Cleaning Cast Iron with Lye
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- Опубліковано 21 сер 2024
- Using lye (sodium hydroxide) to clean decades of buildup and seasoning from an antique Griswold cast iron skillet...and not just any skillet, a 15-inch "Number 14" sized pan. This is a prize for any collector to own, and I'll be doing more than simply displaying it -- I'll be cooking in it! The chemical solution is lye, which has been used for making soap...and cleaning stains...for hundreds of years. For more about using lye, cleaning antique cast iron, and about cast iron cookware in general, please visit Facebook's Cast Iron Cooking group at: www.modemac.com...
With the lye, I followed the suggestion of using one pound of lye for every five gallons of water. That was a 2-pound container, and I mixed it with ten gallons of water. The vinegar was less exact: I used three gallons of water and about half a gallon of vinegar. That was plenty to neutralize the lye when the pans were submerged. After that, I could pick up the pans with my bare hands and wash them out in the sink.
For more information about using lye to clean cast iron, check out these links:
- Wagner and Griswold Society: www.wag-society...
- Cast Iron Collector: www.castironcol...
- Griswold & Cast Iron Cookware Association: www.gcica.org/c...
Nice work, and I appreciate the safety tips. I learned some cool things about antique skillets from this video :)
This is an important technique to know. I'm trained as a chemist (so not scared of chemicals) and think oven cleaner should be illegal. It's far too dangerous to spray aerosolized lye in anything less than a controlled industrial environment. I find it far safer to mix lye the way you're doing it when needing to clean up kitchen appliances or implements. Even so, I recommend upgrading the dust mask to a respirator, especially when making more concentrated solutions (I often go up to 50% NaOH by weight for applications like cold process soap making and getting carbonized junk off of enameled stove/oven surfaces). The solution will get hot, and it will emit nasty steam containing some lye.
If cheap vinegar is not handy, you can also neutralize a lye solution with baking soda, which runs about 50 cents a pound in bulk. Use extra, and you'll have a mildly basic carbonate/bicarbonate buffer suitable for disposal. NaOH weighs 40 g/mol and NaHCO3 weighs 84 g/mol. So about 2.5 pounds baking soda for every pound of lye will do the trick.
Very helpful!
So how much water tonite mix for cleaning pans?
I only left it in the vinegar-water solution for a few minutes, while I scrubbed down the other pans shown in the video. The chemical reaction between the vinegar and the lye is nearly instant, and the lye is neutralized immediately. I have yet to feel any burning or irritation on my skin from washing cast iron pans, after leaving them in the vinegar-water dip for only a few minutes.
This was one of the most informative videos i've ever watched. Thank You
Brilliant Thankyou 9yrs and this is still helping people DIY easy peasy
Thank you so much for this! I had an old BSR No 7, 10-1/8 IN pan that I thought was completely wrecked there was so much peeling build-up. Once I watched your videos I felt confident restoring it. Now it is my favorite pan. Wish I could post my before & after photos because the results are unbelievable!
Excellent! That makes it worthwhile.
I stumbled across a hammered Chicago Hardware 89A Fryer with lid yesterday. Thank you for the content. It looks like this is just what it needs! Just started my soak in ten gallons as well.
I have a 14 in. with the slanted high sides I bought in the mid 70's for 24 dollars which to me was a lot back then. 40 yrs later I still have it and use it. All it had on the back of it was USA. I have a 10" grill pan I bought at a yard sale and was never able to clean between the grooves the way I wanted. I will try this method. Thank you so much :o)
FYI, Eric:
As someone who works with chemicals and chemistry AND how neutralizes chemicals on a weekly basis, you really need to rinse with water out of the NaOH tank THEN go to the vinegar tank. Vinegar is a weak acid and the vinegar solution you made is very dilute (less than 2%, Is my guess). NaOH is a strong base and you made a solution that was about 15%. It was likely still a risk when you took it into the kitchen.
The reason for rinsing with water is that NaOH will rinse off very easily with water. The vinegar dip isn't really going to do anything, but it's a nice insurance policy.
I'll acknowledge your expertise, and will keep this in mind when I rebuild the lye tank this spring.
