I have many old cast iron pans and a ditch oven. I have cleaned them with many detergents over the years including steel wool.
There tends to be a “grunge” that develops at the edges where the wall meets the floor. It’s ok to clean this off and I prefer Castrol Super Clean degreaser for this task.
As a rule, I like to clean/degrease the pan(s) every couple of years or so, and then re-season them with peanut oil or safflower oil. This reduces the smoke when you use high heat.
Those who have a stroke because this person washed a pan are misguided.
We bought a cast iron Dutch Oven at the Salvation Army Thrift store for $5.
It was rusted all over like it had been sitting outside in the rain for years. It was a mess.
The clerk thought we were going to use it for a flower pot because she thought it could never be useful for cooking again.
We took it home, sanded all the rust off inside and out, then used steel wool and Scotch Brite pads to smooth out the pitted areas.
Put it on the stove and got it very hot and seasoned it with olive oil.
Have been using it for years and years................