r/castiron • u/honeyrapsdude • 1d ago
Seasoning I (finally) tried chainmail on my skillet and I'm a believer now
After months of stubbornly scrubbing with just hot water and salt, I broke down and bought one of those chainmail scrubbers everyone keeps recommending. My 12" Lodge had these stubborn bits from cornbread that just wouldn't budge.
First use and I'm completely converted. Cleaned in seconds with zero effort, and my seasoning stayed perfect. Can't believe I wasted so much time being stubborn about "traditional" cleaning methods.
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u/One_Local5586 1d ago
What’s wrong with using soap?
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u/PossibilityOk782 1d ago edited 1d ago
You use soap along with the chainmail, soab doesn't really get burnt on bits off of metal easily the chainmail let's you scrub it without scratching the pans seasoning
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u/josiah_mac 16h ago
Sometimes I'm cooking some meat with a sugary marinade or sauce I like to char on. It'll stick to the bottom, comes off with alot of elbow grease but if the chain mail makes it easier I'm all for it
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u/QuiteBearish 15h ago
Sponges have to be replaced rather frequently. A chainmail scrubber lasts a very, very long time (I'm sure they eventually wear down but I haven't had it happen yet) and can be thrown in the dishwasher with the rest of your dishes.
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u/honeyrapsdude 1d ago
Soap is fine for cast iron, but the chainmail scrubber helps remove stuck on bits without stripping the seasoning. It’s especially useful for tougher residues that soap and a regular sponge might not handle as well.
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u/BugOk3418 1d ago
Chainmail really is a game changer! It makes cleaning so much easier without messing up the seasoning
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u/zebra_who_cooks 1d ago edited 1d ago
I like to boil with water and a little oil for the tough stuff. Then clean like normal. Even the toughest stuff comes right off. Don’t have a chainmail scrubber. But I use steel scrubbers
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u/Ok_Swing_7194 16h ago
I use soap and water or an SOS / Brillo pad if it’s bad, and wipe on Crisco if needed. People overthink this shit to a disordered degree
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u/FloppyTwatWaffle 1d ago
Not one single damn thing. Soap and a blue or green scubby are usually sufficient for me.
I did have an incident the other night when I left some brats on the wood stove and didn't pay enough attention to them, and they got a little crusty. I had to use a coil SS scruby to get the crusty bits off, but no biggie.
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u/Zachmode 1d ago
Just use a sponge, chainmail when needed, and soap everytime. Dry it on the stove afterwards. Oil if you want, I don’t.
Everyone so caught up with making a wall hanger, but 99% of users don’t hang on the wall.
Just cook on the damn thing, scrub the burnt food off after, and dry it off…
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u/SkepticJoker 17h ago
Yup. Oiling the pan after it’s already bone dry only serves to protect it if you’re planning to store it away for more than a few days. If you’re using a pan every day, you really don’t need to oil it. You can, you just don’t need to.
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u/future_lard 19h ago
I find these curly metal scrubbers really good, is chain mail even better?
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u/webtwopointno 18h ago
steel wool? i like it too but you can definitely strip the seasoning with it scrubbing too hard. hell you could even start scraping down some of the (comparatively softer) iron.
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u/future_lard 18h ago
https://ebaqala.com/en/kuwait-indian-grocery/groceries/48905/provid_no_31mtr_steel_wool_50gms.html
I mean this type, much better than the scoring pad type steel wool
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u/webtwopointno 18h ago
ya this type is much nicer for dishes, still much sharper than the chain mail though
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u/pingo5 15h ago
I was using one of these before i got my chainmail pad, I think they're less agressive than regular steel wool, but definitely noticed you can strip if you go too hard with them. That was back when i was newer to cast iron though, so they'll probably be ok if you know what the pan is supposed to look like lol.
That said, the chainmail is a real nice upgrade. I don't have to worry about paying that kind of attention to it lol
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u/pingo5 15h ago
I was using one of these before i got my chainmail pad, I think they're less agressive than regular steel wool, but definitely noticed you can strip if you go too hard with them. That was back when i was newer to cast iron though, so they'll probably be ok if you know what the pan is supposed to look like.
That said, the chainmail is a real nice upgrade. I don't have to worry about paying that kind of attention to it lol
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u/unkilbeeg 17h ago
I'm a little bit confused about the hot water and salt. How is that useful?
Oil and salt can be useful because the salt acts as a mild abrasive while the oil acts as a lubricant. But hot water and salt would just dissolve the salt. This is a slightly corrosive mixture, but I'm not sure how it could be useful to clean anything.
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u/Zimi231 14h ago
I swear most of the salt scrub no soap people are just stubborn oldsters who refuse to try anything else because "this is how I've always done it" while they're in the middle of their yearly lye bath to strip carbon buildup.
Meanwhile the rest of us have clean, perfectly seasoned pans with no worries of carbon buildup with minimal effort.
