CSC CHRONICALS 9
BAR KEEPERS FRIEND
when I got some new Calphalon pans (actually warranty replacements) a few months ago, they all seem to come with a little pushy package inside. A small envelope filled with a powdery substance, claiming to be this cleaner called Bar Keeper’s Friend. Calphalon was including it as a sample in all their new packages because apparently it was great at cleaning the outside of Calphalon pans from stains, burn marks, etc.
Not a bad promotional idea. I read the side of the envelope several times, and it touted BKF as being the be-all end-all for cleaning surfaces such as stainless steel, porcelain, counters etc.
I’d heard of B. KF that kind of petered out after several decades and still stood like the haunting toast of antique brands past someone a few shelves below Comet at the supermarket. Even the package design is old-fashioned — but I guess now kind of cool in a retro cool kind of way.
I tried B. KF on the outside of pans, and it did at marginal job — still not getting off some of the more brown stains on the dark gunmetal gray metallic exterior of these Calphalon pans. But I figured it was still worth a shot considering the promotional copy on the sample packages was pretty powerful. It worked well on counters (the same counters that Soft Scrub works well on to… which, coincidentally is another Calphalon recommend). It also works well on my stainless steel sink.
Still sitting with a few sample packets in my drawers, I was drawn to their website. The PKF website is fairly simple and straightforward, and describes how it’s so miraculous under several different uses around the home. The site even has several testimonials — including those that say it works great on porcelain. One testimonial even read that someone tried it on porcelain when things like bleach didn’t work. They also claimed it removed rust. Well, the bathtub-from-bleach claim was the hook for me. I live in a 1927 prewar building with original fixtures for the bathtub. So my bath is not only really old, but stains easily. Nothing really has worked. My housekeeper has tried pretty much everything she could think of, and we’ve done the whole bleach and Soft Scrub and Scrubbing Bubbles (never seems to work). Still stains.
So, on my next trip to the supermarket, I decided to pick up an entire canister of BKF. I think it was probably about $3-$4.
Anxious to see my porcelain tub looking like new, I gave it a shot. As directed, got a “thoroughly” wet cloth ports and be KF on it, and did a little scrubbing in the tub. Nothing. Then I tried an alternate method, also directed, leading the tub thoroughly and putting PKF on the wet surfaces so that it would form somewhat of a paste. Then running it stand for a few minutes. I scrubbed off after that — the stains were still there. The bathtub did get a little cleaner, but it didn’t get rid of the stains in the way that the woman from Ohio on their website testified it coded. Or at least to me.
Resign that maybe I needed something else for the bathtub, I put the BK at back in the kitchen and had opportunity to use it the next day. I have a pair of imitation All-Clad pans. (I say imitation because they look like All-Clad from a few feet away, but there really CostCo.’s Kirkland Signature brand that probably works just the same.) Well, my wife isn’t the best that thoroughly cleaning things, so after she’s use these pans a few times it looks like they’re still pretty dirty. After if I had a few minutes, I try to give BK at the shot at the stainless steel pans. One had burn marks on them from food, a few scorch marks on the exterior, and some burnt egg still crust around the outside.
Well, here’s where I found that the KF has had three chances to live up to its hype, and hadn’t satisfied any of them. I put BK F. on a wet sponge and went to town on the outside of the pan. It barely got off anything. The burnt egg kind of came off by default — I don’t think a was a product of the PKF at all because it probably would’ve happened with Soft Scrub or just water and the sponge. Then I tried the interior of the pan. Some of the burn marks didn’t come off. Other parts of the pan, which were just due to recent food, came off nicely and the BK affidavit a decent shine. However, some of the burn marks and scorch marks on the outside, didn’t come off at all.
I put the PKF away for another day when I had something easier for it to clean/polish.
All in all, I’m kind of disappointed, even though I still liked it after it struck out the first two times. I still thought it worthy of giving it a chance. But in this case I think it’s a matter of the website and promotional copy being too good, and maybe even to aggressive for what it can really do. Kudos to the ad agency and the copywriter for making me want to go out and buy. This is pretty much what I did for 20 years of my career. Hopefully someone had the same reaction to some of my work on certain products as well. However, I think this is a case of true overhype on the part of the KF and maybe even Calphalon as well. good to know someone isn’t asleep at the wheel in the PKF marketing department. I just wish they would send someone over to scrub my pans and hub for me.