Chain Mail Cast Iron Pan Scrubber Review

Customer Ratings:

Alright, $20 for a scrubber is spendy but every review I read said this was a MUST for cast iron and I'm here to shout from the rooftops that I agree. I recently made the switch from toxic Teflon to cast iron and I am LOVING how my food tastes but I must admit I was wary of cast iron cleanup (no soap, no dishwasher). I'm concerned with getting the pans truly clean so I don't somehow make my 5 year-old sick and a germy sponge on something that won't be run through the dishwasher sounded like a bad idea. This scrubber arrived a week after I switched to my cast iron pans and it made things MUCH easier. I've been using the Lodge Double Play grill/griddle like a cookie sheet for baking. I've baked on cheese, sticky sugar you name it and this chain mail scrubber busted it off in an easy pass or two. Tonight I made a roux (read: flour-based glue) in my Lodge 10 inch skillet...and then left it on the stove where it dried out until I got to it two hours later (see: 5 year-old). This scrubber whisked it away under hot water as if it was butter. Chain Mail scrub time per pan: less than 1 minute. Chain Mail scrub time for the worst pan mess I've managed to create: about 1 full minute. Bonus that my son and husband think its cool and do the cast iron scrubbing for me. Did you read that? THIS CHAIN MAIL SCRUBBER TRIGGERS SOMETHING IN THE MALE GENOME, CAUSING THEM TO DO THE DISHES! That is worth $20 alone right?!!

Rest assured that it cleans very, very well. Now let me tell you why else I love it and why I bought one for my "doomsday prepper" mom. The thing is INDESTRUCTIBLE and will last for years and years before it comes close to needing to be replaced. (She hadn't yet thought of stockpiling plastic dish scrubbers and now she doesn't have to. This thing will easily last longer than a dozen packs of sponges.) Another bonus I thought of today while chopping onions it's stainless steel and can do the same thing those stainless steel bars of soap do: remove tough odors when you rub it over your hands. (Just make sure you keep the chain mail clean or you'll smell like onions AND bacon grease!) Another reviewer said to leave it in the sink while you wash other dishes, which is a good suggestion. Also, soap won't hurt this. Just rinse well before it touches your cast iron again.

Need more reasons to buy it?

* Its environmentally friendly and makes a great gift for your Eco friends/neighbors/in-laws.

* You can easily pack it for camping. It will scrub just as well in brownish green lake water!

* There is NO WAY it can melt in your dishwasher.

* It brings that extra touch of Medieval-chic to your kitchen.

* If you hate it (honestly, sister?) downgrade it to a more humiliating use, such a coaster. Some man will eventually find it and start doing your dishes!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This is a very high quality product with an exceptional guaranty at a very good price. I purchase this product because I was looking for something a little better than the brush Lodge offers for cleaning their cast iron pans, something that will not wear out so quickly. The CM Scrubber is definitely something that will last a lifetime just like I expect my cast iron skillet will. I have owned the CM Scrubber for only two days now and both cast iron pans that I cleaned with this product now have scratches in the "black seasoning" right down to what I interpret as the gray cast iron surface. I admit, I am a novice with cast iron cooking products, and I agree that this product cleans well, but maybe a little too well. I still gave it three stars for its high quality; it just doesn't work as I had expected.

UPDATE: I cleaned and re-seasoned my cast iron pan with vegetable shortening per the instructions on Lodge's website. Over the past 45 days I have had no more issues with the CM scrubber scratching my cast iron pan. Just a light scrub with some warm water in the pan cleans away any food particles from the pan; then wipe with a paper towel and you're done. Occasionally reapplying some shortening and heat to build on the seasoned layer when necessary. In addition, I now use the CM scrubber to remove any stuck on food from cooking rice and other things on my stainless steel pots. The CM scrubber works great on these too, no more scrubbing pads on my sink. The CM scrubber is a great product and would make an excellent gift. Upgrade rating from 3 to 5 stars!

Best Deals for Chain Mail Cast Iron Pan Scrubber

A lot of products make one claim or another. They often fail to perform to the expectation they set. For $20, which is a lot for a scrubber, I was wondering if this product could live up to the claims on their website. The Cook's Illustrated review pushed me over the edge.

Bottom line, this is a great product that does what is claimed. No amount of salt and elbow grease with a brush or paper towel could clean my cast iron skillet this well. Before this product I'd never even put my cast iron in water, much less used metal to clean it. But after one cleaning my cast iron looks and works better than ever. The seasoning does remain intact and the pan has never been so clean.

Honest reviews on Chain Mail Cast Iron Pan Scrubber

The chain mail scrubber (coincidentally by CM scrubber) is an amazing little invention that anybody with cast iron cookware needs. I heard about the scrubber from cooks illustrated and decided to give it a shot after always having to use a lot of elbow grease to clean my cast iron.

My only concerns when first using the scrubber was that it would remove the seasoning on my pans, but I haven't noticed that yet. They're still looking, and cooking, well.

Some people have mentioned that cleaning the scrubber is a bit of a problem, and if you have a lot of heavy, oily grit the scrubber will pick up the bits and the oil. I just let the scrubber sit in the sink while washing other dishes and let the soapy run-off do the work.

Oh, and also, while this does the job, you still need to do a little scrubbing to really get everything off the bottom of your pans. Ignore the loud scraping noise; everything is fine; keep going and you're all good!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Chain Mail Cast Iron Pan Scrubber

This is the best ever scrubber for cast iron. I bought it because the members of my household were trying to clean a cast iron fry pan with a cloth rag, steel wool pad, or plastic scrubber and lots of detergent. That method was totally ruining the finish of the pan with food sticking to it as the inevitable result. This Chain Mail scrubber gets all the pieces of food off the surface of the pan without removing that painstakingly acquired finish resulting a clean pan to which food does not stick. I can fry eggs in this pan now. Extremely sturdy, you won't need to buy another one anytime soon. After use I just dry it with a towel and hang it with pan. An excellent product that arrived on time and in good condition.