My mom taught me how to care for CI - she learned it from her mom and her German born grand mom. My mom said the CI should be clean enough to wipe with a white dish towel - so yes, we always used some soap on our CI and then quickly re-seasoned lightly. Mom had the best CI and nothing ever stuck. I know this goes against what you are saying ... but this is 4 generations of CI use.
My mom taught me how to care for CI - she learned it from her mom and her German born grand mom. My mom said the CI should be clean enough to wipe with a white dish towel - so yes, we always used some soap on our CI and then quickly re-seasoned lightly. Mom had the best CI and nothing ever stuck. I know this goes against what you are saying ... but this is 4 generations of CI use.