Seasoning Coming Off Pans

M Rubio

New member
Hey all! My husband has been using my cast iron skillets that I recently restored, and for some reason when he cleans it the seasoning flakes off. Did I season inadequately, or is he being too aggressive with his scrubbing? We have a little piece of chain mail we clean with if that makes a difference.
 
That is not a specific question,no body knows how you season the skillet,what did you use to season it?how aggressive is he when he clean it?and if you have a pic probably that helps to have an idea what are you talking about,
 
any chance you used flax oil?

I've seen a lot of discussions about flax flaking off. it looks good when you first put it on... but it doesn't hold up to use.
 
As stated, without a description of how you're seasoning we can't evaluate that part.

Is he being too aggressive with his scrubbing? If it's a newly seasoned pan and he's not used to cleaning CI, quite likely.

Are you using extra oil on the pan while cooking until it builds better seasoning?
 
M,

If you haven't already reviewed it, try this link:

http://www.castironcollector.com/maintenance.php

I'm not sure what you mean by small piece of "chain mail", but if your husband is using a metal scrubber to clean the pan it may well take off the seasoning.

Personally, I use the Kosher salt/oil approach Doug describes if it is necessary to "scrub" a pan. That is because I will forget which plastic/nylon scrubber has and which one does not have soap in it.
 
I'm not sure what you mean by small piece of "chain mail"

Search amazon, there's a bunch of them out there. A little square of linked metal loops i.e. chain mail used as a scrubber. Suggested for cleaning cast iron but after researching a bit I decided to stick with my wok whisk.
 
I find that if I have tough crud in a skillet, boiling some water in it and using a plastic Lodge scraper does the trick. No seasoning damage.
 
Sorry I failed to mention that I too use boiling water and/or the kosher salt/oil scrub to clean skillets. One and/or the other has always done the job.
 
I usually only need a brush I bought from Lodge to clean my pans, and the scrapers from Lodge. I rarely need anything else. Clean them while they are warm.
 
So far my worst case has needed some water simmered in the pan and the lodge scraper to remove some breakfast potatoes that were over cooked. A quick spray of Pam and a wipe with a paper towel after that cleaning proved good to go at next use. No sticking and quick cleanup for a skillet meatloaf.
Enjoy.
 
Back
Top