Old Fashioned Iron Skillets: How to Properly Clean Them and Prevent Rust

Many people love to use the old fashioned Iron skillets, but don't know how to clean them and keep them looking great...or how to prevent them from rusting over time. Well lucky for you, I am here to save the day! I learned from a elderly man I use to work for, who uses nothing but Iron skillets and Iron Pots for cooking. It occurred to me one day that all of his Iron cookware was in mint condition, and he had mentioned many times that they where all over 50 years old. So one day I asked him how he kept them in such great condition. 
  
All you will need to keep your Iron skillets in great condition is a few simple items that most people use in their homes. You will need some paper towels, some Crisco, but you can also use cooking oil. For the best results, I would recommend Crisco, as oil tends to go bad over time, but is OK for those of you that use your Iron Skillets on a regular day to day basis. You will possibly need salt and steal wool, for those extreme times when the food is really stuck on there!
  
One key tip to cleaning your Iron cook-where, is never use soap, as it will cause your skillets to develop a yucky film, and it is not good for use on the Iron. All you should use to clean your skillets is hot water...as hot as you can possibly stand it, and a wash cloth or scrubber. For tough cooked on stuff that still seems to not want to come off with hot water alone, use a few table spoons of salt, along with the hot water and some steal wool. You should never soak, or leave water sitting in an Iron skillet, as this will cause rusting, and we all know you don't want to do that! Hot water along with the salt and steal wool, should leave your iron cookware clean as a whistle.
  
Now on to how to dry and cure your Iron Skillet to prevent rusting and food sticking to them the next time you use it. This is where the paper towels and Crisco comes in! You will use a paper towel to dry your skillet inside and out. You will then turn one of the burners on the stove on to the lowest setting. Take your skillet and place it on the burner for a few minutes to dry any excess water out of the pan. Now you will take another paper towel and dip it lightly into the Crisco. Use that Crisco dipped paper towel, and rub over the entire inside of the skillet. By doing this, you will be preventing future meals from sticking to your skillet, making them much easier to clean, and you will also be preventing them from rusting while awaiting there next use. 
  
When you are done rubbing the Crisco onto your skillet, you should notice the inside of the skillet looking shinny and like new! You have just successfully cleaned and cured an Iron Skillet! Congratulations on successfully completing this task, and giving your Iron cookware a longer life, while keeping them beautiful, and saving yourself some time on cleaning them after future uses. I hope this new tip is just as helpful to you as it was for me.