Cast iron is a heavyweight champion in many kitchens. It has been around for centuries and, as cookware goes, it may be the most durable and versatile. From searing steaks to sizzling fajitas, it’s a staple in many homes.
A bit of care and maintenance will keep the seasoned finish of cast iron and ensure it lasts forever.
To soap or not to soap: that is the question.
The big debate is: soap or no soap. A drop of soap on a cast iron pan could be grounds for divorce in some households. One thing we can all agree on, is: NO DISHWASHERS.
First, let’s talk about the no-soap method. The thought here is that soap breaks down fat, and since the seasoning on your cast iron pan is made of oil (aka fat), the soap must break down the seasoning. So no-soapers will usually wash their pans with just hot water and a stiff scrub brush. For stuck-on bits, you can either use some coarse salt for abrasion, or heat up the pan on your stove with some water in it, and stir with a wooden spatula until these bits come loose.
Now, let’s talk about the soap method. The science here is that the seasoning is made up of layers and layers of oil cooked at a high temperature, which transforms it into a plastic-like non-stick coating. The technical term here is that the oil is POLYMERIZED. So as long as you have sufficient seasoning on your pan, a little bit of mild soap shouldn’t hurt it.
It should come as no surprise to you that GoCleanCo is TEAM SOAP (sorry, no-soapers!).
When you buy through our links, we may earn a small commission.
We used Lodge pans (USA) (Canada) in our tests, which come pre-seasoned.
3 Steps to (Properly) Clean Cast Iron
Step 1 – Wash:
Hand wash using soap (blue Dawn® is our favorite) and scrub away baked on foods with a stiff scrub brush. Rinse well. Do not use abrasive cleaners or metal scrubbers.
For stubborn bits, simmer some water in the pan and scrape them off with a wooden or plastic scraper, then rinse.
Do not let the pan soak in water. Water + iron = rust.
Step 2 – Dry:
Using a clean tea towel or paper towel, dry thoroughly to prevent rust.
Optional: warm up on the stovetop on low heat for a few minutes to ensure it’s bone dry.
Step 3 – Oil:
To maintain the seasoning between uses, buff a little bit of cooking oil into the entire pan (top, bottom, sides and handle) with a paper towel after each clean.
Optional: You can warm the pan on the stove again to bind the oil to the pan and to ensure the oil doesn’t go rancid in between uses.
How to Season Your Cast Iron
If you are finding that your food is sticking to the pan, it may be time to re-season your cast iron. Here’s how.
- Rub the pan all over (all surfaces) with oil – vegetable or canola work great.
- Buff in the oil until there is no excess – pools or drips of oil can create hardened droplets.
- Place the pan upside down in a preheated 450 degree oven for 30 minutes, with a baking sheet on the rack below to catch drips..
- Remove the pan from the oven. (IT’S HOT: USE CAUTION)
- If there isn’t a sheen to the surface (indicating it’s non-stick), you may need to repeat this process a few times.
Sear-iously folks, use this guide to help keep your cast iron cookware looking and performing at its best. You will continue to impress your friends and family with the amazing flavors that cast iron brings to your dishes for many more years to come.
– Denise and Becky @GoCleanCo
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gocleanco
Sep 22
It’s Kitchen week of the Fall Cleaning Challenge and I can finally share my new kitchen sink from BLANCO that everyone has been asking about. I am very excited to be working with @blancoamerica1 they are THE kitchen experts and a global brand with over 95 years of experience. Head to my stories to see how I care for this beauty on the daily and how easy it is to treat stains. BLANCO is more than just sinks; they also have faucets and organizational systems (like the BOTTON) that work together as an integrated UNIT. #ad
gocleanco
Sep 19
We kicked off the Fall Cleaning Challenge by flying to Burnaby, British Columbia and cleaning our Spring Cleaning Challenge (2023) winners house! We had so much fun doing this clean. Lots of team work, planning and love was poured into this project! Getting cheered on by you folks makes it all worth it! Being able to pay our good fortune forward to our followers makes us all warm and fuzzy. Big thanks to our brand partners who generously hooked us up with so much gifted stuff for the winner. We all need to go nap for 3 days now 😂 Did you enter the Fall Cleaning Challenge so that this can be you Spring 2024?! Link in our bio or head to our website to enter. #cleaning Special thanks to @ruggable @bollandbranch @oceansalesltd @proctergamble @amazoninfluencerprogram 💕
gocleanco
Sep 15
