going to take care of it. And
that means not putting antique Bakelite (or china, or anodized pots) in the dishwasher! If it's
something you like, and it's important to you, it's worth hand-washing.

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Quoted message said:

Does anybody have an opinion of whether it is OK to put bakelite in the dishwasher? I have an
antique coffee pot that I use as my everyday coffee maker, and it has a bakelite handle. Will the
detergent take the shine off the bakelite or otherwise harm it?

Don't do it. Over time it will virgually destroy the bakelite. First the shine will go and then the
finish will become granular. This will be followed by pitting, etc.

Wayne

You are only going to find out by taking a risk as no one can give you definite advice on such an
old product, so why risk it?

Regards, Emrys Davies.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Does anybody have an opinion of whether it is OK to put bakelite in

the

Quoted message said:

dishwasher? I have an antique coffee pot that I use as my everyday

coffee

Quoted message said:

maker, and it has a bakelite handle. Will the detergent take the

shine

Quoted message said:

off the bakelite or otherwise harm it?

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

In rec.food.cooking said:

Why would you even risk it?

I'd rather not risk it, so that's why I'm asking first.

But its not a terribly valuable pot. It's a narrow-neck Silex vacuum pot, made in 1938. They are
available regularly on eBay.

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

Quoted message said:

Does anybody have an opinion of whether it is OK to put bakelite in the dishwasher? I have an
antique coffee pot that I use as my everyday coffee maker, and it has a bakelite handle. Will the
detergent take the shine off the bakelite or otherwise harm it?

Probably, plus you might find that other items in the dish washer could bang against the coffee pot
and mar its surface.

In rec.food.cooking said:

You just don't like handwashing cooking utensils, is that it???

I find it easiest to give things a quick rinse and then stack them in the dishwasher.

Quoted message said:

No, I would not put Bakelite in the dishwasher any more than I would put Calphalon pots and pans
in the dishwasher, for the same reason.

Quoted message said:

How hard is it to wash out a coffee pot?????

Quoted message said:

Rinse it in hot water, swish the inside with a soapy sponge, rinse it again in hot water..Done! It
takes as long to do it as it does to describe it, and you don't have to worry about the beautiful
Bakelight handle getting ruined.

The opening is less than 1 inch, so swishing the inside with a soapy sponge is pretty much out of
the question. I sometimes use a bottle brush.

Quoted message said:

I don't understand something, maybe you can explain: You spend time and money (even if it's not a
lot of money, it's still money) buying things you like, quality objects like Calphalon and
wonderful antique coffee pots with Bakelite handles...

Quoted message said:

And then you want to risk ruining them by putting them in the dishwasher.

I don't want to risk ruining them, moron. That's why I ask for advice before I do it. If I were to
do it WITHOUT asking, then I'd be taking a risk.

Logic was never your forte, eh?

Quoted message said:

WHY?????

Quoted message said:

The fact that you're asking here means you have an idea that it might get ruined. Why would you
risk it?

Again, since I have an idea that it might get ruined, I ask BEFORE I take any risk. Therefore, I DO
NOT risk it. Can you follow that?

Quoted message said:

No matter how little or how much money something costs me, especially if it's something old or
relatively rare (by today's standards), if it's something I like, I'm going to take care of it.

Good for you. And that's why I ask before I just throw it in the dishwasher - because I take care of
things too.

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

In rec.food.cooking said:

You are only going to find out by taking a risk as no one can give you definite advice on such an
old product, so why risk it?

Because bakelite is not so rare. And its not all that old - it is from 1938. Plenty of living people
remeber them from their youth. And I seem to have gotten good advice from people who know and love
bakelite, so I'm satisfied with both my question and the responses I got.

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

In rec.food.cooking said:

Probably, plus you might find that other items in the dish washer could bang against the coffee
pot and mar its surface.

The consensus of the cognoscenti is that the diswsher will take the shine off the bakelite, or
worse. But as far as marring the surface, this pot is made of THICK borosilicate glass. It is
unlikely to get marred by anything short of a diamond.

