Ok, I know I'm posting in a rather sporadic manner, and I'm rather overdue, but here's something new for you.
I've been spending a lot of time on a cast iron forum that I found, and am really excited to have made that connection, because there is just so much good information! I know I showed you all my "catch" from Michigan, and even the pan that I cleaned from that batch. That pan was cleaned using "The Oven Cleaner Method", which involves setting out a tin roasting pan with a garbage bag in it, and the pan inside of that. You spray it down on both sides and then leave it to soak in, wrapping the bag tightly so that the oven cleaner doesn't evaporate. It takes a few coats of the toxic smelling stuff, and its messy and hard to deal with, and takes a few weeks of sitting and reapplying coats, smelling up the house and possibly doing damage to your lungs.
The gang on the forum have other methods that are much more effective, and less dangerous to your lungs: using electrolysis to clean the pan, and using a bath of water and sodium hydroxide, or lye. Because I live in a small apartment, and I don't have room, nor money, to invest in an electrolysis rig, I decided to research lye even more.
First of all, its caustic stuff. Lye is used in soap making, and believe me, it will get you clean, but in its pure form, when added to water, it can eat away at your clothes and skin. I did a lot of reading online both at this forum and in other areas on the internet, and found that while it can be dangerous, so is a car, if you are irresponsible with it. Be cautious, and respect your tools, and you'll be fine. I decided to do this.
I got myself a nice lime green Sterilite tub/bin, and ordered lye from a chemical supply store. I researched the proper labeling and safety precautions, and made some labels for the bin, added my water, and then added my lye. While I don't have photos of any of the results yet (and I apologize for that, life has been kinda insane lately), I do have photos of the lye bath being setup and the pans resting inside of it, being cleaned nearly immediately upon entering the tub.
The tub, ready to accept water and lye.
The tub, full of 5 gallons of water.
Adding lye to the tub.
Two pans, already coming clean from the bath.
I'll have more photos next time of the results of this cleaning. Enjoy all, and sorry for the late update. Happy cooking!
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