Jimb, that is a common misconception about cast iron. In the old days when soap was mostly lye, it was a different story. It could actually harm the seasoning. Modern soaps don't have the concentration of lye in them. If your seasoning is done correctly, washing in a mild soapy solution won't hurt anything. That said, I wouldn't soak them overnight or anything but you can wash them if you feel the need. I personally use water and paper towels and wipe them out. Spray a shot of PAM on them, wipe them down and they are ready for the next meal.
I use hot water as soon as I am done cooking in mine and use my spatula or a nylon Pampered Chef scraper that they sell with their cooking stones to loosen any cooked on food. Wipe it out with a paper towel or one of my cotton washcloths I crochet and it is ready to go.
If you like the pampered chef one, check out rural king. They have one that is about twice the size with a "lump" along one edge for use as a handle. IIRC they are well under a buck.
Jimb, that is a common misconception about cast iron. In the old days when soap was mostly lye, it was a different story. It could actually harm the seasoning. Modern soaps don't have the concentration of lye in them. If your seasoning is done correctly, washing in a mild soapy solution won't hurt anything. That said, I wouldn't soak them overnight or anything but you can wash them if you feel the need. I personally use water and paper towels and wipe them out. Spray a shot of PAM on them, wipe them down and they are ready for the next meal.
I just ordered a stainless chain mail scrubber from Amazon for cleaning my cast iron. I've heard good things about it, hopefully it works well.
I've had a chain mail scrubber for a couple months now. It's gentle enough on the seasoning that I use it when there's a burnt on egg or other protein that won't come off with normal soapy water. The nylon brush I used to use got nasty, the chain mail is easy to clean and you can't put too much pressure on it and peel off the seasoning. I hope you like yours as much as I enjoy mine.
If you put it in your electric oven on self clean it will burn anyhing that is not supposed to be on there off. Even rust. Then season it again. It will be good as new.
I said a while back I'd post pics of stacking these up. I've not had the chance to take good pics of the process in full swing but these show a much smaller production in action. The scouts and mostly the parents, have it down to a science. They have the charcoal starter chimneys going and know how many burning briquettes (sp?) to put on bottom and top and for how long to cook each different dish.
As I look at these it looks like these were taken when we ran out of liners and used foil. With the scouts and parents cleaning these after each camp out you cannot count on them being seasoned very well.