Just read some of the recommendations for cleaning at Field's site. My methods are far from perfect. And so once again, I glossed over "just wipe it out with a paper towel ... (#3 recommendation)
That is, until I read #4.From #4, "If you do decide to use water ..." (dry it off etc)
Oh, you mean I might not NEED to use water??
I've made all the mistakes. I nearly removed all seasoning from the old Wagner in the dishwasher. I just didn't know. But when I removed it I clued in. I've scrubbed with the abrasive sponge. And I still use water (see my comments re" stainless chainmail above.) which might be a new clue, for me.
It's not the water per se that's a problem, but the adequate drying afterwards that take more time, more heat, more waiting to re-apply oil that adds heartache.
If you re-apply oil to a not-entirely dry CI pan, you've just trapped the water! The cycle of seasoning "curiously never staying on" repeats. Anyone been there??
I get the sense there's a delta working here, where for a while, if you only wipe stuff out (sans water) that eventually, you'll be wiping out less and less as time goes on, and the stuff sticking won't stick anymore. That's my new hope, my new dream. Maybe one day I'll figure this CI thing out.
So in the meantime I think I'll still need to use the stainless chainmail or stainless "steel wool" to remove burned-on stuff, but try it without water.