Cast iron are one of America’s most favorite cookware. They are affordable and their nonstick coating is nontoxic. However, one downside to cast iron is cleaning. If you use a regular soap and sponge, you risk ruining the seasoning. Some Cast Iron Grills even have ridges that make it even more annoying to clean. You can never reach the tin crevices of the pan. Luckily, there are brushes designed specifically for this. In my experience, the Best Cast Iron Brush for Grills and Griddles has short and stout bristle. They are firm enough to clean yet soft enough not to damage the seasoning.

Best Cast Iron Brush List

Below, you will find a list of some of the Best Cast Iron Brush for Grills and Griddle. They all have their benefits and cons, choose one that best suits you.

OXO Good Grips Cast Iron Pan Brush (Best Overall)

Oxo Cast Iron Brush is one of the Best on the market. Their nylon bristle is stiff and stout. They wont flex and bend like the other brushes. Its also just long enough to reach the deep crevices on griddles. This make it very effective on removing stuck on food. At the other side there are ridges if you need to scrape something. The handles are also beefy and comfortable.

Lodge Scrubbing pad (Best Mesh Scrubber)

Lodge makes the Best Mesh Scrubber. The silicone interior gives it heft and makes it comfortable to grip. The ridges also holds just enough suds so that it wont strip your seasoning. However, I would still only use this when food are really stuck on. You can still strip the seasoning.

Lodge Care Scrub Brush, 10 Inch (Best Everyday Scrubber)

For daily scrubbing and washing, this lodge brush is your best choice. It has a long and comfortable wooden handle. The bristle is made of stiff nylon, however, its not as strong as OXO Brush. Nevertheless, for general scrubbing, this is a good option. I wouldnt use it on a hot pan though, it can melt… Also, since this will be used a lot, getting a few might be a good idea.

GAINWELL Wood Brush with Chain Mail (Best Natural Bristle)

For a more natural bristle, gainwell makes good option. It is short and stiff, letting you remove more crud than the nylon bristle. The only downside is that they wear down a lot more quickly than the alternative. Nevertheless, its very effective in remove grease and its my preferred choice.

12″ Bamboo Wok Brush (12″) (Best for Wok)

If you have a Wok and want to clean it easily, this is the same tool that Chinese Chef tool uses. The Bristle are made of bamboo and they are quick and effective at cleaning. All you need to do is scrub between cooking to remove any stuck on food. You can use it for cast iron pan, but I recommend getting a shorter model if you do so.

Brushes for Cast Iron

There are a few different brushes available for Cast Iron. Some uses wood fiber, other uses nylon. Some brushes even uses natural fiber, but those are too weak in my opinion. For the really sever cases, you can actually use metal brushes or mesh to clean carbon fiber.

The best type of brush are the nylon and the wooden one. They hit the balance of hardness to remove built on crud without damaging the seasoning. Shorter Nylon Brush are more effective than the longer ones. They hold their shape better. The same is true for the wooden one. However, wooden brush are still effective even when long. You can often see these type of brush used for woks. The downside to the wooden one is that they are not very durable. you will eventually need to replace it. They also tend to break off.

Using Chain Mail and Mesh Brush on Cast Iron

Metal Brushes such as steel wool or chain mail are the most effective. However, I would only use these for the very extreme cases. They can easily ruin your seasoning. The safest one in this category are Copper one but they arent common and generally more expensive. Stainless Steel brush are more common but still good.

Cleaning Your Brush

A little Ironic that a tool used for cleaning needs to be cleaned as well. But if you consider what it scrubs, its understandable. To Clean the Brush, I like to use a hot soap water solution. Grab your brush and start brushing the bottom of the reservoir. This will hopefully loosen most of the crud. I then follow up with a traditional sponge to try and scrape most of it out.

If your brush is really caked on with grease, then I suggest you soak it in vinegar. This will loosen and remove most of the grease. However, only do this for Nylon and Metal Brush. Wooden one can disintegrate if you do so. After soaking, repeat the step above.

Rust on Cast Iron?

If you accidentally got a little too aggressive cleaning, rust can occur. Luckily, removing it is pretty easy. All you need to do is get sand paper or use a rust eraser to remove it. Once that is done, apply a thin coat of oil and bake it in the oven. The optimal baking time would be around 30 minutes at 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Thoughts

There are many Brushes available for Cast Iron. My personal best is the OXO model, the bristle is short, stout and strong. Great for a deep scrub while protecting the seasoning. However, since its so short, it might have some issue for long ridges of grill pan. In that case, Lodge brush might be better. The bristle are longer and the handle is comfortable. For really stuck on food, I recommend getting the metal scrubber, but I would only use this for severe case. For things like Wok, try a Wok Brush. Its like a Broom for your Wok and it works!

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