Rant: That guy on YouTube saying you should never wash cast iron with soap is full of it

I bought a pre-seasoned Lodge skillet from a flea market in Detroit for $12 about 6 months ago. For weeks I was paranoid about scrubbing it with anything but salt and water because every video I watched said soap would ruin the seasoning. Then last Tuesday I made a tomato sauce that left this dark sticky residue that wouldn't budge. I finally said screw it and hit it with a little dish soap and a soft sponge. The seasoning didnt flake off or get messed up at all. It actually looked better after I dried it and rubbed a tiny bit of oil on. Now I wash it like a normal pan and its been fine for 3 weeks straight. Has anyone else noticed the no soap rule is just some weird internet gatekeeping thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

henryt183d ago

Fix the tomato sauce thing first, it's actually the acid that can mess up seasoning more than soap.

simonk983d agoOG Member

The whole no soap thing comes from back when soap had lye in it, which would actually strip seasoning. Modern dish soap is totally different and won't hurt a properly seasoned pan at all. People just repeat the old rule without checking if it still applies.

tessaperry3d ago

yeah but see I've actually tested this. I used dawn on my lodge pan that I've had for like 5 years and it definitely took some of the shine off. not the whole seasoning but it felt different after, a little more matte and dry. and I know people say modern soap is fine but dawn is literally designed to cut through grease and oil, which is exactly what seasoning is. so it makes sense it would take a little bit off every time you use it. plus I've talked to old school cast iron collectors who restore these things and they all say the same thing - hot water and a chainmail scrubber is all you need. if you're having to use soap you're probably not heating your pan right or you're cooking stuff that's too sticky for cast iron in the first place.