Nitty gritty details about Easy Off HD method??

J

JamieC

New member
Hi!

I posted recently about what cleaning was needed for two cast iron skillets I recently acquired via a yardsale. The conclusion was Easy Off HD and so I read the section on cleaning with that and finally acquired a can of it and I have a couple questions about nitty gritty details before I commence doing that, just to make sure I do things right. I have two skillets I will be cleaning.

1) Since this is lye based, is it better to put the skillets into the trash bag first and then carefully spray the skillets while in the bag so that none of the cleaner lands on my back porch or yard? Are rubber gloves and a handkerchief over my mouth an advisable thing?

2) Once both skillets are sprayed is it okay to nest them inside of one another inside the bag? or do they need to be separated for the Easy Off to work better?

3) It says it will take a couple days - is it possible to leave it on for too long and do damage if I don't get it checked one day?

4) when they are done soaking in it, I assume rinsing them in the kitchen sink and then give the sink a good scrubbing is the thing to do?

I just want to make sure I've covered all of my safety bases since it's lye and I have children around. Thanks!!!
 
1. yes, eye protection,too
2. yes. no.
3. no, not on bare iron
4. yes, dilution = neutralization
 
I've done it a few times and have found use rubber gloves, it doesn't seem to matter having one inside of the other. I spay them down good outside and place in bag and a tad more spay. Sit them on a old 18"x18" or so plywood and leave in the garage. It seems to keep it all flat and make it all easier to move. Give it 3-4 days. scrub with wire brush, rinse with water hose repeat with spay if needed for 2-4 days. Rinsing outside is less mess and easier to dilute into the yard for me.


There may be better ways but so far this seems ok for me.

Steve,

I thought I better add this after thinking these might be the cleaner ones post the other day, in that case the amount of time in the lye will very highly. Sometimes Up to a week or better on some it can take. This one was near a week. It had a lot or heavy carbon in places.
 

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As I remove a piece from the bag I wipe it down best I can with paper towels which are left in the bag. (Separate a few first.) Then not much mess to go into the sink to rinse off. Wash & see if it needs more work. The bag gets rolled up with the gunk & towels and put in the trash.

Hilditch
 
On the back of the Easy-Off can it says for "fast cleaning" you are supposed to hear the oven to 200 degrees before applying it. I wonder if that would help clean a skillet? Of course, putting a 200 degree skillet in a plastic trash bag is not the wisest move.
 
SpurgeonH said:
Of course, putting a 200 degree skillet in a plastic trash bag is not the wisest move.
Click to expand...

LOL I can relate to that, I had a just emptied plastic bread bag beside the stove top once and picked up a hot skillet to drain oil. In about .003 seconds I had a one inch long piece of bread bag melted to one of my skillets. Let's just say it wanted to become part of the skillet awhile. There may be some still there if I look.

Steve,
 
Okay, I am still trying to make this happen - this is what having 3 small kids will do to your process of making things happen. Lol.

Speaking of the three small kids and safety - if I spray the skillets outside over the grass, what about lye in the grass that the kids could get into? If I spray the skillets while they are in the bag, what about spray flying back up towards my face? (I have eye and mouth protection) Does this oven spray go on thick, with very little spray mist going into the air?

My husband is a little concerned about the actual process and making sure the lye fumes and particles don't just fly all over.... I'm wondering a bit myself.

If I do it over the grass should I hose it down promptly afterwards to be safe? Not let my kids play out there again for a day or so?

Thanks!
 
Other than to your eyes or as a concentrated inhalation, the strength of the lye in the product is not such that it would cause immediate damage. If it gets on skin or clothing, wash it off right away. Easy Off HD is a foaming product, so vapor or sprayback is minimal. Remember, you would normally be using the product in an oven inside your home without curtaining off the kitchen. Spraying while in the bag is actually a good idea. Anything falls on the grass, just watering it down will take care of it. Dilution is neutralization. Your primary concern would be keeping the bagged pans in treatment secured away from children and pets.
 
