Silver transfer from my pan when drying

[snwsnw]

I purchased a Stainless steel pan on ebay. When I got it, I washed it aggressivly with a scotch sponge and when I rinsed it I noticed the water was discolored, kinda silvery. I could smell the metal too. When I dried it with a white paper towel there was metal transfer onthe paper towel, again silvery.
Does this mean the pan is no good for cooking? Why would that happen? It seems like a good pan. On the bottom of the pan it says Premium Chefmate Cookware and it has a copper bottom. The ebay auction said it was stainless steel.
If you want to look at it the auction number is 320313766675. Just search for that on ebay and it will come up. Thanks for any input, I am afraid to use it at this point.

 

[Andy M.]

There may have been a coating on the pan. Wash it again with just a soapy sponge and water (no scouring). If it continues to give off color, return it.

 

[snwsnw]

OK I will try that thanks. But it is a used pan. For some reason I think it is over 10 years old so I don't think it is a coating. But all the same I will try your suggestion. Thanks.

 

[Wart]

I've sold a few pieces of cookware on eBay.

The pieces I've sold are the ones sitting around for a very long time collecting (airborne) grease and such.

I wash mine before taking pictures and posting, maybe your seller didn't.

Depending where your seller had this pan kept they may not have known it was 'dirty'.

 

[AllenOK]

Even though it was listed as "stainless", since it has a copper bottom, could it be tin-lined? Maybe the agressive scrubbing abraded some of the tin off?

 

[snwsnw]

Even though it was listed as "stainless", since it has a copper bottom, could it be tin-lined? Maybe the agressive scrubbing abraded some of the tin off?

That makes sense. I washed it again aggressivley and again I could smell the metal kind of like if you were polishing metal. I thought maybe the person that sold it could have tried some type of polishing. I will ask them. But if I wash it normally and dry it normally nothing comes off on the paper towel. It only happens if I apply considerable pressure. Regardless I think it is ok to use. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Well, I looked at the pan and it is stainless steel - with either a copper coating or copper encapsulated disk on the bottom. The pan certainly showed no indication of needing aggressive cleaning.

The only time I have this problem is when I am aggressively cleaning something off that was cooked on, or trying to brighten the copper band around the bottom of my pans, using a dry powder like Bar Keepers Friend and a green scrubbie. This will produce a metalic smell and leaves a residue on the metal - which when you wipe it off will give exactly the results you had - a silver-gray residue on the paper towel.

Wash your pan again with dishwashing liquid (not dish washer powder/liquid) and a sponge. No need for any aggressive attitude or muscle. This will wash off the residue left from the powder.

 

[snwsnw]

I just used it this morning. I washed it with a soft sponge, no scrubbie. There was no issue. But when I dried it with the paper towel, again I had a silver color transfer to the paper towel. I did not do it hard. Not sure what to make of it...
Maybe I will video this and post it for your feedback. Give me a day or two for that. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Andy M.]

There is definitely something strange here. Is the metal magnetic? Test it with a refrigerator magnet.