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u/blmboy 12h ago
I've never understood why people bother to scrub pans. Put water in the pan. Bring it to a boil. Use a spatula to scrape any particularly stubborn bits while boiling. Empty the pan and give it a quick wash and rinse while it is still hot. Works every time.
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u/Professional_Fly8241 5h ago
Used to do that until I realized soap and steel wool are just super easy to use and less fussy.
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u/kayakyakr 1d ago
Wait. You were using hot water and salt? You should be using oil and salt! hot water dissolves the salt before it can scrub off the stickies!
Chainmail is still the best, but it's closely followed by oil and salt for effectiveness and oil + salt is better for a new pan as it helps build up seasoning layers.
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u/James__A 15h ago
Should the pan be first heated for this oil & salt treatment? Is vegetable oil okay? Any other tips?
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u/kayakyakr 12h ago
Needs to be cool enough to touch, you're not trying to fry your fingers. Vegetable oil works, though I prefer olive or almond.
Scrub with a paper towel until it's clean, rinse and then dry it. If stuff is still stuck, you can boil water in it, or just get out the chainmail.
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u/Choosemyusername 14h ago
Honestly I just use those aggressive steel wool scrubbies as they are even faster and easier than chain mail, which I also own.
They say it hurts the seasoning. I get slidey eggs. I cook fish without breaking it. The seasoning is as good as it needs to be.
I am convinced Teflon bots are out here making CI seem more complicated than they really are. Otherwise they don’t have a real problem to solve.
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u/Gullible-Analysis-40 1d ago
I'd read enough that I just bought chainmail with my first CI. It's so good.
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u/KeySheMoeToe 23h ago
How often are you having stuff stick badly enough to require the chainmail? I use mine 2-3 times a year max and I use the pan often.
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u/Q73POWER 22h ago
I love my chainmail. I don’t need it very often anymore as I got better with Cast Iron but it’s the best when something gets a bit burnt on. A plastic scrubber sponge is my favorite. Chainmail doesn’t do great on loose stuff like eggs for me. The plastic scrubber takes loose right off and chainmail takes care of the hard burnt stuff.
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u/weasel_68 19h ago
I got a chain mail wrapped around a silicone "sponge" and I think it works super well. Great for those time you need a little extra oomph
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u/Forsaken-Land-1285 19h ago
I brought partner a chainmail for the sous vide to keep the meat under the water. He uses it to clean the skillet. Multi-use at least.
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u/TwoMoreMinutes 13h ago
This is the way
That said, if you’re frequently having to break out the chainmail to remove stubborn bits, then you’re probably cooking too hot
I rarely need to get mine out, hot water soap and a scrub with the sponge is usually enough
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u/notANexpert1308 9h ago
What were you using before? Soft sponge, scrub daddy, dish towel, your hands…?
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u/James_Vaga_Bond 1d ago
I'll just add that a sponge is hands down the worst dishwashing utensil that exists for any type of dishes. There's nothing it can do that a scrub brush and a scouring pad can't do better.
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u/jeeves585 1d ago
I hate our chain mail scrubber. I understand why some (my wife) would like it but it’s no where near a green scotch scrubber imo.
Happy you’re happy though :D
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u/michaelpaoli 1d ago
I prefer the stainless steel scrubbers - work quite well, and last a long time.
And ... for the price of a chainmail scrubber ... can probably cover more than lifetime supply of stainless steel scrubbers.
But hey, if chainmail works for you - whatever works - it's cast iron, you're not gonna hurt it.
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u/andrewjkwhite 16h ago
What are you people doing to your cast iron pans? I am not nice to my pan, it gets overheated too often and i have attention problems so I've burnt stuff to it more often than I'd like to admit but I've never had to use anything but a normal scrubbing sponge (the blue kind safe for non stick pans) and a bit of soap to clean my pan. What scenario would you need a steel scrubber. I have a small pan that I use to make purgatory eggs and the acid in the sauce does affect the seasoning and make stuff stick but even that pan cleans with a bit of soap and the same blue scrubber with minimal effort. I always reheat and wipe them down with oil before I put them away, maybe that helps. I just can't imagine needing that much abrasion to clean my pan unless I was trying to destroy the seasoning to redo it.
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u/SnooObjections488 1d ago
Warning: mine removes damn near everything seasoning included. Keep some steel wool for the corners (edges) as thats where mine is stripped the most
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u/WrennyWrenegade 14h ago
I've never felt the need. I've never encountered a mess that a sponge couldn't tackle.
For cornbread, I preheat the pan along with the oven, melt butter in the hot pan, and then put in the batter. It comes out clean with a beautiful crust. Nothing sticks to be scrubbed off.
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u/eirlous 1d ago
Same journey here! Was a salt scrubbing purist for years until my partner got me chainmail for Christmas last year. Night and day difference. The best part is how you can really go to town scrubbing without worrying about damaging the seasoning. My cornbread doesn't stick anymore either! Also weirdly satisfying to use kinda like those metal scalp massagers.