If Teflon is the ultimate non-stick material, why is it not used for toilet bowls, oven shelves, and other things we regularly have to clean?
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Simply being non-stick doesn’t mean that things do not need to be cleaned. When Teflon is applied, it prevents things from sticking to it, primarily due to the carbon-fluorine bonds. It’s mostly nonreactive so in cookware, it tends to prevent food from sticking by preventing the bonding of the debris to the surface. However, Teflon (or PTFE) is one of the PFAS compounds now known to be highly difficult to eliminate. Applying it to substances usually involves high temperatures or high pressures, which can damage the products you would want to apply it to. PTFE is available in lubricant sprays that dry to a film, but that isn’t the same as applying a coating to something like a toilet.
Oven shelves are often stainless steel, which can usually withstand the high temperatures of the ovens. However, self cleaning ovens can reach temperatures of >600F, which is approximately the melting point of PTFE, so it wouldn’t be practical.
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