Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I have used the same cast iron skillet for years..its not a fancy brand, bought at Walmart, seasoned it by rubbing oil into the bottom and sides of the skillet and putt into a warm (around 250 degree) oven for a few hours; then I let it sit until cool, rubbed off the excess oil with a paper towel. I worried so much about ruining the seasoning over the years and use two different methods to clean..NEVER use soap on the skillet..I sometimes use hot water which removes most everything..and another method I read about in a novel I was reading. Pioneers used sand to clean their pots and pans but now I use salt..the cheapest table salt..pour into the bottom of the skillet, put over low heat and let it warm until a crust forms and then scrape off and wipe out. It works..and I use salt without placing over heat as well and that works.