Can cast iron cookware be washed in the dishwasher?

Not all dishes can be washed in the dishwasher; manufacturers of various brands warn about this in their operating instructions. Despite this, many housewives prefer to learn these nuances the hard way. Fortunately, not everyone does this, and some even prefer to clarify: is it possible to wash cast iron cookware in the dishwasher? By the way, this is a very good question and we can’t wait to answer it.

What happens to cast iron in a machine?

Cast iron is a rather fragile and porous material that can behave unpredictably in an aggressive environment. Cast iron cookware can withstand strong heat well, and it tolerates cleaning with various chemicals well. For this reason, many housewives think that cast iron will not suffer at all from washing in the dishwasher, but this is not at all true.

Non-stick frying pans suffer the most. Under the influence of hot water and powerful chemistry, the non-stick coating degrades, and the frying pan loses its wonderful properties over time.
Other cast iron items will not be damaged by one or two washes, but if you wash them tens or hundreds of times, the micropores in the metal will begin to increase. Fat will clog in these pores and food will begin to stick to the surface.

Cast iron cookware loses its appearance after being washed in the dishwasher because, in addition to grease, chemicals will penetrate into the pores and microcracks. This chemistry will subsequently end up in food, and this can’t end well.

Cast iron cookware, washed 100-150 times in the dishwasher, becomes significantly more fragile. An accidental fall or blow may cause it to break.
After the dishwasher, cast iron cookware will begin to rust intensively. In the near future, you yourself will not want to use a completely red frying pan.

cast iron frying pans If you were careless to wash cast iron cookware in the dishwasher several times and it became covered with a rusty coating, do not despair. First, stop shoving cast iron items into the dishwasher. And secondly, try to revive already damaged dishes. First, wash it, wipe it with a cloth soaked in vegetable oil and heat salt on its surface. This “number” is usually done with frying pans. This will help for a while, but soon corrosion will take its toll.

In addition to cast iron, Teflon and aluminum should not be washed in the dishwasher. Housewives especially often wash parts of the meat grinder in the dishwasher, and then throw them in the trash, because they become covered with a smearing black coating, which is extremely difficult to wipe off. If such an opportunity has befallen you, read the article How to clean a meat grinder after washing it in the dishwasher, there is a lot of practical advice on the resuscitation of aluminum parts.

When is cast iron washed safely?

Let's return to the issue of washing cast iron in the dishwasher. Is it always strictly forbidden to wash it there or are there any exceptions? Manufacturers of modern cast iron cookware, aware of the widespread use of dishwashers, began to add various impurities to the material, thanks to which the cookware became more durable. When buying another cast iron frying pan, pay attention to the inscriptions on the packaging. Usually the manufacturer writes about the possibility of washing the product in a PMM in the most visible place. If there is no such inscription, it is better not to risk it and wash such dishes in the classic way - by hand.

So why shouldn't you wash cast iron in the dishwasher? Yes, because cast iron cookware will deteriorate on its own and begin to spoil the food you cook in it, and this is not a myth at all. The degradation of the material is quite slow, but it still happens, which will ultimately have a negative impact on your wallet, since good cast iron cookware is very expensive these days. Good luck!