Cooking residue on a wok?

I got a used Circulon wok from a friend, until recently I noticed there are black residues left on certain parts of the wok. When I scratch them off, they come off as black flakes. It's never possible to remove every black stain since it catches on new ones every time I cook. I don't think these are those teflon non-stick coating falling off, the inner surface of the wok is a bit too rough to be coated with those. But I'm concerned with the burned food residue. How bad are those?Cooking residue on a wok?
I have a Circulon Wok also. They have a different kind of coating from most nonstick pans I've used and noticed they are a little harder to clean. Are you using a no-stick spray like Pam maybe? The instructions that come with the nonstick pans always say not use the sprays on those pans though sometimes I do anyway. I've found that on the Circulon pans especially the sprays leave a sticky film that can darken the next time the pan is used and is very hard to remove. I was able to get the film off using a lot of dishsoap on one of the green scrubber pads with very gentle pressure and then try to remember not to use the no-stick sprays.Cooking residue on a wok?
They will not hurt you but if you are concerned, give the wok a damn good scrub and re season.



Most woks are carbon steel if they are not teflon. Identify what it is and if it is carbon steel you could use something like a steel scrubbing pad, rather than scrubbing with your was-up brush or pad.
I saw on ';How clean is your house'; a rusty and dirty wok, they cleaned it with liquid dish soap and a half potato. Rub a little oil on it as soon as you are done cleaning it.