Thank you, I'm in the process of building a lye solution tank of my own, so I will have 3 tanks, thank you!
acoow How do we safely dispose of the NaOH after soaking?
Natchitoches Levi NaOH is the main ingredient of most drain cleaners, so it is fine to dump it down the drain, unless you are on a septic system. If you are on a septic system, 1) dig a hole in your yard and dump the solution in. Cover the hole with the dirt after it has soaked in or 2) Dump it into the storm sewer next time there is a heavy rain.
Some people say to neutralize the solution with vinegar (acetic acid). This is not a good choice. It will take about 15 gallons of store-bought vinegar to neutralize a solution that is made with one cup of lye pellets. The vinegar at the store is usually a 5% solution. Three cups of concentrated acetic acid will do the job but would be expensive.
Well done...... you're presentation was direct, simple to understand and effective. Thank you ❣️
Great video! That WagnerWare chef's skillet is gorgeous! I have a new Lodge chef's skillet which has the new finish and a 3-notch Lodge chef's skillet with the swirled finish. I like yours because its smooth. Just really started using Chet's skillets recently. Love them!
I'm impressed! I was doing measured research on lye reactions based on metal contact. It's one think to say " don't do it" but it's more effective to say "don't do it because...." So when I came across this vid.....wow nice. Make sure you add that Griswold to your insurance.
Last night while using the self cleaning oven method my oven caught on fire! Not only did I have to shut the power off at the breaker box to stop the cleaning cycle the fire wouldn't go out until I did.It took an hour for the stove to cool down enough to cancel the cleaning cycle and unlock the door. Fortunately the stove wasn't damaged and the skillets didn't crack in the fire. I can only imagine what could have happened if I'd been outside when the fire started.Thanks to your video I have a much safer way to clean my skillets !They're soaking in lye water right now!
Sorry to hear about this, I hope no one was hurt.
@@castironchaos Thank you!The fumes were worse than the smoke but after running the fans for an hour and opening the door most of it was gone.My son and his wife were here when it happened.I was wondering how temperature affected the lye wash.The temperature here gets down in the 30's at night and I put them in a bucket a couple hrs ago .Should I bring it inside?
Ya know, this was an excellent video. Your narration was actually nearly perfect. Your comments and edits were definitely helpful. Subscribed.
A no 14 Griswold large block letter is a very nice find! I just started collecting, I settled on Wagner smooth bottom. I like wagners numbering system, they go for less than Griswold, and the smooth bottom will be nicer for everyday use on the electric range. Thanks for the video, I'll be soaking my #3, 6, and 8 in lye for sure when they arrive!
I have my lye tank soaking - any tips on how to safely dispose of the lye/water/crud mix after I'm done? Titrate gradually with vinegar & test with pH strips maybe?
Pour it down the drain. Drano is lye.
oven cleaner is lye also. so you can just spray you pans with over cleaner. also a nice camp fire will clean a really mucky pan with no chemicals
@@luedog8385 A camp fire may warp your pans if it gets to hot,
I'm new to cast iron cooking. I'm going all in. I want to go to some antique shops to find some Griswold cast iron. Thank you for the safety tips.
Be sure to watch his video on cast iron indentification
Take plenty dough with you. Those antique dealers have jacked the price up pretty high for Wagner, BS&R, and especially Griswold cast iron skillets. Keep in mind, unlike Lodge, these are not manufactured any longer. Thus, they have become the favored cash cow for the antique, flea market, and collector's circuit. Good luck!
Here I have put ci pans in oven cleaner for weeks, and some of the gunk cleaned off, but some stayed stuck on and I put it back in a garbage pan after spraying with oven cleaner. I'm getting lye just like you did. Thank you.
I clean my i first 6 cast iron pans and my first dutch oven and it worked out great. can wait to go the the flea market to find more cast iron treasure! Thank you for answering my questions.
Hey bud, I picked one a #14 Grisswold as well! pretty pumped. about that.
