Stop using dish soap on your cast iron - here's why I wrecked mine

I got a 60 year old Griswold skillet from my grandpa and scrubbed it with Dawn like a regular pan. After 3 weeks the seasoning was peeling off in strips and stuff started tasting like rust. Has anyone else ruined a good pan by treating it like modern cookware?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannahsingh1mo ago

My buddy cleaned his heirloom pan with bar soap and it flaked seasoning everywhere within a week.

the_viola1mo ago

Used to think bar soap was fine for cast iron, but this story totally flipped that. Saw a buddy do the same thing last month and his pan looked awful within days. Guess modern soaps really do eat through that seasoning.

josepha321mo ago

Whoa that's wild. Wait, did your buddy use something like Dial or Irish Spring? Cause I've heard dish soap is usually fine for cast iron, but bar soap can have lye or other harsh stuff that just shreds the seasoning. Was it a specific brand or just whatever was in the bathroom? Also, did he scrub it really hard with a rough sponge or just a quick wash? I'm curious if the flaking was fast because of the soap itself or if he maybe scrubbed too aggressively. Seasoning can be fragile even without soap, so the combo probably did it in quick.