How to Clean those Slippery Silicone Mats, Once and For All

I know this is a bit old, but in case it helps - I've used a paste of oatmeal. Just prepared regular old fashioned oats and smeared on the silicone pad and baked at 400 for about 10 to 15 minutes depending on how thick the oats are. Then I let it cool, and then pop it in the freezer for about 2 hours (after cooling on the counter first). When I peel the oatmeal plank off the silicone, it's nice and shiny and not smelly.

I haven't tried it with Dawn and a pastry brush tho. You might try stirring the oats after they've cooled a bit and making clump on the brush and then do the freezing bit.

Oatmeal does wonders for sucking up all kinds of stuff.

DON'T LET THE KIDS EAT THE OATMEAL AFTERWARD!

Can anyone please advise how to remove the taste of Dawn liquid dishwashing detergent from a silicone pastry brush with a plastic handle? The brush was inadvertently left overnight in a cup with 50% Dawn liquid detergent and 50% white vinegar. I rinsed the brush well, soaked it in hot water, then washed in dishwasher.

Used the brush to brush oil on griddle. Some bites of pancake (but not all) taste like Dawn detergent! 😳

Since the handle is plastic, I can’t hear the brush in the oven. Any suggestions to salvage this brush?

I have used multiple Demarle Silpat, Flexipan & Flexiflat products for the past 15 years when my Mom started selling them for a short time. I have collected no less than 30 products and have only had to dedicate 2 in all those years to "craft only" projects after they became discolored and no longer useable for baking. (They are great for painting projects, or as a mat to protect my workstation from hot glue! Another way I've used them is as a puzzle mat....I just roll an uncompleted puzzle up to keep it safe until finished!)
In respect to the many questions about cleaning, here are a few tips and tricks I've found that work great for me:

I wash my Silpat mats and Flexipans immediately after using with Dawn dish soap (it seems to be the best at cutting grease) and dry them, or lay them out to air dry. In case I've baked something that has a strong odor, I will wash them with Dawn and then wash them in the dishwasher immediately afterwards. My next step if anything stubborn remains would be to add a dishwasher tablet to the sink with 3" of boiling water poured over the mat & let it soak for 30 minutes. These steps will take care of 99% of any issues you may have!

I have had a couple incidents where my mats still had lingering smells (or grease from especially baked on butter or oil) and found that heating them in the oven for 10 minutes @ 350° and then filling my sink 1/4 of the way with boiling water with 2 cups of vinegar and letting the Silpat/Flexipan soak in the vinegar water for 30 minutes helped tremendously. If there is STILL a lingering scent or grease trouble spot after all these steps, I sprinkle a cup or two of baking soda on the mat/pan in the sink and add a cup of lemon juice (NO WATER) to the baking soda and let the baking soda/lemon juice mixture bubble up and sit for 30 minutes. Voila! No more smells or grease for even the worst offenders! This is a fail safe step by step for ANY mishap you might have with your mats or pans. I've never had to get rid of any mats except my very first ones purchased all those years ago before learning the proper way to care for them. 😊

For those wanting to clean your perforated baking sheets, I use baking soda and vinegar to scrub them clean. If they are heavily discolored, I use oven cleaner on them to make them nice and shiny again.

I hope these tips will help anyone who finds that nothing seems to work in getting them clean. I absolutely cannot live without my set of baking items (so much so, I recently had to start buying small/toaster oven sizes as well for our new RV because the oven and convection oven appliances are just an inch smaller than the standard medium Silpat Mat/Baking Sheets that I use daily at home.) Many of the Flexipans can still be used but having to once again buy new mats/sheets for an RV was quite an investment! 😂 I thought I had everything I could ever need but was sadly mistaken! There is NOTHING in the world I'd trade for my set of bakeware. I can't help but tell everyone about how amazing they've been these past 15 years. Thank you so much Sasa Demarle for such incredible products. They are truly life-changing. 🙌

I have tried dishwasher, baking soda, boiling water, Dawn dish soap & degreasers on my silicone baking mats and they just would not let go of this greasy film! I read this blog and several others and didn't find any suggestions that differed from what I had previously tried.
Then I had a thought, how about dish soap and Bar Keepers Friend Powdered Cleanser?
IT WORKED!!!! It is available at most grocery & hardware stores. I have it in my home at all times as it is a gem on cookware. Not sure why it took me so long to try but sure glad I did!

Does anybody else have a problem with their silpats holding on to a soapy taste after cleaning? Any suggestions?

I have been washing my silpats in the dishwasher for ages, no problems noted to date .

Only way to clean silpat & other silicone kitchen items (like ice cube trays) so they are odor free & non-greasy is to bake them in the oven at 350+ for 20 minutes. This oxidizes the funky oils and removes any lingering odors. Works better & easier than soaks & scrubs or dishwasher.

Dishwasher. Works perfectly! Every time .

We have a front loading washer. I just throw them into the wash in a hot water cycle with the kitchen towels and they come out grease & order free. Haven’t damaged one yet.

I clean have a number of silpats and use them almost daily. I cook everything from cookies to shrimp on them and I've never had a problem with odors. I usually clean them with a soapy washcloth followed by a rinse, but when they start to get too oily, I put them right in the dishwasher. I simply fold them over the times like an upside down taco shell. It works like a charm.

I have occasionally put them in the dishwasher. That is probably immoral and shortens its’ life but it works.

Can I try this on a silicone bundt mold? I’ve not used it since over time it started to feel sticky & it’s as if it’s “sweating” sticky stuff.... i feel weird using it even if I wash it. I think this is how silicone molds get over time 🙁 is it still safe to use? Would a vinegar bath save it?

Sounds like an option for silicone baking molds and pans, too.

Has anyone been successful using similar cleaning methods on silicone ice cube trays? Despite only being used to freeze ice, the trays now make ice cubes that taste like plastic.

Thank you for for the tips, I can’t wait to do this! I’ve owned my silicone mats for years (6? 8?) and they smell heavily of cookies, in a bad way (if that’s possible...) so I’ve mostly stopped using them and am doing parchment only. I can’t wait to try these tips and hope to restore them!

I recently used the vinegar method after baking Springerle on mine, so everything after that wouldn’t be Anise flavored. It worked great.

Thank You😁😃☺

While I have no desire to have snapper scented snicker doodles, I seem to recall the silpat manufacturers advice that they're supposed to be slightly slimy feeling, it's kind of the nonstick point. Perhaps I'm just lazy about getting out the baking powder or lemons but I just use the leading grease cutting dishwashing stuff. My issue is washing and properly drying a non ridged thin piece of silicone, what a pain!

Well, I put mine in the dishwasher. Perhaps I shouldn’t! It comes out squeaky clean however!