Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

science.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 239 posts

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#11

Post by ok_dad »

droopyEyelids wrote: post #8
samwillis wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

You could get a new pan with 'ceramic' coating. It's just like teflon in basically every way.

> It's just like teflon in basically every way.

Hopefully not in the bad ways? Is the "ceramic coating" proven to not be harmful?

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#12

Post by pomian »

samwillis wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

Nothing beats cast iron. They aren't hard to take care of.(In spite of the rhetoric.) Actually easier, once you get a good surface on them. Pots, frying pans, woks, etc. They work very well. The most important thing is to give them time to heat up. Once they are, they hold the heat very well, so can cook at any temperature.

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#13

Post by RosanaAnaDana »

samwillis wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

Cast iron works as a non-stick with a bit of practice.

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#14

Post by ars »

Teknoman117 wrote: post #5
culi wrote: post #3

Now that Teflon got sued and switched to a different, probably more harmful, chemical I wonder if we'll want to go back to the OG "forever chemicals"

That's honestly one of the things I wish we could get a handle on. Company gets sued for using and hiding the danger of a compound they learned fairly quickly was toxic. Goes and invents another compound and switches to it without having to prove its safety. After it becoming public that they were intentionally hiding dangers for a half century, I feel we should take away their ability to be given the benefit of the…

> but it's not like the final product (Teflon) is safe to ingest either

Sure it is. I don't think a less toxic material than Teflon even exists. It's toxicity is comparable to water.

The LD50 of Teflon is > 11,280 mg/kg. Water by comparison is 90,000 mg/kg. They were not able to measure the exact toxicity because it's impossible to eat so much.

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#15

Post by swlkr »

samwillis wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

I switched to stainless steel, it is more to maintain, but it's not horrible. I also use a ceramic pan on very low temperatures to cook really stick stuff like scrambled eggs.

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#16

Post by ars »

ok_dad wrote: post #11
droopyEyelids wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could get a new pan with 'ceramic' coating. It's just like teflon in basically every way.

> It's just like teflon in basically every way. Hopefully not in the bad ways? Is the "ceramic coating" proven to not be harmful?

What bad ways? Teflon is not harmful. Teflon is not the same as PFAS, and Teflon cookware does not leech any PFAS into food. See my other reply: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32515717

And to answer your question, ceramics sometimes have heavy metals to get bright colors (cadmium mostly). Make sure to buy from a reputable manufacturer.

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#17

Post by itsangaris »

ok_dad wrote: post #11
droopyEyelids wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could get a new pan with 'ceramic' coating. It's just like teflon in basically every way.

> It's just like teflon in basically every way. Hopefully not in the bad ways? Is the "ceramic coating" proven to not be harmful?

Ceramic itself is safe. Ultimately for a coating, the safety depends on what's underneath if/when it wears through.

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#18

Post by Tagbert »

droopyEyelids wrote: post #8
samwillis wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

You could get a new pan with 'ceramic' coating. It's just like teflon in basically every way.

I got a couple different “ceramic” coated skillets and they were the stickiest things I’ve ever used. They went straight to the recycler.

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#19

Post by themagician »

samwillis wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

Cast iron or enameled cast iron.

Cast iron really doesn't require much maintenance. You can season it and never wash it and be delicate with it like a fancy chef, or you can abuse the hell out of it and it doesn't matter because it's basically indestructible. The only thing you can't do is let it sit in water or run it through the dishwasher. I mean, you can, but it rusts… which also isn't that difficult to clean if it happens.

Cast iron and a green scotchbrite pad or a stainless steel scouring pad and you are good. You can use hot water and soap to clean it. It will deteriorate any "seasoning" but so what. Clean after use, dry and store away. Takes maybe two minutes. If you want to get it seasoned so it has some non-stick to it you can, but you don't have to.

Post reply on HN