This was a product that was sent to me to “test out”. No strings attached. (As a side note, our homestead receives many requests to test products. Most are turned down, but this one caught my eye. When I get a product that I like, I always share it with my audience because chances are you are in the same situation at your homestead as I am, and we are all looking for good products that will save us time, make us more productive, or make our lives easier).

Up until receiving this drying stone, I was using the washable drying mats (you know the kind… they have a spongy inner layer between two layers of a microfiber material). The problem with those types of mats is they hold the moisture (plus they need to be washed regularly).

Here’s the next piece of the problem. I cook with cast iron. Not just once in a while, but every day. When I finish with my dishes, the last think I do is clean my cast iron. I often place the cast iron on the fabric mat with the intention of grabbing a towel and drying it immediately. (That’s the “plan” anyway). What actually happens is I put the cast iron pan on the mat, I wipe down the stove, and then a distraction happens, and I totally forget about the cast iron pan for a couple hours. For those of you who use cast iron, you know the outcome. The moisture holding mat makes a thin rusty color on the cast iron. It is removable, but it is annoying.

This stone mat has totally solved my cast iron crisis. Now when I finish the cast iron, I place it on this stone and the water literally disappears. In a couple hours when I return to finish the job, often the pan is dry or nearly dry. Plus, no rusty film! I hang the pan back on the wall in its place and I’m done.

The drying stone has little legs so air circulates around the entire stone. The stone absorbs the water and releases it into the air. It’s a wonderful system. I mainly use the drying stone for big items like the cast iron pieces, but it is equally nice for pots and pans and other large dishes or bowls. The fact that the drying stone dries so quickly just seems so much more sanitary to me than a spongy wet fabric mat. – Bren