How to Fix Your Rusty Cast Iron

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After Hurricane Harvey’s flood waters receded, my cast-iron cookware was covered in rust. Is it a total loss?

—Amy F., Texas

THE SOLUTION:

A little surface rust on a cast-iron skillet can often be remedied with steel wool and some elbow grease. But for removing serious rust, Jeff Rogers offers these tips:

What you’ll need:

A large disposable aluminum pan

1 gallon or more distilled white vinegar

Rubber gloves

A stiff-bristled brush

1. Soak each piece of rusty cast iron in a solution of one part vinegar and one part water.

2. Using the brush, test each piece after 30 minutes to an hour to see if the rust is coming off. Let the skillet soak a little longer if needed, but don’t get taken in by the idea that if one hour is good, ten hours is ten times better. “With vinegar, you don’t want to go longer than necessary,” Jeff says. “After it gets done eating the rust, it will start eating the iron.”

3. Once you have scrubbed the skillet clean of rust, rinse it thoroughly with water.

4. Dry skillet completely, and reseason.

Use a disposable aluminum pan for soaking and cleaning your cast iron to protect your sink.

 

49 COMMENTS

  1. I have some old dutch oven types that are very covered in rust as they were found out in NM desert area. I was told to put them in an oven that is cleaning itself. That the high heat in the oven would make the rust fall off. True or false?

    • Hi James, thanks for reaching out with this question. We haven’t tried this method ourselves, so we’re hesitant to say it’ll work for sure. As always, researching different methods is the most helpful. Check and see if anyone else is giving that a try and if so, maybe they can share their tips and tricks. Sorry we weren’t able to give you more information, but let us know how it goes!

      • Unless you have a high quality oven, I would not recommend self-cleaning for two reasons. One, remember that the modern oven has a variety of ‘soft’ electrical parts in it, wires, circuit boards, etc. Repeated exposure to high temps can hurt the lifespan of these parts. Two, many manufacturer’s design for inbuilt obsolescence, so you’ll want to avoid unnecessary wear in any case.

        • I tried my self-cleaning stove about one month from having it for a year….turned on the self-clean and went upstairs….it got so hot that it started a fire and we had to pull it out of the space as we could not open the oven door as it locks. Sears replaced the oven and I will never ever use a self-cleaning oven again. They make sprays for these and that is what I use now….when you run the self-cleaning oven it gets to temperatures of 1200 degrees.

        • I tried my self-cleaning stove about one month from having it for a year….turned on the self-clean and went upstairs….it got so hot that it started a fire and we had to pull it out of the space as we could not open the oven door as it locks. Sears replaced the oven and I will never ever use a self-cleaning oven again. They make sprays for these and that is what I use now….when you run the self-cleaning oven it gets to temperatures of 1200 degrees.

          • I’m an Appliance service technician and just want to mention that self-cleaning ovens have to reach a very high temperature to actually burn the grease and stains off the porcelain in the oven cavity. This is why there is grey ash after the door unlocks.
            There are usually louvered panels that close to prevent customers seing the flames.

    • False. Use heat to remove old seasoning. Rust can be removed through electrolysis or a 30-45 minute soak in 50-50 vinegar and water.

    • True. I’ve actually burned rust off by leaving it on the burner on low for a couple of hours (with the stove fan on high) and it totally took care of it.

    • Some ovens go to a high enough temp to damage the iron. If you can get to 500 degrees that’s all you need. That will cook off carbon buildup and do all that heat can do on rust. The remainder can be removed with half vinegar and half water solution. NEVER use steel brush or power tool wire wheel on cast iron. That would ruin it. There are people who restore valuable pieces By electrolysis but you can do it with some work just as well.

    • In my experience the answer is, “false.” I any high temperature in your oven would not remove the rust. Rust is the result of oxidation of the iron. Heating won’t undo that. Vinegar and water soak AND possibly some salt with oil (some people use water) with a scrubber of your choice with a lot of elbow grease should remove the rust. But once the rust is removed the pan must immediately be seasoned (within minutes) or the pan will rust again.
      Putting your pan in an oven on the self cleaning cycle should remove defective seasoning. I use the heavy duty oven cleaner sprayed on and the pan soaked over night in a plastic bag, over night. That will get rid of the defective seasoning. After cleaning the pan it must be quickly re-seasoned or immediately coated with oil to prevent rusting.

