A loose handle may seem like a minor problem, but on a full, hot pot it is a serious burn risk. What to do depends on how the handle is attached: tighten a screw-on handle and add a heat-resistant washer if needed; do not repair a riveted handle at home. If a rivet has loosened, the hole has enlarged, and the cookware should be taken out of use.
A loose handle is one of the most underestimated kitchen failures. A handle that wobbles on an empty pan is merely annoying; the same looseness on a pot containing boiling liquid or hot oil can make the pot twist in your hand and spill its contents. That is why you should decide as soon as you notice it, not put it off. The check is easy: when the pot is cool and empty, hold the handle and gently turn it; if it moves relative to the body, the connection is loose. Do the same check on lid handles.
The only type of connection that can be repaired is a screw-on handle. It has either a stud welded to the body or a bolt passing through the body, and the handle sits on it. The screw is usually tightened with a flathead screwdriver from the end of the handle or from inside the pot; tightening it alone lasts a few months, and the job has to be repeated. A lasting fix is to add a heat-resistant washer under the screw or use a locknut that prevents loosening. Do not use a plastic washer, because it melts in the heat from the burner.
A riveted handle is a completely different case. A rivet is a permanent fastener that passes through the body and is spread on 2 sides to secure it; it is not designed to be removed. If it has loosened, that means the hole in the body has widened, not that the rivet itself has loosened. Hammering the rivet may seem to hold for a while, but because the hole has grown, the connection never regains its original strength and usually breaks while carrying a full pot. That is why cookware with a loose riveted handle should not be repaired at home; take it out of use.
The handle material can also be a separate source of failure. Bakelite and similar heat-resistant plastic handles crack rather than loosen; once a crack starts, the handle begins to conduct heat and eventually breaks in your hand. Wooden handles usually fail after being left in water: the wood swells and then dries, leaving a gap around the metal stud. Metal handles loosen gradually, but because the handle itself heats up, a potholder is needed anyway. If there is a crack, burn mark, or color change in any of the 3 materials, replace the handle. The same principle applies to riveted lid handles as well.
There are simple ways to prevent a handle from loosening in the first place. Carry the pot with 2 hands, not one, so the weight is distributed across the body. Do not turn the pot so its handle stays over the burner; the flame or heat from the neighboring burner wears down the handle connection over the years. Check the screw once per year on cookware with a screw-on handle; this is the easiest way to catch loosening before it becomes a failure. When stacking cookware, make sure the handles do not bear the weight of the pots above them, which also prevents the connection from opening up.
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