There’s no shortage of FIERY TAKES out there about how to clean a cast iron pan, but whether you use soap or no soap, chainmail or a Dobie pad, flaxseed oil or vegetable oil, I’ll simply say this; every method is made easier with these polycarbonate pan scrapers from Lodge.
They’re literally just molded pieces of plastic that you use to scrape stuck-on food off the pan before you give it a more thorough scrubbing. Their corners are cut at four different radii to fit into the edges of different types of pans. They cost three American dollars for a pack of two, and they get you 90% of the way to a clean (enough) skillet. So just buy them, sheesh.