One reason I like it (other than the fact that it makes great coffee, and other than the fact that
it is so old, and other than the fact that it looks very funky in a frumpy sort of way) is that it
is so strong. People complain that their new $50 vacuum pots break when they barely tap them against
the side of the sink. This one has been dropped onto a hardwood floor from counter height without
incident. I have another Silex from the late 1940's, and it is made of MUCH thinner glass. The
modern ones are paper-thin in comparison.

I like nice old stuff much more than cheezy new stuff. In the 1930's, if you wanted somebody to buy
your wares, they needed to be built like a tank. Currently, I'm in the market for a toaster that
looks like a streamlined diesel locomotive 🙂

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

In rec.food.cooking said:

Why would you even risk it?

I'd rather not risk it, so that's why I'm asking first.

But its not a terribly valuable pot. It's a narrow-neck Silex vacuum pot, made in 1938. They are
available regularly on eBay.

I've been watching this with interest. JAYzuzz, you sure took heat for a simple question. "-) Maybe
try throwing a handful of rice in the pot with water and some vinegar and swirl it around a bit. The
rice will act to scour the inside and vinegar will cut the oils. Rinse with plain water a couple
times. HTH.
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> updated 1-31-04 A good friend will come and bail you out of jail; a
true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn,that was fun!"

Quoted message said:

In rec.food.cooking said:

Probably, plus you might find that other items in the dish washer could bang against the coffee
pot and mar its surface.

The consensus of the cognoscenti is that the diswsher will take the shine off the bakelite, or
worse. But as far as marring the surface, this pot is made of THICK borosilicate glass. It is
unlikely to get marred by anything short of a diamond.

One reason I like it (other than the fact that it makes great coffee, and other than the fact that
it is so old, and other than the fact that it looks very funky in a frumpy sort of way) is that it
is so strong. People complain that their new $50 vacuum pots break when they barely tap them
against the side of the sink. This one has been dropped onto a hardwood floor from counter height
without incident. I have another Silex from the late 1940's, and it is made of MUCH thinner glass.
The modern ones are paper-thin in comparison.

I like nice old stuff much more than cheezy new stuff. In the 1930's, if you wanted somebody to
buy your wares, they needed to be built like a tank. Currently, I'm in the market for a toaster
that looks like a streamlined diesel locomotive 🙂

Why do you want to dishwasher it? If you're trying to get coffee stains off, use oven cleaner on
the glass and keep it off the bakelite. I use lye to clean my stainless steel thermos a couple of
times a year -- lye or washing soda are the only things that will remove the coffee stains; bleach
doesn't work.

HTH, Bob

In rec.food.cooking said:

I've been watching this with interest. JAYzuzz, you sure took heat for a simple question. "-)

Heh. But after being in the kitchen for awhile, I can take the heat 🙂

Quoted message said:

Maybe try throwing a handful of rice in the pot with water and some vinegar and swirl it around a
bit. The rice will act to scour the inside and vinegar will cut the oils. Rinse with plain water a
couple times.

I just rinse out th inside with plain water. Coffe is water soluable, so it works fine. The outside
gets dirty, tho, and is a very round shape. So if I could throw it in the dishwasher every once in a
while that would be easy.

But I can't, so I'll continue just to wash it by hand every morning.

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

In rec.food.cooking said:

Why do you want to dishwasher it?

Sometimes it overflows and the coffee grounds get caught between the metal band and the rubber and
the glass. They get cooked on. No big deal, they wash off. But I use the dishwasher for washing lots
of stuff other than dishes. It works great for irregularly shaped things.

And on that subject, here's a tip:

If you are sick of having a filthy, smelly sponge and dobie pad next to your sink, run them throught
he dishwasher. Better yet, buy a second one, and simply alternate them every time you unload your
clean dishes. Then you will always have a clean sponge and dobie. I started doing that a few years
ago, and it works great.

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who