    • YES!! It works really well. I usually start with the lowest setting, in my case “LO” which runs for 3 hrs. Then I let them cool, sometimes overnight. The next step is washing all the dust the rust has left. Clean as well as posible. Dry completely. Either while they are still warm or after warming a bit I coat them with a very thin layer of Chrisco lard. Wipe any extra off the surface so it doesn’t drip in the oven then place upside down in a hot!! oven. I run mine up to around 500 degrees. I let them stay in the oven for about an hour, then i turn off the oven and let them cool. They are now rust free and seasoned. You can do the seasoning process up to 4 or 5 times. The more times the seasoning process is done the better the results. Good luck and have fun.

  2. Too much heat can damage the Dutch oven or skillet. Heat won’t take rust off but will take off old seasoning. Use a short vinegar/water 50/50 mix for 30 minutes and scrub. You can also use coarse salt and a bit of cooking oil and scrub with a stainless scrub pad.

  3. So 50/50 water and vinegar is like 2 cups of each or whatever the amount takes to emerge the skillet. Is vegetable oil good to use? My mom always used bacon grease .

  4. I have read all of these comments and feel compelled to offer my two cents into the mix. I know there are all kinds of “best” ways to restore cast iron but there are a few things to stay away from if you want to keep your iron useable for years to come.

    First of all, do you use your iron on a daily basis or more than twice a week? Or do you bring it out whenever the urge strikes, cook something in it, and store it for another 4 to 6 months before pulling it out again? The difference will make a difference in what kind of oil you use to season your pan. I have used bacon fat [my favorite choice] or good ol’ Crisco [my 2nd favorite choice]before putting the pan away. if you use your iron on a regularl basis, there should be no problem with either of these or with lard or any other animal based fats if you are heating the pan more than once every few weeks or months. The problem comes from using the pan to cook a meal on January 1st and then not dragging out the iron again until the 4th of July! Leaving a cast iron pan or Dutch oven or any other cast iron kitchen utensil, for that matter, in the closet for that long with most any animal based fat for seasoning will probably encourage the coating to turn rancid the same way that a jelly jar of bacon fat sitting on the counter for months will probably get pretty ripe from not using it or storing it improperly for that long of a time.

    Regarding removing rust by putting the cast iron in the oven on a “cleaning” cycle, keep in mind that should that iron warp from the extended length of time at up to 550 F. during the cleaning cycle, you will not be able to “unwarp” it once the bottom is round. That was one of the reasons why many old cast iron manufacturers would put a raised “ring” around the bottom of their iron to minimize the amount of direct contact with certain types of heat sources. Lodge, I noticed, still has a raised ring on most of their cast iron made today. Remember that the cleaning cycle’s purpose is to incinerate to ash everything of an organic origin that has dripped, flaked off, or otherwise arrived in the bottom of the oven or hanging from the racks.

    I am sure that there will be those who will argue my tactics so I will close by saying that my family, going back to my grandparents [to my knowledge], have passed down these tips to keep cast iron serviceable. I am 77 as I type this so that spans a couple of long generations to use what worked for them and for me also.

    • Thank You so much for your post. I got the most useful info from your post… I have a 100++ yr old cast iron Dutch oven that my late Momma called her “Gumbo Pot” as well as two multi generational cast iron skillets that I treasure and use regularly. Anyway thanks for the words of wisdom!!!

      • Check out @cast_iron_chris on tik tok and youtube! He has great videos on how to properly restore and care for your cast iron!

  5. Hi thanks for this article. What sort of damage does a steel brush power tool do to rusted cast iron? I’m very interested to hear about the vinegar solution – most of the ‘how to’ videos show people getting into it with a steel wire brush bit on a power tool. However you say this will damage it. Im about to restore an old cast iron wood stove top, totally rusted out (been outdoors for about 40 years!).

  6. I have removed years of seasoning/ patina, rust and everything else that has found it way to a cast iron cookware item by putting it in high heat until like Jean said it turns grey, that is the natural raw iron state, from there you MUST re-season the item. I have tested every food grade oil, lard, grease there is and found that Crisco butter flavor gets the item the richest darkest black.
    – The item must get hot enough that the patina starts to break down and fall or burn off.
    – I use insulated welding gloves to handle the item as it cools, never go from hot to cold or it will crack the item.
    – As David Henrickson says above heat can damage an item so be careful.
    – I usually use a 000 or 0000 steel wool to take the rust that I can get off as well as the burnt patina or whatever is left.
    – When the pan gets cool enough to handle the pan with bare hands wash it with vinegar, soap, salt and lemon or whatever you use.
    – Warm the pan to about 150 degrees and apply the 1st coat of oil/ lard/ grease.
    – Place the pan upside down and heat the pan to 400 degrees for 30 minutes and repeat until you have the desired patina built back up.

