Kitchen Help?

[AdminAssistant]

Fiance has been moved in for nearly 2 months now, and it's been mostly good. We're still getting used to each other's lifestyles and sorting out chores. One decision that was made early on was that if one person cooks then the other person does the dishes. I do most of the cooking, and he does most of the dishes. And I have to leave the room because he makes the most godawful mess doing it. Dammit the counter is not a drying rack and No I do not put my cookware or my knives in the dishwasher! *sigh*

Anyway. For Christmas his roomies gave us a pizza stone. It didn't come with many instructions except a disclaimer saying to not wash it with soaps or detergent. (That box said wiping with water was okay once it was cooled, but I know some people don't even want to get them wet.) I used it one day for lunch, he came in and said, "Hey, need me to throw that in the dishwasher?" And I explained that it was to never, ever be washed.

Wanna guess what he did the next time I used it? He washed it. With soap. And nearly put the GD thing in the dishwasher. Because his roomies put theirs in the dishwasher. (Well, it's not my fault that they don't want nice things now, is it?) *headdesk* I tried to use it today, but I can definitely smell the soap coming from it. Is there any way to salvage it? He's already mopey about it, and if I have to replace it, I know he's going to mope around even more, feeling guilty and such.

[csquared]

From Williams Sonoma for their pizza stone:
To remove stains, make a paste of baking soda and water, apply with a brush and rinse off.

I am thinking that the baking soda might help lift and remove the residue. After it dries, I would give it a nice long cooking. Maybe repeat.

Good luck.

[MaggieTheCat]

I don't have a pizza stone, but my first thought (which was confirmed after doing a bit of googling) was to soak it in water for about half an hour, then let it dry on the counter overnight. You could try adding a little vinegar (not much, like a tablespoon or two to a sink full of plain water) to the water too, since vinegar is a natural cleanser and won't hurt you if it ends up getting on your pizza the next time you bake some (not sure if it would change the taste, though.) I would soak it several days in a row, letting it dry overnight each time to try and extract the soapy smell. If you do decide to use vinegar, probably soak it again in plain water before using the stone just so you don't get a vinegary taste to your pizza.

[Food Lady]

I'd rinse it with vinegar, then water, as vinegar breaks down detergent. Once you get the soap out, smack him with the thing.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I notice vinegar breaks down soap pretty well, so that might help. Although I'd dry it a lot longer than overnight before using it. I used to wash mine with clean, plain water, scrub the gunk off, and then dry it in the south carolina sun (which some days is like a heat blower) for a couple days.

The reason is because porous stone will absorb water, which will expand quickly in the oven, and possibly shatter your stone.

I'll tell you what else will shatter a stone: Mr. Kinkoid putting something cold on it while it's hot. So yeah. Don't let Mr. Kinkoid do that.

Anyways, whatever you do, don't do it. Make thick skulled fiance do it so it will maybe help him remember how to listen when you tell him how to treat your cookware.

[Aethian]

It could also be that the stone is ruined for making pizza on but can still be used for a heating stone for getting wrapped with foil and used as a press. I know soap ruined mine.

[AdminAssistant]

Yeah, I accidentally left it in the oven while I made muffins and OMG it STINKS. There was some kind of awful smell and smoke coming out of the oven...it still stinks. Although, it's weird, I put the stone out in the hallway...and it doesn't actually smell too bad. The oven, however, still smells awful. Beats the hell out of me.

[Jester]

I have had something similar happen, though with roommates and not a girlfriend.

To wit: most of the stuff in the kitchen is mine, and I have no problem with my roommates using it, as long as they respect it. One major exception: I have three butcher block knife sets (yes, three...deal with it). Two are used, one is new. I have made it very clear to my roommates that while they are more than welcome to use the two used sets, the new set is off limits to them. Why? It's all about the fish knife.

Before I had the new set, I had the other two sets, and I have one white-handled very sharp knife that I use exclusively for fish. And I told my roommates that if they used this knife, it was to be used for fish only, and then cleaned immediately, and not in the dishwasher. I also made it really clear that if they used this knife for anything other than fish, or if they used and didn't clean it, I would stab them with it. Well, one day a few years ago, I came home to find the white-handled fish knife out on a cutting board, dirty, with tomato sauce or some such on it. Two things were clear. It had not been used for fish, and it had been left out dirty. Picking up the knife, I asked Mr. Anti-Social if he had used the knife. Nope. So I turned my attention to Space Cadet. "Yo, dude, did you use this knife?" Space Cadet turned, saw the knife in my head, saw my expression, and just about shit his pants. "Dude, I am so sorry...I don't know what I was thinking, etc., etc." Blah blah blah. I just gave him a very icy stare and said, "It's for fish only. And you clean it when you're done. Because next time, I WILL stab you with it!"

Space Cadet never even touched that knife again. But that is why I know have certain knives that are off limits.

Perhaps if you threaten your boy, he will get the idea of what does and what does NOT go in the dishwasher? Just a thought. It worked for me...but then, I'm not sleeping with my roommates.

[AdminAssistant]

Well, he's sick today, so I'll give him a pass. It's just that for the past few years he's lived with slobs. I know he's a neat person (when we were in college, his dorm room was by far the cleanest of all the other guys I hung out with). But he lived with his mom and brother for a while after his dad passed away, and household stuff pretty much went to hell (understandable). Then his previous roomies, who are just.....lazy. The girl (M) would try more but her husband (J) is a complete and total slob who won't do *anything*. They throw all of their dishes, pots, pans, etc. in the dishwasher without even rinsing or soaking. And while he was there...I think Fiance let J's habits rub off on him a bit.

But I'm a bit concerned because there is *still* a funky smell in the oven. I'm going to carefully test all the burners, and then I might run a self-cleaning cycle, although I'm a bit nervous about it.

[ohsobitter]

I don't think a self clean cycle will help, that just heats the oven up to about 800 degrees. Try putting a couple of boxes of baking soda or bowls of vinegar in there to absorb the odor. Just make sure you have a note on the stove to take them out before heating it up, or you'll have a bigger problem.

[telecom_goddess]

I'm forever fighting the household on care of my knives/cast iron frying pans/hand made dishes from Portugal. I find the Portugal dishes in the dishwasher...goddamn it NO don't do that, they get hand washed and air dry on the counter. Don't want them in the microwave either. My frying pans I find dirty with shit stuck to them on the stove so I have to clean them out and re oil them so they have some hope of not developing rust. Nobody cares that they are ruining MY stuff. If they wanna ruin theirs great but leave mine alone

[Food Lady]

I'm forever fighting the household on care of my knives/cast iron frying pans/hand made dishes from Portugal. I find the Portugal dishes in the dishwasher...goddamn it NO don't do that, they get hand washed and air dry on the counter. Don't want them in the microwave either. My frying pans I find dirty with shit stuck to them on the stove so I have to clean them out and re oil them so they have some hope of not developing rust. Nobody cares that they are ruining MY stuff. If they wanna ruin theirs great but leave mine alone

Tell them they will be paying to replace it. How much is shipping from Portugal?