What to do if a cast iron pan rusts?

Pig-iron utensils are famous for their reliability, good quality, ability to retain heat and their non-stick properties. Along with these advantages, cast iron has a serious drawback: the pan from it rusts faster than aluminum with a teflon coating. If from the first day to look after her correctly, she will not appear. If, however, she appeared on the surface, then there are simple and effective ways to deal with it.

Rust is a red-brown bloom on iron. It is formed due to oxidation. If you ignore its appearance and do not fight it, the metal will completely collapse.

There are three main reasons for which it appears.

1. Bad metal. To reduce the cost of products, careless companies add to the metal detrimental effect on its quality components. This pan of cast iron give a tangible weight and a rather big price.
2. Careless care. Qualitative copy spoil improper processing. Housewives do not take into account that cast iron - porous material.
3. Incorrect storage. If you remove the pan to the cabinet without carefully wiping it, rust will appear in previously damaged areas due to contact with water.

In order not to look for a way to remove rust, a cast iron skillet is prepared for use and care is taken in a number of rules.

Having bought a frying pan in the store, on arrival home they wash it with water with the addition of dishwashing detergent. When it dries, smear the surface with vegetable oil and place it in the oven, preheated to 180 ° C, for 40 minutes. During firing, there is a slight smoke. Do not worry about his appearance. The pan warms up evenly. The oil will fill the voids in the microscopic pores of the cast iron, creating a non-stick coating. It prevents the appearance of corrosion.

From further care of the cast iron pan depends on whether it is covered with rust or not. So that it does not appear, take care of it, following the verified recommendations.

• Cook in the pan more than once a month, regretting it, but at least once a week. Otherwise, it will quickly become worthless.
• It is impossible to store cooked food in it. There is a great risk that it will turn black and absorb a metallic smell. In addition, cast iron is destroyed faster by moisture. It is better to put food in a container, wash the pan, dry it and put it in storage.
• Do not wash it in the dishwasher and use detergent in excess.
• Do not clean the dirt on the cast iron pan with a coarse metal brush so as not to damage it. They get rid of dirt by soaking it in warm water for 30 minutes and rinsing under running water (light pressure, a soft sponge).
• Do not clean the dishes to shine, so that the food does not later burn.

To clean the cast iron pan from rust, operate in two stages. First, get rid of rust, and then create a new protective coating. At the first stage, rub it with a metal abrasive brush with or without auxiliary agents. At the second stage, when washed, the pan is calcined in the oven.

There are simple methods to save dishes from rusty plaque.

Baking soda is the cheapest cleaner. It is used to wash dishes to wash the fat, tea / coffee bloom.She cleans the tile, stainless steel, chrome-plated surfaces and cast iron. In the latter case, it removes rust if it does not penetrate deeply, does not affect the structure of the product, and does not acquire a bright brown-red tint.

At the bottom of the pan poured baking soda, pour a little water. They take a clean sponge in their hands and gently rub the resulting gruel into spots.

Many use salt to enhance the taste of dishes. Few people know about its cleaning properties. She cleans no worse than baking soda. The principle of working with it is the same as with soda. It is poured into the pan, poured a little water, rubbed gruel with a sponge in the problem areas. Wash salt from the product under running water.

If rust struck the surface strongly, use a metal abrasive brush. The pan is moistened with running water, and then some soda is poured and all the rusted areas are scrubbed. After the procedure, wash it and calcined.

A versatile alternative to many cleaning chemicals is vinegar. In addition to adding it to the kebabs to enhance the taste of meat, it is used to purify rust traces on cast iron cookware.

In a cast iron skillet pour a liter of water and add a tablespoon of vinegar. In the resulting solution, it is kept for two hours, and then thoroughly washed under a tap, dried and restored by the method of calcination protective coating.

This ancient folk method has high performance. Its essence lies in boiling contaminated utensils on gas. To do this, take a 10-liter enamelled bucket. It is filled with water for a third and half a pack of baking soda. Then they put a rusty cast iron pan in it and put it on a low fire. After an hour or two, evaluate the result.

This method is addressed when the pan is covered with unpleasant rust stains or there is soot on it. Coke is poured into deep dishes, placed inside a frying pan, set on fire and waited for the liquid to boil. Then the gas is turned off and waiting for the pan to cool completely in the solution. After the procedure, rinse it, wipe dry and calcined in the oven.

Fish oil is not only necessary for health supplement, but also an excellent cleaner. It is used to clean rust. To do this, the surface of the pan grease them inside and out. After three to four hours, wash it in warm water with a mild detergent. Hard brushing cleans problem areas.

After cleaning with fish oil, the protective layer is restored. A paper towel is moistened in peanut, sunflower or rapeseed oil. They carefully wipe the surface. Then put the pan upside down in the oven, preheated to 180 ° C, for sixty minutes.

Sometimes folk remedies and everyday household chemicals are powerless in the fight against rust. In this case, buy strong cleaning products. To distinguish them from the "weak", pay attention to the composition, which is reflected on the label. An effective component in the fight against corrosion in a pan is hydrochloric acid. It is part of many toilet cleaners.

Hydrochloric acid is the strongest. It dissolves all the metals that are in a series of stresses to hydrogen. Under its action, rust will turn into moist powder. Since it is toxic, working with it, observe a number of precautions.

• First, you can not use it in a closed room. Cleaning of dishes carried out in a well-ventilated room.
• Secondly, it is impossible to work with it without protecting the exposed areas of the body from possible burns due to direct exposure and vapors. To do this, wear long-sleeved clothing, gloves and a gas mask / goggles.
• Thirdly, after the procedure, the dishes are washed under running water thoroughly and wipe dry.

To get rid of rust on cast iron utensils at home, a tool containing hydrochloric acid, is applied to the surface. They take a sponge in their hands and carefully rub them into trouble spots.

So that you do not have to look for a way to remove rust from the cast iron from the pan, they take care of it from the first day If you follow all the recommendations, it will not appear. If this could not be avoided, then often the simplest means will help to remove it.

For details on how to remove rust from a cast iron pan, see the following video.