UPDATE **REVIEW** Cast Iron Skillet Cleaner with Good Grips

Please check the last part of this post. I had to do a serious update - with more photos. I just discovered that some of my negative impressions about this product are totally unwarranted. My bad.

I was talking recently about taking care of my cast iron pots and pans. This is the chainmail cleaning tool I decided to try out:

There are several I could have chosen but this off-brand one had the silicone pad feature of some more expensive ones. It wasn't super-cheap though so I had planned to return it unless it really impressed me. It has a lifetime guarantee and, even though it hasn't been reviewed by a lot of users, the reviews are all 4- and 5-star ratings.

It's from a company that seems to sell a hodge-podge of items. I was kind of surprised at how well made this scrubber is because most of the products on WYPQ's storefront look like cheap knock-offs. I've bought from companies like this before and always hope the product's okay because it often soon designated as "item no longer available". I was surprised that the company priced this scrubber at more than $10.00. I honestly don't think I will buy more stuff from that page, but this item is definitely worth $12.99.

This is much thicker than I thought it was going to be (that's good, by the way), and the silicone is locked in with clasps on either end. You can remove the inner silicone pad to clean it, but I notice that it rinses well while inside the chainmail.

Links are well made

I first used this on a pan that had some meat scrapings coating the pan. You know how some of the meat searing gets stuck to the pan? Usually, I soak the skillet with some hot water inside before I do the salt and oil cleaning trick. This was the perfect time to test the Skillet Cleaner.

I did use some hot water from the faucet, then I started working the chainmail around the pan. I will be hot-durned if every bit of the seared gunk wiped off like it was nothing. I didn't even need to use the flip-side silicone pad-scraper thingie. As usual, I then dried the pan on the stove and rubbed it with oil. There was no damage to the pan and the cleaning took very little time. When I use salt and oil for cleaning, it takes more elbow grease. (By the way, cast iron can take a lot of punishment. I have cut up meat that was in the skillet and my seasoning was just fine... The biggest no-no in my book is using harsh soaps.)

dense but soft scrubbing pad

Last night, I fixed stir-fried chicken and veggies with egg in the skillet. That is always a nasty mess. This particular skillet is getting more and more seasoned with use, but stuff like eggs cooked with veggies still sticks. I could not wait to try out the Skillet Cleaner. I think I was almost looking for a reason to send it back!

The silicone did nothing for the eggy mess, but that chainmail... That stuff works. If I could have one wish, it would be that the chain was thinner. I might look into getting some thinner chainmail just to try it.

This product photo here is of "The Ringer" and it looks thinner. Maybe because that's because it's not wrapped around silicone? I don't know but I think it would work better for some skillet sizes.

The Ringer

I can't really complain about the Skillet Cleaner. There are a few things I would like to see improved though. One thing is that the way the silicone is placed inside the chain, it bunches up and gaps a little when I am using the metal and looks as if it's oozing out of the cage. The other thing is that I want thinner chainmail for the smaller skillets. This one is great in my 9-inch but I have a 5-inch skillet for which this cleaner is too big to maneuver around the inside with.

The clasp is too far to one side

One extra positive to this particular cleaner is that there is not only silicone inside the chainmail, but there is a scrubber pad on one side. That has come in handy for cleaning less messy skillets.

I would give this cleaner an 8.9 out of 10.

Peace
--Free

UPDATE:

I am such a dummy. In this review, I mentioned wanting something thinner for smaller pans. Well. A couple of days ago, I was rinsing the scrubber with some soap. For the first time, I took out the inner silicone padding. Guess what? The scrubber without the padding is perfect for cleaning smaller, tighter spots. To be honest, I actually like using the scrubber and chainmail without the insert. I'll save the thick silicone for when I need to clean a really large pan - like maybe the Dutch oven?

I think I like it better
without the insert...

Scrubber works better with salt and oil
when I don't need the chain

Even stores easier without the insert

I can always put the
insert back in as needed

Look how nice and clean the little pan turned out!

Listen, this is one of those times when I will chalk a stupidity up to the sarc. I have no idea why I didn't think about this before. Anyway, now I have to go over and edit the review I did on Amazon. Pray for me, people. 

One of my favorite MTV memories was watching this dude perform. WTH ever happened to Billy?