The washing‑up liquid mistake that ruins non‑stick pans, say cookware manufacturers

The first scrape is so small you almost miss it. A fried egg that used to glide out of the pan now needs a nudge. Next week it’s a firm shove with the spatula. By the time the centre has gone dull and the edges are catching, you’re eyeing the bin and wondering how long non-stick is “meant” to last.

Ask cookware manufacturers and they’ll quietly point away from the hob and towards the sink. The killer isn’t always high heat or metal utensils. It’s a tidy little habit with the bottle of washing-up liquid that feels like good hygiene and behaves like slow sabotage.

The “extra‑clean” mistake that wears your non‑stick out

Most people think the rule is simple: wash non-stick pans, but gently. The trouble, say manufacturer care teams, is the way many of us actually use washing-up liquid.

Two common moves cause the most grief:

• Pouring neat washing-up liquid straight onto a hot or very warm pan, then scrubbing.
• Leaving non-stick pans to soak for hours (or overnight) in a strong washing-up liquid solution, often with very hot water.

On the surface, both look like doing the right thing. Hot water cuts grease, a generous squeeze promises to banish stubborn bits, and a long soak should mean less elbow‑grease later.

What the coating “feels” is different. High concentrations of surfactants, fragrances and degreasers, combined with heat and time, start to strip away the microscopic oily layer that helps food release. Some formulas can also attack the binder that holds the non-stick particles to the pan.

It rarely peels in one dramatic moment. Instead, you get exactly what you’re seeing on your hob: a once‑slippy surface that turns patchy, then sticky, then useless.

“We design our coatings to survive thousands of cooking cycles,” one European cookware engineer told trade press. “But long soaks in hot, heavily dosed detergent can age a pan in months.”

The message is not “never use washing-up liquid”. It’s: use a little, diluted, on a cool pan – not a bath of the strongest stuff you own.

What’s actually going on on the surface

From the outside, non-stick looks like one smooth black (or pale) layer. Up close, it’s a stack: metal base, primer, non-stick coating, then a very thin film of oil left behind by cooking and conditioning.

Strong washing-up liquid habits chip away at each part:

• Surfactants are built to grab oil and lift it away. In heavy doses, they don’t just remove food residue – they strip the conditioning layer that makes the pan feel “silky”.
• Fragrances, dyes and antibacterial agents in some liquids act as extra solvents and irritants under heat, nudging along wear and discolouration.
• Very hot water on a hot pan creates thermal stress. As the metal base expands and contracts differently from the coating, tiny cracks can form, ready for detergent and scrubbing to widen.
• The scrub after the soak is the final blow. Once detergent has dried or softened residue into a gummy film, many of us reach for the abrasive side of the sponge. On a coating already weakened by chemistry and heat, that friction can start the familiar flaking.

Manufacturers see the pattern in returned pans: rainbow sheens, dull, rough “sweet spots” in the centre, and rings where soap and water have dried in place.

How cookware makers actually want you to wash non‑stick

Care instructions are often printed in tiny type, then never read. Across major brands, they boil down to a calm, unexciting routine that happens to keep coatings alive for years.

After each use:

1. Let the pan cool until it’s warm, not hot. A few minutes on the hob or rack is enough.
2. Rinse with warm (not boiling) water to lift loose food.
3. Add a small drop of washing-up liquid to a soft sponge or cloth, not straight into the pan.
4. Gently wipe the surface in circles, inside and out. No steel wool, no scouring powders.
5. Rinse thoroughly so no soap film dries on the coating.
6. Dry straight away with a tea towel to avoid water spots and mineral marks.

For stuck‑on bits, they recommend a mild detour, not an overnight soak:

• Fill the pan with warm water and a tiny squirt of washing‑up liquid.
• Simmer very gently for a few minutes on the hob.
• Let it cool, then wipe with a soft sponge. Most residues slide off.

It feels slower than dumping everything into a foamy sink. Over a year of breakfasts and dinners, it’s faster than shopping for yet another “lasts 5x longer” frying pan.

Other sink‑side habits quietly killing your pans

Washing-up liquid isn’t the only culprit, just the most misunderstood. Around it, a cluster of small habits can shave years off non-stick.

• Dishwasher dependence
  Many non-stick pans are labelled “dishwasher safe”. Manufacturers usually add, in smaller print, that hand‑washing extends the life of the coating. Dishwasher tablets are highly alkaline, and long, hot cycles repeat the same soak‑and‑stress pattern as that over‑enthusiastic washing-up liquid bath.

• Stacking and scraping in the sink
  Tossing pans in a pile, then shifting them around with cutlery still inside, lets the base of one pan grind against the coating of another. Even if the scratch looks minor, it creates a rough patch where food loves to cling.

• Cold water on a screaming‑hot pan
  Running the tap the second you turn off the gas or induction hob shocks the metal. The base contracts rapidly while the coating lags behind, inviting micro‑cracks.

• Aerosol cooking sprays
  Manufacturers often warn against these. Fine mists of oil mixed with emulsifiers and propellants can bake onto the surface as a sticky film that even gentle washing-up liquid struggles to shift, leading people back to the harsh scrub–soak cycle.

None of these is dramatic on its own. Together with strong washing-up liquid habits, they’re why so many “good” pans end up in the bin long before their time.

A quick care checklist you can actually follow

Think of it as editing your washing‑up routine, not rewriting it from scratch.

Habit	Do this instead	Avoid this
Soap use	Small drop on a sponge, pan cooled	Neat washing-up liquid on hot coating, deep soaks
Water	Warm, quick rinse and wash	Boiling water shocks, long hot baths
Tools	Soft sponge, cloth, plastic or wooden utensils	Steel wool, scouring powders, sharp stacking

Three tiny swaps cover most of the damage:

• Let pans cool before they see water or soap.
• Keep washing-up liquid diluted and brief.
• Store with a soft layer (tea towel, pan protector) between non-stick surfaces.

They don’t cost anything. They do demand breaking the habit of “the frothier the better.”

Why this matters beyond one ruined frying pan

Every failed non-stick pan is more than a sticky egg. It’s aluminium, energy, and coating materials heading for the tip long before they needed to. Cookware makers quietly admit that decent non-stick should last years, not “until the warranty runs out”, if the chemistry isn’t fought at the sink.

There’s also the quiet frustration tax. Buying yet another mid‑range pan every 12–18 months feels normal because so many of us share the same bad washing‑up habits. Change those, and “disposable” pans start to look suspiciously long‑lived.

Your hob doesn’t need a full new set. It probably needs you to stop punishing the one you already own with very clean, very determined soap.

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FAQ:

• Do I have to stop using washing‑up liquid on non‑stick altogether? No. Manufacturers expect you to use a mild washing-up liquid. The key is to use a small amount on a cool, rinsed pan, avoid very hot, long soaks, and rinse it off fully.
  
• Is it really that bad to soak a pan overnight? Once in a while won’t destroy it, but repeated long soaks in strong detergent and hot water accelerate wear. A short warm soak or gentle simmer is far kinder to the coating.
  
• My pan is already sticky. Can washing habits “fix” it? Care can stop it getting worse, but it can’t regrow missing coating. If food sticks even with oil and low heat, it’s usually time to replace the pan – and treat the next one more gently at the sink.
  
• Are ceramic non‑stick pans different? They tolerate slightly higher heat, but most manufacturers still advise mild washing-up liquid, no harsh soaking, and soft sponges. Ceramic coatings can also lose their slickness early if over‑cleaned with strong detergents.