Steel wool pads

Don't buy those steel wool soap pads. Buy plain steel wool pads (available in any hardware department) for a fraction of the cost and use your own dish detergent - just one drop. You don't have to use a whole pad at a time, either. Tear off a piece only as large as you need and when you're through with it, put it in a plastic bag in the freezer to keep it from rusting. Just one pad will last a long time like this.