Mouse

D

DavyE

New member
I forgot about a cast iron skillet I stored in a box in the garage. There's lots of dried mouse feces in the skillet, and around and inside the box. Is cleaning with soap and/or bleach, then reheating it sufficient? Or should I re-season the whole pan?
 
Wash with soap and water. Dry with paper towel. Place in oven, turn heat on to 425 Fahrenheit, bake for one hour. The soap and water will take all or most of any pathogens away. The heat at 425 for an hour will kill or inactive any bacteria or viruses respectively. I was a clinical microbiologist for over 20 years. If you are really paranoid about germs, then place it in a lye bath, strip it and start over.
 
Thank you Todd. Would you happen to know if a small amount of bleach would harm the seasoning? I'm thinking a teaspoon or less of bleach added to the soapy solution.
 
If the mouse droppings bother you enough to consider using bleach, why not just use the easy-off stripping method described elsewhere on this website?
 
Agree with Ty. Why short cut it and risk damaging the skillet when other riskless methods are readily available and easy to use.
 
Davy, it sounds like you are really concerned about contracting a disease. Throw it in the lye bath or dose it with easyoff and let it set for awhile and it will kill every thing. Your peace of mind will be worth it.
 
I personally wouldn't use bleach, not sure if it would hurt the seasoning or not. I would just wash it in very hot soapy water like said above, and bake it awhile real hot, thatll do it good enough for me at least.
 
My $0.02 worth: I, too, am against the bleach. I'm in complete favor of starting over with the Easy Off.:covri: I would not want to take a chance with a virus - those suckers are smart.
 
Tossing it in a 400 degree oven for a while will kill anything that was ever alive on it so no need to worry about pathogens. I say give it the lye or easy-off strictly because of the ick factor.
 
I'd just clean it with soap and water unless it needs to be reseasoned. You'd be surprised if you knew how much rodent feces, hair, mold, and insect pieces/parts the government allows in the food you probably eat every day.
 
Kevin, you speak the truth. A bit of knowledge is liberating. The right heat for the right time will kill or inactivate any pathogen. It is amazing what we eat and drink everyday with no ill effect. Most of our store bought chickens are contaminated with pathogens, but after they are cooked at 350 F they are safe to eat. This is an over simplification of the facts, but it gets the point across.
 
KevinE said:
I'd just clean it with soap and water unless it needs to be reseasoned. You'd be surprised if you knew how much rodent feces, hair, mold, and insect pieces/parts the government allows in the food you probably eat every day.
Click to expand...

+1........
 
I once purchased a waffle iron that reeked of mouse urine. It was also rusty, so I cleaned it with electrolisys. That did nothing for the smell when heating it. I wound up putting it in the oven on the self cleaning cycle. That killed the smell and disinfected it.
 
Why would a person trust where and how a piece was used or stored, I strip, lead test, and re-season every piece of CI I buy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top