Results...look fantastic
yup. this seems like my next step. this may be me being overly cautious, I'm a soaper, please long sleeves with the gloves and if possible tuck sleeves in to prevent potential burns from splash up when placing pans in solution. cold water also to rinse so happy I watched your video
Who knew this look would become popular with the corona virus 7 years later. You are a cast iron visionary ! :)
I have a pan that I think is identical to the one you mentioned, saw another in a video as well…all of ours are smooth bottom with #5 on etched on the top of the handle….upon further digging I am pretty sure these are Wagners as they all have the signature Wagner/Griswold ridge on the bottom of the handle that flattens right at the handle base making a “Flat V” there.
Thanks so much for your video! I used a lye tank to clean some old skillets and it worked brilliantly. I live in an apartment and my oven is not a self-cleaning one and using electrolysis was not practical for me. My skillets and griddle have been re-seasoned and are ready for cooking. Thanks again. BTW-Are you going to do an update to your latest lye tank video?
I'm pretty sure the lye stays on the skillet even after washing it . Be safe .
i am glad i watched this video.thank you for taking the time to make this.i am working on my second skillet now,using the yellow cap easy off method.i believe i will be going now for some lye.
The good thing about a lye tank is you can "set it and forget it." Dump your pans into the tank, then pull them out when you feel like cleaning them.
Man that is a nice looking pan. I am jealous. I never thought to use lye to clean metal. The end result looks great.
Nice countertop. With several old cast iron skillets and pots, dutch ovens and such (many I just rediscovered in my storage unit)... I have a lot of cleaning to do. Thanks
Best of luck!
Thank you for sharing this video. Now I can clean the large dutch oven that was gifted to me. This look so much easier than using vinegar.
Looks like the value has almost doubled in the last 5 years. LOVE selling cast iron
Very useful. Thanks. I recommend watching video before using Lye/ caustic soda.
Thank you for the video! I'll be purchasing some lye and giving my finds a bath this coming week!
Great video, thanks. I've never seen a #14 in person, they are huge!
I'm sold, I have been using oven cleaner, and as you know the process must be repeated at least 2x's . But your lye solution is only one time process, I'm trying that next time!
karrie cline What's more, the lye only costs as much as about two cans of oven cleaner, and it will last your entire season - spring to fall.
Good sorted out info; explained & demonstrated well
This was the way my dad cleaned our cast iron skillets. They came out like the were brand new. I need to know how do you dispose of the lye solution once you are finished.
+Deborah Goodar You can use the same lye bath for months, and clean hundreds of pieces, before it becomes too full of gunk. Regular vinegar can be mixed into the lye to neutralize it and make it safe for disposal - after all, it's drain cleaner, meant to be poured down the drain. The typical amount for neutralizing lye is two gallons of vinegar for five gallons of lye.
number 2 at the Quick Glance I saw look like a possible unmarked Wagner. I always look for the triangle right where the handle comes to the skillet. There is a flattened area on Skillets from I believe the 50s matching Wagner
that is a amazing Griswold piece, you don't find them like that often.
You said You'd likr to know what happened to My pan I accidentally left in the vinegar solution. When I picked it up by the handle , it broke. It was pitted beyond belief , I could break it around the rim. As for the new camp oven , after one round of seasoning , no sticking.
john howard That’s worth seeing in a video itself.
And people would through them out..they were brand new when you finished amazing
It so happens my friend "The Culinary Fanatic" has his own video on using the oven self-cleaner to strip cast iron; you can see his video and come to your own conclusion.
Seen his video's he does a nice job, think yours is a little better and easier.
Funny story: Years ago I was preparing a bath for 2 BSR and a made in Korea skillet. My friend stop by and asked if I had ever had a Koran pan before ? I said no. He told me not to use drain cleaner on the Korean pan it’s cheep cast and the solution would dissolve it. I payed no mind and my wife and I left for a short trip. A week later we returned home and soon had a look at our pans. The two BSR pans were real nice but just as my friend had warned the Korean pan had reduced to slimy sandy goo at the bottom of the vat. Yeah he got me, my wife and I laugh every time we use that pan. PS ; The Korean UFO is one of our best/favorite pans.
Very nice skillet.
I was going to say something cute but You really did do an excellent job. Thank You Sir !
Thank you for all your useful videos!
I recently got the matching lid to your Griswold skillet. I'm jealous of your piece!
I didn't know Griswold made lids that size!
Yep, same year and everything. I'm looking for your exact pan.
