Whenever I embark on a cleaning job, I always prefer to start with the most natural, non-toxic and gentle methods first. When those don’t work, I move up to something more heavy-duty. If your pan still has its shiny enamel surface, I don’t recommend cleaning your pot with oven cleaner because it could dull the surface. It’s fine to use oven cleaner on the outside, but for the inside, you need a gentler solution. Try the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda method instead. As you can see, the pan looks a lot cleaner on the bottom than when I started. If I had more patience and (a lot) more hydrogen peroxide, I could fill the whole pan up and then eventually it might get clean. If you have recently burned the bottom of your pan, then this baking and hydrogen peroxide combination is very effective at removing the burned-on food without much scrubbing required. One of my pots has gone past the point of saving the enamel. The shiny inside disappeared long ago and now shows all the stains I’ve collected during the years of use.

Le Creuset Stoneware 16-Ounce Citrus Juicer, Dijon

Here is what I tried along with the results: Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide for cleaning the bottom of a le creuset pot After 30 minutes, I was amazed at how much brown grunge came off the pan. I have to admit that I didn’t expect it to work so well! Cleaning off the oven cleaner from a Le Creuset pot If your beloved Le Creuset pan is looking stained like mine inside and out, then let me share with you the results of my experiments into cleaning it, so you don’t have to bother with solutions that don’t work! Again, don’t attempt to clean your Le Creuset pot with bleach unless more gentle options haven’t worked for you or your pan has already lost its sheen, like mine.

I have several cast-iron pots in my kitchen, including a cast-iron skillet, and I love them all. I used to have a very large blue Le Creuset casserole dish. But when we moved home ten years ago, it never made it to the new house, and it is a mystery where it got to. I still lament the loss of it today! Over time, the outside or the bottom of your Le Creuset pan can develop brown marks. If this has happened to your pan, or you have a vintage Le Creuset pot to restore, you will be pleased to know there is a solution and all you will need is some oven cleaner or Bar Keepers Friend. How to clean the outside of a Le Creuset pan with Bar Keepers Friend For this, you can use your favourite oven cleaner. To be honest, I don’t use oven cleaner because my oven has a self-cleaning cycle. I had to buy some especially for this task, so I chose the most popular and cheapest one from Wilko. For US residents, I have heard that Easy Off oven cleaner is perfect for this job. I’ve done a lot of research to find the best option. However, several of the methods had warnings attached to them. i.e. doing ‘this’ could damage the enamel. Although hydrogen peroxide isn’t particularly gentle, it’s the gentlest of the options available, so I will try it first.

Le Creuset PG4300-1417 16-Ounce Citrus Juicer, Stoneware

Baking Soda plus vinegar or lemon juice. Mix some baking soda and some vinegar or lemon juice to make a paste. Use it to scrub the inside of your pan. My little Le Creuset pot passed its best years ago. The surface on the inside is now dull, and it has lots of brown stains on the inside. Although the pot still works very well, I’ve been wondering if it is possible to clean the bottom of my Le Creuset pan, and perhaps get it stain-free again?The worst looking pan in my collection is a small blue casserole dish. Despite being the worst for wear, it gets used nearly every day, and it is now over twenty years old. I bought it in France along with the larger one (now lost). Cleaning the inside and bottom of your Le Creuset pot too often can cause damage to the enamel. I recommend you deep clean the inside no more than once per year. In between deep cleans, avoid burning your food by using enough cooking oil and selecting the appropriate heat setting. If food burns on the bottom, soak your pan in warm soapy water. Addendum Pour some hydrogen peroxide onto the bottom of your pan so that it covers the whole base up to about 1/2 an inch. Here, I have used a medium strength hydrogen peroxide (6%). I’m not hugely concerned about the discolouring I have inside my pan. It cooks just as well as when I bought it, and it will probably stain again even if I did manage to get it clean. It’s curiosity really that is making me look for solutions. If you have some Bar Keepers Friend to hand, you can use it to clean the outside of your Le Creuset pan.