A "Life Change"...not really but I made up my mind.

S

SeanD

Well-known member
I have been into CI for probably 15 years, all told. I always hear to NOT use soap., ect. I followed that for the most part. But I have a #12 Wapak that was pitted pretty bad, and its almost filled in from use. I always us it for sauce dishes, tacos, ect.....I have been using soap on this 1 skillet for years, and I notice no big changes. No noticable damage to the seasoning, and I guess a peace of mind knowing its "clean". I will always use soap on this skillet, but I cant make the switch the whole way, lol.....Hot water and a scrub brush, and Im good to go. Whats your stance on this? Im just curious.
 
The caveat against soap likely stems from the days of lye soap or soap making. If a kettle used for making lye soap had been used for other purposes that established a seasoning, the removal of that seasoning by the lye soap would certainly have made people think twice about using it on their other cookware. About the only thing today's dish soap and a non-abrasive pad will do is remove the residual film of unpolymerized cooking fat, leaving the seasoning intact but dull in appearance. If that's objectionable, a wipe down with a few drops of oil will restore the shine. I don't worry about using the soapy pad I'm using for other dishes on cast iron, and intentionally use it when the pan has been used to cook fish, particularly oily fish like salmon.
 
I was thinking......soap cant be all that more harmful to the seasoning than scouring with river rocks, ect. Most of my CI, I only use hot water and a brush. I always think about all the meals cooked with a particular pan.....its mind blowing!
 
I would say when possible use water and a brush. But if it needs a small amount of soap, definitely use it when it needs it.
 
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