My non-stick pans need to be replaced, so instead of buying new chemical laden pans, I FINALLY, after 15 yrs of having them, decided it was time to restore Grandma's old cast iron collection. I have a 2 old Warners & 2 old Lodge. Only 1 marked Made in Usa. I ordered the lye today. Your video was the best of all the ones I've watched. Thanks for sharing your insight! Any way to fix a wobble. The griddle pan I have, pre 1960, has a distinct wobble and oil pools in the center 😢
Nice work, Walt.
Regular white vinegar works just as well ( and cheaper) and you can get it in 6% and 30% industrial strength as well.
Nice Find
Thanks Modemac!
Great video where do you dump the lye solution when your done? And what type do you use where did you purchase it? Thanks
Lye is naturally orrucring in nature, it's also a main ingredient in drain cleaner, so you can carefully pour it down the sink, a gallon at a time to prevent splashing. Also, I have read that you can keep that lye solution indefinitely and just add to it over time. I have read that once a year people strain that lye bath to remove the greace that has curdled together. Hope that helps.
Axle M. The grease you call " curled together " is called " soap". The chemical make up of mixing lye and oils is "soap". If the container is AIR TIGHT ANDS STAY AIR TIGHT the lye solution can be active for a week or so, but it does loose its strength and each time oxygen is introduced ( lid comes off) the lye will rapidly loose irs strength and die. Those" grease clumps" can be used to clean the loose stuff off, it's soap.
Man I've been looking for that #14 griswald for 20 years, can't seem to get my hands on one! Hope it serves you well. I'm a cast iron junky
You never know when you'll find one. For instance, you can buy one at the Brimfield Antique Show in Massachusetts...for about $350.
Lol wow that's so clean..the cleanest I've ever seen a cast iron has been cleaned lol...
Thank you for videoing that!! I have a few to do ....!!!
The way you just dumped it in there, it surprises me that it did not heat up and melt a hole in the bottom. Lye can get really hot when mixed with water.
exothermic reaction. the water lye ratio. the excessive amount of water kept it cool.
It is best to add it slowly and stir with something plastic. Lye can do lots of damage if it leaks out of its container. It can even dissolve glass, that is a way that sodium silicate is made. Remember that wasteful cash for clunkers program? Some of the cars they ruined were worth more than that measly $4000 or whatever it was.
Looks like it works like magic. How did you dispose of the lye bath water?
It's a nasty dirty job... but so worth it..!! Well done..
chef,you just solved my issues, water lye,viniger,bartenders friend,and rubber gloves
Another excellent video. Again thank you for sharing. Superb video. If you wouldn't mind
answering is your countertop stone or synthetic and what it's called if you know. Thank you.
Beautiful! Thank You for sharing! :)
Come on, you made me look it up after you said I was going to die.
I liked the video anyway
By the way, if you just wanted to remove the rust, I guess vinegar would work just fine
I guess you could say: "I am the one who cooks"
Great video my man!
Definitely trying this !!
Awesome video! What was the powdered cleaner you were using in the sink? Again, excellent video! I'll definitely give this a try! Cheers - Luther
Bar Keepers Friend
Or "Bon Ami" scrubbing powder
Ok, that's great to know! Just purchased some lye today and plan to see if I can figure what is the least amount of time needed in the lye bath. Just wondering, also... Do you know how long the lye keeps it's potency? In other words, I wonder how many other pans can be done in the same bath over time.
'Heisenberg'. I don't care who ya are, that's funny!
CIC - great video - thanks!
This is a great video.
Great video, thank you for sharing.
@5:30 What did you sprinkle ?
What powder were you using to scrub it in the sink?
I think it was Bar Keepers Friend.
It would only boil up into your face if the water was HOT! Great video! I have a couple of pans that need a serious cleaning. Thanks!
Hi there. How long will the Lye last for after cleaning the pans, does it lose it's cleaning properties after a certain length of time? many thanks.
great video and impressive results! saving to favourites!
