Sterilizing cast iron

[rebelcowboysnb]

Bleach water for sterilizing should be a 10 to 1 mix per for medical equipment per Georgia state regs. But bleach is a oxidizer an reacts to iron.

 

[can you hear me now?]

Quote:
Agreed there. We used bleach so long ago when the company was haggling for our vanities prices. I do know that out vanities now has to be between 50 to 200 parts per million now.

 

[Judy]

I won't take anything to my cast iron but grease, salt and water, and scrub with a Tuffy if needed. A good campfire is great if you get an old messed up one. For the mice, I would just do my usual thing with salt and water, then grease it (I am a believer in grease that is solid at room temp for cast iron) and put it in the oven for an hour or so. I would think 300 or 350 would be plenty. You could leave it longer, of course. I have cleaned up some old pans this way, and am using a couple of them now.

 

[greathorse]

To the OP my comment was not meant to be snarky but you have a pan you want to clean seems simple enough get the visible junk out of it and heat it up then oil it. Honor the cast iron for what it is. You will compromise the pan with many of the detergents and so forth.

 

[Organics North]

Quote:
Bit of history:
http://www.gcica.org/mfg-history/king_stove.html

Here is one for sale on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/5-Martin-Range-...ultDomain_0&hash=item255eb1c79b#ht_6844wt_932

 

[Organics North]

Yes I would avoid bleach for sure. Cast iron is porous. Things soak in.

Heat is best. Like suggested you can always make a fire outside, or just use the oven..

For care,
*Never put a hot pan in water! (Avoid quick temp changes, this can warp the pan.)
*Do not soak in water for long periods of time
*Avoid frequent use of detergents (I use a little dish soap sometimes)
* Use a copper scrubby or steel wool to clean
* Dry on the stove top
*keep the pan lightly oiled/greased
*when cooking use a metal spatula, to scrape good, do not let things stick to the pan.

With care this pan can last many many generations in your family!

Can't say that about those new fangled teflon jobbies....

ON

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Quote:
Bit of history:
http://www.gcica.org/mfg-history/king_stove.html

Here is one for sale on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/5-Martin-Range-...ultDomain_0&hash=item255eb1c79b#ht_6844wt_932

Very cool, ON! Thanks for that. Mine looks exactly like the Ebay one (except more used). I love the history bit.

Thanks also for the care instructions. I pretty much follow those (as that is how my dear old dad told me to care for it). Usually I just wipe it out really good and call it done. Mostly I use mine for cornbread so it is sort of self-greasing along the way. It's just the thought of mouse poopy and nasty little mouse feet scampering through it that has freaked me out. Everything else in those cabinets gets bleached and heat cleaned in the dishwasher. I knew I couldn't do that with these cast iron pieces. I'll do the salt and water scrub and then toss it in the oven for a bit.

Thanks to all who have been helpful!