[krrrh]

The most important thing I learned about cast iron is that the idea that you have to baby it is a hold over from the days when soap had lye in it. Today’s dish detergent is fine and won’t damage your seasoning, neither will basic green nylon scrubbing sponges. I was almost despondent about my carefully seasoned pans not delivering until I really went to town on them and removed the dull layer of burned on material and got them back to a shine. Now the eggs slide off.

[stouset]

Yep. Your cast iron will straight up work better if you thoroughly clean it with detergent and manual scrubbing, thanks to removing the rough and/or sticky surface layer of partially-polymerized fats and oils.

This in no way damages your seasoning.

[peeters]

The biggest thing to remember after washing with detergent and water is the same thing to remember after just rinsing: dry it thoroughly. The easiest way to do that is to wipe it down with a towel and/or leave it on the heat for a bit. Then apply a bit of oil.

[shaklee3]

you need to heat the oil so it polymerizes and creates a strong nonstick bond. if you simply wipe it with oil when it's hot it will get sticky and not season properly.

[nfhshy68]

Soap can still ltake a decent chunk out. I use a chainmail cloth with warm water to scrub cast iron, doesn't work off any seasoning.