The main villain is sodium chloride—plain old table salt. It’s the Joker in your Batman pot. Adding salt to cold water is fine, but dumping salt into boiling water or a hot, dry pan is like inviting trouble to dinner.
Another culprit? Leaving acidic foods like lemon juice, wine, or tomato sauce in the pot overnight. That’s like letting a tiny acid monster sleep on your pan’s face. The next morning, you’ve got a face full of tiny craters.
Even letting the pot air dry with a film of salty water can do damage. It’s like begging for a weird mineral tattoo you never asked for.