    I have done this on campfires, BBQ pits, on the stove or in the oven. I have hundreds of pieces with some older than most people on here. I have messed up a couple as well but that is because I put them in extreme heat so be careful, learn, and be willing to make mistakes.

  7. Lots of rust, use and electrolysis tank. Easy to set up, easy to use, and fantastic results! I swear my mine for the deepest gunk, to the worst rust bucket pieces I’ve restored. Search YouTube for Electrolysis tanks or cast iron restoration using electrolysis!

  8. My Grandmother put the rusty cast iron skillet IN a wood stove and let it turn almost red. Then cool it SLOWLY to not crack it.
    Clean off with damp towel and reseason with lard rubbed on with paper towels. Works every time

    • That will absolutely work! My grandparents did the same thing, as well as my own parents. My dad would build a fire in the back yard and set the pans right in it. Once they were glowing red, he took them out and set them aside to cool. Worked every time!

  9. Quality day! This excellent post simply cannot be built any better!

    Looking through this post reminds me of my past room other
    half! He generally kept speaking about this. Virtually no later than this forward this website to him.

    Pretty sure he’ll probably have a highly effective read.
    With thanks for sharing!

  10. I left the pan too long in the vinegar solution and it has eaten away some of the cast iron . is it possible to still restore it or do I just have to give up?
    cheers, Fran

  11. Good morning family I have tried using vinegar, bicarbonate and lemon but the rust is still not completely removed. What else can I use. Thanks.

  12. My Dutch oven is so rusty, mainly the lid. My husband didn’t actually notice and cooked some stew in it and it was so unbelievably disgusting that I never want to eat anything that is cooked in any type of cast iron. I want to be able to clean it or want to know if I should just buy a new one

    • Definitely give it a good cleaning and re-seasoning. Practically any piece of cast iron cookware is salvageable with a little TLC.

  13. I have a rust cast iron fire pit bucket (fits inside a table ) and rust has eaten some holes in bottom. Can anyone advise how best to remove rust from the bucket and repair the holes. Should I get it welded or use some sort of metal filler?

  14. My mom use to build a fire outside and she would put her cast iron skillet in the fire and she would take it out of the fire and let it cool and then season it with lard. It looked brand new. The fire burned all the gunk off of it.

  15. I have a Dutch oven that isn’t rusted but has some thick rough residue around the rim on the inside, about 1/2” down into bowl of pot…
    Making it difficult to clean gravy out of the little pit’s in it.

  16. Ok I never used my cast iron but my boyfriend had it on the stove cooking and the grease popped on the cast iron and now it’s rusty I have no idea how to take it off

  17. Will have to go back and ask my chemistry instructor why this works so well. My lid was rusty as I didn’t dry it after making soup. Let it soak in the vinegar/water solution for ~45 minutes and a brush took the rust off like a charm. Rinsed it and had an almost polished lid which was then dried on a lit burner.

    GREAT hack to put the cast iron in a disposable aluminum tray. Though only a weak acid, I didn’t want the vinegar to be sitting in my plumbing so I ran the water for another minute after dumping the water-vinegar solution.

    THANK YOU.

  18. You can also wrap large rusty items in tissue paper, a good few layers, soak in distilled malt vinegar, a good soaking, then wrap tightly in cling film, and leave for a week. Remove cling film and tissue paper and wire brush in water.

  19. I have successfully cleaned heavy rust off old cast iron fire-dogs (fancy shape so hard to clean up) and a pair of heavy old door hinges which I wanted to re-use by dropping them into hot bonfire embers after the main flames had largely died down. Shovel hot embers on top to cover everything. The heat shock makes the iron expand very rapidly which throws off all the heavy rust. The item then cools quite slowly and you can retrieve it the morning after and clean and treat the renewed surface as required.

  20. Question: after cleaning my old cast iron skillets with the white vinegar and water method (worked great), and then to reseason, I was wondering if you only season the inside of the skillet. That would make sense to me!

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