The powder used in the sink was Bar Keepers Friend, which can be found at any store. Bar Keepers Friend should be called Cast Iron's Friend.
thanks for that (I ended up editing my comment before you had replied, as I scrolled through the comments and found someone had asked the same question). I was thinking that I'd buy All Purpose Powder Cleaner Ajax Powder Cleanser but then google said that BKF is an acidic cleaner, whereas most other powdered cleansers are alkaline (Ajax is about half the price where I am), but I'll get the BKF as your results in the video are remarkable.
Also, how do you neutralize the caustic soda solution once you've finished with it, and how do I dispose of it please?
Can you tell me how long the lye lasts? How do you dispose of it when your done? Would pouring vinegar into it make it ok to dump out?
Yes, that's how I've disposed of my lye: add vinegar to it to neutralize it. But a lye bath can last for months and clean hundreds of pieces before it gets too full of gunk.
Lovely video! So nice to see you discover those pans, it is like archaeology :D I am now waiting for my Griswold no 5 that I ordered on Ebay. I plan to strip it exactly like you did, wish me luck! (*Please don't let it be a dud!)
how do you dispose of the lye and vinegar? i would like to do this process but don't know how to take care of it afterwards.
You can use the same lye bath for months, and clean hundreds of pieces, before it becomes too full of gunk. Regular vinegar can be mixed into the lye to neutralize it and make it safe for disposal - after all, it's drain cleaner, meant to be poured down the drain. The typical amount for neutralizing lye is two gallons of vinegar for five gallons of lye.
Adding vinegar creates a heating action. Isn't that a bit dangerous as this is what they used in the school volcano experiment?
Get a bag of sand and pour it in there and add vinegar, and dispose
Hello!Please answer me if is posibile to protect my cast iron pan with aluminium foil against the smoke from a rocket stove.Thanck you and cheers from Romania :)
I don't see why not; Aluminum foil helps with cooking in many situations. Since this video is about cleaning cast iron with lye, do not use aluminum foil in a way that would cause it to come into contact with lye. Lye will damage the aluminum foil and dissolve it, even though it will not damage the cast iron.
That's a great 14 inch pan! How long did you leave it in the vinegar/water solution before the scrubbing step?
Worth mentioning that the safety mask you are wearing is useless for that purpose. You imply you use it for oven cleaner--MIGHT be of a little bit of help while spraying it, as it could block some of the larger particles from entering your lungs. If you think you really need respiratory protection, though, you need to get a proper respirator (they start at a very low cost, and are reusable.) Those masks like you are using are fine for yardwork or wood sanding, but do little against chemicals.
I noticed his mask as well.
What about cleaning brass or solder,steel etc. how will the lye react?
Steel does not react with lye, the same as iron. I've soaked carbon steel pans in lye with no problem. Wikipedia states, "In addition to aluminum, lyes may also react with magnesium, zinc, tin, chromium, brass or bronze-producing hydrogen gas."
Will regular vinegar work? I am guessing yes. Can I half the water to lye mixture? Only one pan.
You don't have to use a huge tub like the one seen here. The ratio of liquid to use is one pound of lye for every five gallons of water. That equates to about 3 to 4 ounces of lye for every one gallon of water.
I’m curious as to how you disposed of your lie bath and it’s kind of not true that vinegar neutralizes the lie it helps but it does not completely neutralize it
It’s drain cleaner, so just pour it down the drain!
Would the lye penetrate the cast iron and eventually remains inside?
I am scared to use lye for this reason,as I have 3 young kids,but all my pans and Dutch ovens have massive buildup.
I don't have a self cleaning oven,nor a fire pit like some use to strip the pans.
Any other ideas?
Cast iron is not porous, nothing can penetrate it. I've seen a number of different pictures posted where people accidentally broke hundred year old pans. The metal immediately below the surface was brand new and untouched by rust or anything. Also, in the microscopic amounts that might remain in the surface of the cast iron (which is how seasoning sticks to a pan), lye is food safe.
Awesome video! Thanks for posting.
Question, would this work on stripping paint off?
It does indeed. I've acquired at least a couple of pans that had been completely painted over, and soaking them in lye completely removed the paint. Painted pans should be tested for lead, sine lead paint wasn't banned until the 1970s.
So I have some new Lodge and the preseasoning isn't even on any of them, which leaves some after using oven cleaner, even after a second dose. Is this the answer then, a Lye Bath, because nothing I have used so far has touched it?