I have a outside/inside cat. I just hose down the overspray on the grass just for the cat and possible anything else including the grass or in my case weeds:) it will give you peace of mind. Is it necessary? I don't know but that what I like to do.
 
Jamie, if you do it outside, make sure the wind isn't blowing back at you. With eye, nose and mouth protection (you don't want to breath it in) you will be fine. If you get some on the grass, wash it down with the garden hose and it will be safe for the kids.

You'll be amazed at how much funk with simply rinse off after a few days. I've had a few skillets where the buildup was so thick it took two or three rounds of three days each. Be patient. Give the Easy-Off time to do the hard work for you. You can't leave it in there too long, so don't worry about leaving it in there an extra day or two if you feel it needs it.

Have fun!
 
Okay!! I finally got them sprayed today at long last! They are fairly clean pans all things considering, but I was still amazed to see brown goo rubbing off almost immediately as the pan was shifting around in the white trash bag. Wow. I'll check it in a couple days and let you know how it turns out!

Thanks for all the help!
 
OKay so I sprayed the pans on Saturday evening and didn't get back to them till this morning. A lot of gunk came off, but it's definitely all reddish brown tinged. Like it's all rust colored goo. Is that normal? I thought it would be black/brown?

Also, some spots still had gunk so I wiped away a lot of the rust gunk and resprayed. But one of the skillets, that was fairly clean and smooth (I thought) initially, really has a lot of discoloration now around the edges. like the edges are pale grey color and the rest of it is still black/grey/brown - what I associate with cast iron. Am I going to end up with a discolored skillet now unless I keep spraying till the whole thing is the pale grey color (which I believe is completely stripped iron color)?

Thanks!
 
As the cleaner softens the crud, it does have a dark brown color. Bare, clean cast iron is gray, so that's what you're shooting for. The dark color, which is carbonized/polymerized fat, will return when you season and use the pan, getting progressively blacker over time.
 
Jamie,
If the pan has a lot of crud be sure to scrub it wire type brush or SS pad to remove what has been softened up. Then repeat if needed I lot of them do.

He is one I did awhile back that was brushed and scrubbed once and as you can see still had carbon. I sprayed it again and pictured here.
 

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Here's what you're looking for. Same skillet after second cleaning.
Still dripping a little water from rinse with water hose.
 

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Oh man I really thought I'd be done with this after several days of soaking in the Easy Off. I also thought one can of it would work for my two skillets but I may need a second can now, and I may need a couple rounds of spraying to get them uniformly cleaned and stripped.

I don't have any wire brushes (unless an old grill brush would work okay), but I do have one of those SS dish scrubbies that I use on my SS pots and pans - will that or the old grill brush work? If not can you link to the type of brush that would be good? I'm headed to walmart soon so many I could get something there or on Amazon.

Thanks!
 
Jamie, I've used a old grill brush before and the SS pot pad would be fine. The ones I've done required some elbow grease ( scrubbing) and two I've had took 7-8 days with the oven cleaner total. Just give it time to work, I know it's hard when you really want to see what they look like done.

After you do the first ones you will have and idea of what may work better for you if you see something while out shopping.

Looking forward to seeing them when your done with them.

Steve,
 
W. Hilditch said:
As I remove a piece from the bag I wipe it down best I can with paper towels which are left in the bag. (Separate a few first.) Then not much mess to go into the sink to rinse off. Wash & see if it needs more work. The bag gets rolled up with the gunk & towels and put in the trash.

Hilditch
Click to expand...

That stuff can be quite caustic. It is a better practice to neutralize it so nobody down the line (garbage men, landfill workers) comes into contact with the lye. I have usually just changed out my refrigerator box of baking soda when I clean a batch of cast iron. I put the whole bag into the sink and sprinkle baking soda over the cast iron and rinse at the same time. This leaves just a wet plastic bag for the trash. Not a chemical burn hazard.
 
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