Rust in my cast iron

[whole milk]

I just pulled out my cast iron skillet and found RUST. Water got on it somehow and after scrubbing and scrubbing I still couldn't get it out. Any suggestions? Also, IF there's a little left over is that toxic to the body?

 

[mcnerd]

The Salt Method for Cleaning Cast Iron:
Using a thick paste of warm vegetable oil and salt does a great job of bringing rusty cast-iron pots and pans back to life. Following are the step to follow:

1. Rub the cast-iron pan with fine steel wool.
2. Wipe out loose dirt and rust with a cloth. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until the pan is largely cleared of rust.
3. Place the pan on the burner of your stove over medium-low heat. Add enough vegetable oil to coat the pan bottom heavily. Heat for 5 minutes or until the handle is too hot to touch. turn off the heat.
4. Depending on the size of your cast-iron pan, add approximately 2 to 4 tablespoons coarse salt to form a paste. The salt acts as an abrasive to gently srub any goop off the surface. Wearing a glove, scrub with a thick wad of paper towels, steadying the pan with a pot holder, scrub the pan, [SIZE=-1]concentrating on the rusted spots but covering all surfaces with the oil and salt mixture. Add more salt or oil as needed. [/SIZE]
5. [SIZE=-1]Wash the pan with hot water and dish washing soap. [/SIZE]Rinse the pan thoroughly in hot water, wipe dry, and then coat with a thin film of vegetable oil, wiping off any excess oil with additional paper towels.

To maintain your cast-iron pan after cooking in it, using coarse salt and a paper towel, scrub the pan. Dump the salt out and rinse the cast-iron pan in cold water. Wipe dry with a paper towel (if you still get a brown stain on the paper towel, dump more salt in and repeat the process), and then wipe a thin film of olive oil in the pan.


Cast Iron Pans, Using Salt for Cleaning Cast Iron, Techniques for Restoring an old Cast-Iron Skillet