sanitizing cast iron

[desertpenguin]

i was gifted with some cast iron pots and pans recently. however the person who originally owned them stored them in the garage...and everything has rodent feces and animal hair in it! i'm going to hose everything out as best i can in the yard, but unsure of where to go from there. would it be fine to just wash with dish soap? would bleach or hydrogen peroxide cause a chemical reaction that would damage the pans?

[Magelet]

I think the best thing to do would be to wash them with soap and water, and then reseason them. To take the seasoning off, leave it in the hottest oven or self cleaning oven for several hours. It will burn the seasoning off, and you'll need to reseason, but it should also kill anything on the pots without leaving chemical residue.

[Llyra]

I would start by boiling water in them, for at least ten minutes, with them as full as you can get them without them overflowing. Or pour large quantities of boiling water over them. Then I'd wash them well in hot soapy water, use steel wool to remove the old seasoning, and reseason.

[mumkimum]

I'd do a combo of both pp suggestions - boiling water will help loosen any gunk out of the cast iron, I'd go easy on using soap on them - but maybe consider using something like Dr.Bronners tea tree oil soap, or a tea tree oil water? And reseasoning in a hot oven too - all stuff that would help get rid of any yuckies they've been around.

[Arduinna]

I'd just wash them well and then reseason. I like to do majoring seasoning on the bbq. Lard them up, and put on a hot grill upside down and let them go until cool.

[desertpenguin]

thanks everyone for the suggestions!