The Best Way to Clean Your Cast Iron Pan Without Ruining the Seasoning (The Mexican Way)
Josefina's Clean Home
3,019 views
The Best Way to Clean Your Cast Iron Pan Without Ruining the Seasoning (The Mexican Way)
Look at your cast iron pan right now — maybe there's a little rust starting in one corner, maybe it just looks duller than you'd like. You scrubbed it with dish soap like every other pan, or you let it soak overnight, and now you're wondering if you ruined it. Mija, sit down, because that pan is not ruined, and almost everything you were taught about cleaning cast iron is exactly backwards.
Today I show you the old way my mother and my abuela cared for cast iron — the way a pan gets handed down still working instead of thrown out and replaced.
In this video:
Why dish soap slowly strips the seasoning you've spent years building — even the "gentle" modern kind
The coarse salt trick that lifts stuck food without ever scratching through the seasoning
Why you clean it WARM, right after cooking — never cold, never soaked, never in the dishwasher
The complete-dry step almost everyone skips, and why even 20 minutes of standing water invites rust
The thin-oil method — why MORE oil after washing actually damages the pan instead of protecting it
That rust spot doesn't mean it's ruined — the full re-seasoning method that brings it back to bare metal and beyond
No products to sell you here, mija — just the plain knowing that used to pass from a mother to a daughter and quietly got lost. Care for it the old way, and it outlives you.
Tell me in the comments how old your pan is, and whether it was yours from the start or it came down to you from someone else — I love hearing those stories. And tell me your county and how old your house — I read every one.
3 Comments
The Best Way to Clean Your Cast Iron Pan Without Ruining the Seasoning (The Mexican Way)
Josefina's Clean Home
3,019 views
The Best Way to Clean Your Cast Iron Pan Without Ruining the Seasoning (The Mexican Way)
Look at your cast iron pan right now — maybe there's a little rust starting in one corner, maybe it just looks duller than you'd like. You scrubbed it with dish soap like every other pan, or you let it soak overnight, and now you're wondering if you ruined it. Mija, sit down, because that pan is not ruined, and almost everything you were taught about cleaning cast iron is exactly backwards.
Today I show you the old way my mother and my abuela cared for cast iron — the way a pan gets handed down still working instead of thrown out and replaced.
In this video:
Why dish soap slowly strips the seasoning you've spent years building — even the "gentle" modern kind
The coarse salt trick that lifts stuck food without ever scratching through the seasoning
Why you clean it WARM, right after cooking — never cold, never soaked, never in the dishwasher
The complete-dry step almost everyone skips, and why even 20 minutes of standing water invites rust
The thin-oil method — why MORE oil after washing actually damages the pan instead of protecting it
That rust spot doesn't mean it's ruined — the full re-seasoning method that brings it back to bare metal and beyond
No products to sell you here, mija — just the plain knowing that used to pass from a mother to a daughter and quietly got lost. Care for it the old way, and it outlives you.
Tell me in the comments how old your pan is, and whether it was yours from the start or it came down to you from someone else — I love hearing those stories. And tell me your county and how old your house — I read every one.
📖 Josefina's Clean Home — every cleaning mix, every room, no store products → josefinashometips.lovable.app
🫙 Josefina's Kitchen and Pantry — the 20 groceries, 35 foods that last, cooking methods, nothing wasted → josefinashometips.lovable.app
Both books are instant downloads. On your phone in 30 seconds. 7-day money back and you keep the books either way.
The old way, written down at last. 🌿