To Clean Extra-Grimy Pots And Pans, Reach For This Handy Power Tool

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Food preparation may sound like a delightful activity until it's time for cleanup. It's easy if you only prepare salads and other easy-to-make dishes that don't require heating. However, if your time in the kitchen involved laborious cooking with an open flame, oil, grease, and all sorts of grime-inducing admixtures, then you can almost expect a showdown with tough-to-remove sludge, muck, and filth before your pots and pans are in mint condition again. There are many reasons why food can stick to your cookware, so it's inevitable that such a mess can unfold before your eyes. So what do you do when faced with this situation? You bring in your power drill.

Unbeknownst to many, a power drill can transform into a high-speed scrubber with the right attachments. When coupled with compatible drill brushes, a power drill can very easily remove grime and burnt-on bits from stainless steel cookware. Other cleaning hacks require a lot of time to yield favorable results, such as using a vinegar solution to loosen all the gunk in a dirty pan. With a power drill, all the dirt is easily removed, plus the surface is polished by the brush's rotational movement. 

For the ultimate shine, pair the drill brush with an abrasive cleaner to clean your stainless steel cookware. You can start at a lower speed and increase if needed, depending on your preference and the level of grime. Meanwhile, it's not ideal for cleaning nonstick pans, as the brush bristles and abrasive cleaner may damage their delicate surface. 

Cleaning pots and pans before hitting the sack is a simple kitchen practice that makes next-day cooking so much better. However, if you are using a hand drill to do the job, you need to find the right attachments first, considering these brushes are sold separately from the hand tool. Most brush attachments are universal, so they work with corded and cordless drills, as well as impact drivers. Though the bristles are usually not soft, they are not too hard either, so there's no need to worry about damaging your stainless steel cookware. What's also good about these attachments is that they are mostly sold in sets, each having brushes in varying shapes and sizes.

Among the top-rated options available on Amazon is the Holikme 6-Pack Drill Brush Power Scrubber Cleaning Brush that comes with an extended reach attachment. This extender can come in quite handy when cleaning deep pots and pans. However, in case you want to stock up on more brush options for cleaning your cookware and other surfaces, you can always opt for Holikme's 22-Pack Drill Brush Attachments. This set includes more than the standard brushes, as buyers will also receive scrub pads, buffing pads, scrubber brush, wax applicator pad, masonry brushes, and cleaning supplies. Finally, another set that's worth checking out is RevoClean's 4-Piece Scrub Brush Power Drill Attachments. This one comes with three brushes and one soft sponge for gentle and light scrubbing — perfect for pans with more delicate surfaces, like ceramic and copper.