Not sure my way is the best way but it works for me. My lye tank is in a built-in cabinet attached to my deck so if the pieces fit in a 5-gallon pail I'll put as many as can fit in one, take it to the lawn and fill the pail with water from the hose. For larger iron, I'll put it on the lye tank's lid, take it to the lawn, and carefully hose it down. Either way I keep my eye protection, gloves, and smock on when I do that. I'll dump the excess water and hose down the area in case any undiluted lye solution splashed or spattered off the cookware. Then I take the iron inside, thoroughly scrub and wash it in the sink and start seasoning. So far I haven't killed any grass.