+Stinky Lebinowitz You can certainly give it a try, as the lye won't harm the iron.
I bought a rusty Corn stick pan at the flea market. After de rusting it in citrus acid and scrubbing it clean, I noticed that it had all of the carecturistics of a wagner corn stick pan, ie. alternating direction of the corn molds perfict "D" shaped handels with holes in each side. there aer 7 molds and The pan has a compleatly smooth surface except for the corn cernals , no ruffness to the casting at all . Problem is that the piece has only one marking, a capital letter E on the under side of one of the handels . Do you know if this is a genuine Wagner pan or somthing ells?
A picture would be an enormous help in identifying it. :) Post a picture to the Cast Iron Cooking group: www.modemac.com/cic
I had just found the Griswold #14 at a yard sale.
So its alright to use BKF when stripping or deep cleaning a pan but definately not after seasoning it and planing to cook with it correct? I love BKF and use it for so many different things
+Thevinylking69 Well, I've never had a reason to use BKF on a well-seasoned cast iron pan. :) It's an excellent rust remover, and a brisk scrubbing with it can remove light rust from a pan that's been left outside overnight, among other things.
What if you fell in your lye bath and somebody else posted the video? That sounds like more fun that cleaning cookware. Does lye dissolve bones too? Do you have and gold teeth? They might survive!
Actually, Mythbusters tested that. ua-cam.com/video/u6EGbz2SJmI/v-deo.html
Also, I have a doctor's scale that has a cast iron top (the scale part) and a cast iron bottom (the platform part). After using the lye and washing it off and putting it in vinigar, what should I do next to keep it from rusting up again? Would WD40 help to keep it from rusting up again? Or maybe paint it with Rust-Oleum? Thank you again for your video.
Hi again...sorry for taking so long to reply.
Yes, it was painted, and the paint came off when my brother used electrolysis (sp?) on it. So did a lot of rust. And you're right...it was painted white. Thanks for replying. -)
Thank you for this video.Will the lye remove rust or will it only remove gunk from cast iron?
+kathy loften Only gunk
$300? Today, what a steal.
I don't have a self cleaning setting on my oven and I'm scared as hell to use the Lye cause I have 2 small kids. any other suggestions that is not electrolysis?
White vinegar will work too.
after 4 decades well maybe 5, people ask me the best way I keep our cast iron shiny black, well my best answer and true is simply use them...but all this chemical use I may have to use on the build up ones and any new finds I come across road side sale one day we found ALL cast iron they were selling for $1 and another yard sale we went to, there were stacks and sacks of cast iron cookware around a barn on the outside, not really part of the sale cause they thought it was all junk. "but if you find anything you want , $1... We went home and sense every time I be looking at this stuff , we should have bought it all, guess what ow e don' know where we found the barn....
Nice video,btw is there any other way to neutralize the caustic soda rather than vinegar?
DAMODAR KAREKAR Since then I’ve learned you don’t even need to dip them in vinegar. Lye is water soluble, and a brisk wash under running water is all that’s needed to completely remove the lye. Of course you’ll still need to wear the gloves when washing the pans.
Wow!
can't believe you actually cleaned that Grisswodl with A Jacks. Is that ok? Wouldn't that go into the pours of the cast iron? Does the Lyle remove rust ? my grisswold has rust inside. :-(
+gnikmi That was Barkeepers Friend, which is also a cast iron user's friend.
Great video! What is the powder thing you used to clean the cast iron in the sink?
That's Bar Keepers Friend. $2 a can at Walmart.
awesome video dog!
I just read about this technique on the 'Wagner and Griswold Society' website (wag-society {dot} org) under 'Cast Iron and Aluminum Care'. It was so cool to see how it actually works.
Hey great video thanks but what do you do with the lye solution after you're done
Clean more pans with it. Use it again and again and again. One of the great things about a lye tank is that it will last a very long time. My lye tank lasted a good couple of years or more before I broke it down for the winter. Or, if you don't want to clean more pans, the lye can be disposed of by pouring it down the drain. This is completely legal because lye is just drain cleaner.
That's awesome thank you so much keep up the great cast iron videos