Want to open your front door and see our smiling faces coming to clean your house? Then you better get over to bleachpraylove.com on Monday, September 18th and join the Fall Cleaning Challenge! That’s right, the Grand Prize is a house clean by yours truly and my crew. We fly to you and give your house a top to bottom clean like only we can. How does the Fall Cleaning Challenge work? Each week for four weeks follow along and clean your house with me! Plus we have soooo cool many prizes! Each week we will be giving away some of my favorite things like @bollandbranch @ruggable @sharkbeauty blow dryers, and my personal fav cold hard 💰 to help you catch up on bills, buy a new vacuum or hire someone to help you with your looming House Work if you can’t get caught up! If you want to see more of our adventure at the Spring Cleaning Challenge winners house stay tuned in stories for the next few days PLUS we are filming it all for YouTube and you can watch it all the behind the scenes dirty laundry…The good, the bad…the filthy. Love you folks. For reals. 💕 Thank you for making our job so fun! #cleaningmotivation
gocleanco
Aug 25
No visit from @hellohairhouse is complete without a kitchen haircut! #fallhairtrends
gocleanco
Aug 24
The Fall Cleaning Challenge starts on Monday Sept 18th, 2023. Y’all ready? The download will be available on September 18th and the grand prize is a house clean by yours truly! We also have some new vacuum testing coming your way 😈 My garage is FULL of suckers baby and I’m not mad about it. #fallcleaning
gocleanco
Aug 19
Update: It’s a damn ice box in here and I’ve been sleeping like a baby. #airconditioning
gocleanco
Aug 8
Perfect example that cleaning 👏🏻 is 👏🏻 home 👏🏻 maintenance 👏🏻 Take care of your stuff and it will last longer. This little handy-dandy-doo-dad scrubber is linked in my Amazon Storefront. #cleaningtips
gocleanco
Aug 3
Had fun in the angels’ city chasing fortune and fame 😎 Thanks @amazoninfluencerprogram for #hosting me. And no I didn’t get tickets to any shows this weekend but for the rest of you—take the moment and taste it. 🫶🏼
gocleanco
Jul 19
To the Salon!!!!!! (Or in this case, the laundry room.) Saved these fabulous scuffed up pumps with some @tidelaundrystainremover a cloth and some patience. Just in time for @barbiethemovie premiere! Have fun @lauren_lally always happy to be of service 🫡 #barbiethemovie
gocleanco
Jul 12
Bathroom organization top picks! Everything is in my storefront to 🛍️ #amazonfinds
gocleanco
Jul 11
Summer is here! Clean up your space so you actually want to hangout in it. That hot tub…it’s not mine…k🤦🏼♀️ Link in bio for these products, some are on sale for Prime Day, just check the albums for your country.
gocleanco
Jul 11
Robot Vacuum Fight Club! 💪🏻 Things we threw on the floor: Shreddies, Powdered Tide, (clean) Cat Litter, A crumbled up loaf of sourdough and good old dirt! Stay tuned for the results. 🧐 #thiswasmorefunthaniexpected
gocleanco
Jul 8
Spent my morning making a very aesthetically pleasing Raspberry Pie Reel for y’all but it ended up being a Raspberry Scramble 🥴💀 Wasn’t gonna post it BUT when life feels like a scramble it can still be delicious. 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼 Please consider this my official petition to bring @jello back as a dessert staple.
gocleanco
Jul 7
Shower tracked destroyed with built up hard water minerals? Here’s an easy solution with a simple house hold ingredient and elbow grease. Still gonna take some scrubbing friends, good results take work. #cleaningtips
gocleanco
Jul 6
Is pressure washing considered a form of therapy? Asking for a friend. #backupvocalsduuuuuuuuupe
gocleanco
Jun 29
Years in the making…it’s FINALLY here…and it’s a masterpiece. Over the years I have received thousands of DM’s asking what to pick when renovating your home. What is the easiest to clean? What will survive the test of time? So I compiled it all here in our Home Renovation Guide. Apologies for taking so long but we kept adding and it kept getting longer and longer. This has been a labour of love. Link in bio to purchase or tap to shop! #itsbeenalongtimecoming
gocleanco
Jun 21
Sounds like a lot of you have slime problems. Here’s how we got it out! Sprinkle baking soda on the slime and smush it down into the carpet fibres so it gets in deep. Add straight vinegar and let it sit for about 30 mins. Scrub it with a brush. Repeat until it’s gone! When you repeat, you need to let it sit each time for 30 mins so it starts to break down the slime. We scrubbed for 30 mins too, don’t give up! Think about how expensive the damn carpet is to replace and that will give you lots of energy! As always: It is a good idea to test an inconspicuous spot first (like in a closet) before try you so this because all carpets are different. Try at your own risk but also if you have dried slime all over your carpet I think you are screwed anyways. GOOD LUCK and report back. #slime #slimetoturial
gocleanco
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I’m a simple creature. Here’s the haul I promised from the viral sweater set. Yellow usually isn’t my colour but I’m feeling it the most! Wearing a medium, it’s machine washable but I have been laying it flat to dry. Everything is linked in my bio and up in my stories. #amazonfinds
gocleanco
Jun 17
If you thought I was going to miss an opportunity to use this bop, you were wrong. Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there, reminder that a clean tractor is a sexy tractor. @kubotacanada if you wanna detail this thing next year LMK. 🚜 🧽 🫧😎
gocleanco
Jun 16
5 days left to get in that spring clean!! 😂💪🏻 Here’s a round up of all the stuff we’ve cleaned with @mrclean if you need some inspiration! It’s been quite the journey 😵💫🤢What else do y’all use @mrclean for? #mrcleanpartner #sponsored