No Stupid Questions

The amount of energy spent online about cleaning cast iron skillets blows my mind.

They are just slabs of iron.

Probably a second cast iron skillet

I print some of the endless online discussions about cast iron care. The paper, the ink and the opinions make for an excellent mild abrasive that doesn't permeate the pores or excessively damage the seasoning patina

I turn up the heat then throw water. It boils and cleanup with paper towel. Use tongs.

I wipe any fat or oil with a paper towel into the trash. then I rinse it with soap and water and I have a regular plastic brush I use to wash it.

After I dry it off with a paper towel and heat it up and add some avocado oil then wipe the excess all around

I'm convinced there's no right answer to this. Whatever works for you. The internet will never agree no matter what you do. Hell, put it in the dishwasher and (optional) re-apply the seasoning if you want to.

Personally I put it on the stove just to heat it up slightly, and them I rinse it under hot water while scrubbing with a light plastic brush just to get and chunks and gunks out. Once done I put it on the stove to burn/polymerize any leftover grease and add to the seasoning.

Sometimes I use some mild dish soap if I suspect that any flavor might carry over.

Wiping out? Like, entirely? Well, personal physical assault isn't wise, so let's take that off the table first. I wouldn't suggest basic firearms, either: they'd likely just dent it or fly off and hurt something else.

Running it over isn't likely to damage it too badly, and trying to drown it just leads to rust. I think it'd be hard to get an "accidental" fire to have a high-enough heat sustained for a long enough to kill it. Dropping it from a height might bend or dent it.

Honestly, I think your best chance would be some kind of high explosive. Not a dinky thing like a hand grenade - aside from being under-powered, there's the extra shrapnel to worry about. Maybe some dynamite or C4, with a long enough detcord so you're not near the explosion. Of course, that'll likely just launch it upwards a bit, so you'd want to enclose it in something that ensures most of the damage is directed to the pan and not dispersed around the edges.

Maybe ask the police to do a demolition demonstration with their little self-contained units that they blow things up in, would that be feasible? How much do you hate this pan, anyway?

People are so weird with their cast iron care.... I scrub it with hot water, a brush, and maybe some soap depending on how dirty it is. Then I dry it off LIKE A NORMAL PAN and heat a little oil in it again to keep it from rusting. The only thing you need to do different than a normal pan is get some oil on it and heat it up after washing. It's a ferrous metal so it'll rust if it isn't protected.

Edit: for wiping out I just use a paper towel with a little oil on it

I've been doing my best to follow cowboy kent's method where if you can, while the pan is still hot, run it under hot water and scrape away with a wooden spatula or other flat tool. I've had great success with most cleanings and anything stuck on I just do as the other user said and scrub with a abrasive sponge and a little soap and warm water until I'm happy.

Soap and water. It’s cast iron, not silk.

Paper towel. Don't overthink it.

If I am babying them, kosher salt and oil once it's cool enough, then rinse & dry. Otherwise I scrape at it with the metal spatula then wash with soap and a scratchy sponge, it's fine as long as you don't soak them, and do dry them well after.

We do have a chainmail scrubber - my husband was soaking the skillets and killing the finish, he likes the chainmail scrubber.

Modern soaps lack the phosphates that really mess with cast iron. I typically do this.

Little bit of water, heat on high until it boils most things off the pan.

Scrape with metal spatula and stick items.

Hit it lightly with soap and sponge.

Dry with paper towel.

Spray with oil.

Wipe oil all sides.

I use chain mail.

I just make the pan hot and wipe it out with a paper towel quickly so it doesn't burn the paper. If I made a sauce in it, a wet paper towel.

I tend to use a paper towel with a little bit of canola oil, after hand washing it lightly with soap and water.

My cast iron won't win beauty pageants, but they are functional equipment, not wall decorations.

My dad sands his silver and just washes it regular

Stiff wooden brush, oil and salt

Edit: it's actually bamboo

We have a plastic scraper that gets anything off with a bit of water. Then I hit it with a rough sponge and water, towel dry, then stovetop dry. While still hot, I like to put a thin layer of Crisco on all surfaces with a paper towel and wipe any excess off. Having a well seasoned pan, warming up before cooking, and using enough fat or oil makes cleaning and maintaining a lot easier.

Umm, a towel?