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

wrote:
>
> 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

In rec.food.cooking, Nancy Young > wrote:

> 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

In article >,
wrote:

> In rec.food.cooking, Nancy Young > wrote:
>
> > 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!"

In rec.food.cooking, Melba's Jammin' > wrote:

> 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

> 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

> wrote in message
...
> 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:
http://www.veryartique.com/bakelite.htm
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.

> wrote in message
...
> 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 , at
wrote on 2/3/04 7:57 PM:

> 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.

In rec.food.cooking, Sheryl Rosen > wrote:

> 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.

> 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.

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.

> 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.

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?


> WHY?????

> 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?


> 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

wrote in
:

> 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.




> wrote in message
...
> 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

In rec.food.cooking, Emrys Davies > wrote:
> 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

wrote:
> 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, wrote:

> 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

wrote:

> In rec.food.cooking, wrote:
>
>
>>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, zxcvbob > wrote:

> 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