On Jan 21, 7:35*am, DogMa > wrote:
> Dominic T. wrote:
> > ... So anyhow, I can see a slight coating of most likely
> > grease and dust from cooking and sitting in the open. *...
> > My question is what to use for the grease/oil cutting, and if anyone
> > has any tricks or suggestions that I am unaware of. They have just
> > been soaking in hot water for a couple hours so far, and I tried a
> > gentle wiping with a towel but it isn't doing it.
>
> Here are three possible approaches: dissolution, emulsification,
> destruction.
>
> Actual solution of the gunk is possible, though that kind of stuff
> sometimes polymerizes into an insoluble gum. Boiling in white vinegar
> *might* work. "Real" organic solvents, unless you have access to reagent
> grade chemicals, almost always contain traces of heavier molecules that
> will persist for a long time and smell awful. A rare exception is MEK,
> which is available at the usual hardware stores, is essentially
> non-toxic and lower in odor than many organics, and dissolves almost
> anything.
>
> Emulsification requires an emulsifier, like soap or lecithin. They all
> taste, AFAIK.
>
> Destruction is very practical for kitchen-type oils, essentially all of
> which contain esters. Boiling in sodium carbonate/baking powder (not
> bicarb/soda; probably not alkaline enough) for a few minutes should do
> it, w/o harming the clay. A few minutes in a warm solution of household
> lye (a few %) should work too. I'd then rinse a lot, and not worry about
> residues - anything left in the pores will react instantly with tea. I
> haven't tried it on teaware, but plenty of other stuff stored too long
> in the kitchen gets gummed up with oil and plasticizer (from PVC) vapors.
>
> -DM

Great, thank you for the reply... gotta love science. If only Don
Herbert were still alive, but second to my personal hero is DogMa
thanks for taking the time to reply. I am going to try the Baking
Powder. The buildup is not very severe in reality, just to me. I don't
like to see that happen to any of my Yixing. I'm hoping that will do
the trick and if not I may move into the vinegar area but that will be
a last resort as it kind of scares me. Any idea of how much or any
particular type to use? I'm guessing any plain white household vinegar
would be OK. I do work for a university so I could probably come by
way of just about any chemical if you have any suggestions.

I have also read about using ultrasonic jewelery cleaners and this may
be an option for me too if all else fails, anyone have any experience
with that?

Thanks again,
- Dominic