🤔 Myth: You can't use soap to clean cast iron. 🤯 Fact: You can use mild dish soap to clean cast iron. The seasoning on our cast iron is fairly resilient and can withstand a little bit of soap, water, and a good scrub with a brush.
Will Soap Ruin Cast Iron? Using soap will not ruin your pan. It is totally fine on enameled cast iron, and on plain cast iron, too. It's not going to destroy your seasoning.
You should absolutely clean cast iron cookware. Just don't use anything abrasive like steel wool. Also don't soak for very long. And use a standard dish detergent like Dawn. The notion of not cleaning is decades outdated and comes from when soaps were lye-based (lye will break down the seasoning).
Detergents: Most dishwashing detergents are safe for non-stick pans. However, avoid using abrasive cleaners or scouring pads, as they can scratch the non-stick coating.
The Environmental Working Group gave Dawn a 'D' grade because of it containing methylisothiazolinone, which is a "High Concern: acute aquatic toxicity; Some Concern: skin irritation/allergies/damage". Sounds delightful, right? Dawn also contains 1 4-dioxane which is considered a groundwater contaminant.
Avoid harsh chemicals: Never use oven cleaners or other harsh chemicals to clean your nonstick pans.
Common cooking oils like olive oil will gradually produce seasoning, but won't be as effective as grapeseed oil. Canola, other vegetable oils, and shortening are a little better.
Clean your cast-iron skillet each time you use it. Doing so prevents stuck-on food from staying on the skillet between uses. If the skillet is only slightly dirty, a quick wipe after cooking in it will work. If dirtier, or food is stuck, then scrubbing it is best.
Moisture is the enemy here, so avoid soaking your skillet in the sink and never put it in the dishwasher. Doing so can lead to rust, a serious (but not irreversible!) affliction for cast iron.
Copenhaver notes that a well-seasoned cast-iron pan is extremely durable and can handle reasonable amounts of acidic cooking without noticeable change, but prolonged exposure can do some damage to a seasoning layer. The most common acidic food you might not want to cook in your cast-iron skillet is tomatoes.
You should only need to fully re-season your cast-iron cookware one to two times a year, but you may also want to give it some extra seasoning love anytime you cook something that requires a heavy-duty cleaning.
Dawn. Dawn dish soap is by and large the best of the mild detergents to use. It is gentle enough to keep your finish on your deck, but strong enough to remove tough stains.
You can generally use whatever oil you prefer, as long as the cooking temperature is below the smoke point of the oil. Olive oil, vegetable oil, sunflower oil, and grapeseed oil are all great multipurpose cooking oils—you can use them for everything from sautéing to baking.
Dish Detergent: A few drops of dish detergent mixed with water is a simple strategy for cleaning a soleplate that has non-stick coating. Dip a paper towel or cloth into sudsy water and gently wipe away buildup.
Oil, especially canola oil (bad, unhealthy oil), should not be used. If a quick oiling (not seasoning) in between is desired, it's best to use a high temperature oil like avocado. A quick rub can do the trick, if your pan looks a bit dry. I have one pan that is about 100 years old!
Bake your cookware upside down at 450 degrees Fahrenheit in the oven for one hour. Allow the pan to cool down completely, and repeat three more times.
When using carbon-steel and cast-iron pans, some people like to heat the dry pan first, then add the oil. This is because high heat causes the oil to oxidize and polymerize, allowing it to bond to the metal, filling in any small pits and divots—a process that seasons the pan, essentially giving it a nonstick surface.
Gently scrub the pan using mild dish soap, hot water, and a non-abrasive sponge (such as a Dobie sponge or the soft side of a Scotch-Brite sponge) or a scrub brush. Rinse it clean and then dry it completely with a dish towel.
All you need is hot water and a scrubbing brush, steel wool or a copper cleaning cloth to do this. You can use kosher salt, a scrubber and neutral oil to scrub it. Important- do NOT use any soap. If you find it difficult to remove, you can leave water in the pan overnight to soften the debris.
Spray with Easy Off (Lye) Yellow Cap
Step one is to spray a heavy layer of Easy Off oven cleaner on the cast iron. This can be used to clean off heavy carbon build up, but will not remove rust. This method is completely safe and washing the cast iron in soap and water will remove all the lye from the piece.
Don't go scrub crazy
But for ceramic, glass, aluminum, enameled or nonstick pots and pans, reach for a less-abrasive nylon-mesh pad, and leave the heavy lifting to Dawn.
If your non stick pan is visibly charred, a mixture of white vinegar, water, and baking soda should help loosen and remove any black residue. Create a slurry of white vinegar, water, and baking soda directly in your non stick pan.