How To Clean The Instant Pot Liner
Our first instant pot cleaning tip starts with the liner. This is the pot in which all food is cooked. The Instant Pot liner is made of food-grade stainless steel. Its dishwasher safe, and you can hand-wash it with warm water and dish soap. Wash the liner after every use. Do not use any abrasive cleaners, steel wool, or other scrubbers or sponges that could scratch the surface of the liner. If you find that you have a particularly stubborn cleaning situation, such as burnt-on food, you can use Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser and a non-abrasive sponge or soft cloth to remove the debris.
Regular washing of the liner after every use should keep it in good condition. You may notice that, over time, your liner is no longer shiny. This blueish discoloration occurs naturally in stainless steel and is caused by minerals or salts in the foods you cook. The simple solution for making the liner shiny again is Bar Keepers Friend Soft Cleanser. Simply squirt the cleanser into the liner and spread it across the surface with a soft, non-abrasive sponge. Rinse and towel dry, then admire the shine.
Clean The Stainless Steel Pot
Next, clean the stainless steel pot. Use a non-abrasive brush like a sponge or a dishcloth when you clean it so that you dont scratch the steel. Wash out both the inside and the outside of the pot.
If your pot has discolorations, you can pour some vinegar and water inside of it, let it sit, and then wipe it out. The pot will look like new!
Is Your Instant Pot Dishwasher Safe
The Instant Pot multi-cooker has different parts and the good news is that most of them are dishwasher safe. Go ahead and load the inner pot, steam rack, and the sealing ring inside the dishwasher whenever they need to be cleaned.
The cooking base of your Instant Pot is different. You cannot place that part of the multi-cooker inside the dishwasher. Placing the cooking base inside the dishwasher will lead to the microprocessor and heating element malfunctioning.
Cleaning the lid of your Instant Pot is also a bit more complicated. The lid itself is safe to place inside the top rack of the dishwasher, but one part of it is not. To be more specific, the anti-block shield located underneath the lid must be washed separately.
Also, your Instant Pot has a condensation collector that is not dishwasher safe. Its easy to miss the condensation collector so make a point of removing it after every use of your Instant Pot.
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Cleaning Instant Pot Gasket For Steam Release
On the top of your Instant Pot lid is the steam release valve. To remove this, just pull straight up!
Once removed, clean it with hot soapy water, using a Q-tip or some other small brush to get inside the valve. The Q-tip also works well for cleaning around the base of it, especially if you cant get a towel to clean in that space.
Once both are clean and dry, reassemble.
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Clean Instant Pot Liner
Hand wash the instant stainless steel liner using soapy water or leave the job to the dishwasher as It is dishwasher-safe. The cloudy or rainbow stains on the bottom of the pot can be removed by spraying white vinegar followed by wiping it off after some time.
Use a Bar Keepers Friend cleanser to wipe off the stubborn stains that dogged the white vinegar. If some stains still manage to stay on the pot somehow, you can combine the Bar Keepers Freind with the Magic Eraser Cleaning Sponge.
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Clean Instant Pot Base
Much like a slow cooker, the base of your pressure cooker contains the heating element and electronic components, so this part should never be submerged in water or placed in the dishwasher. To clean the Instant Pot base, wipe down the exterior with a damp cloth to remove crumbs or food splatters. If you need to clean the inside of the cooking base, use a clean, damp cloth to wipe it down and dry the interior immediately. Clean the recessed area around the lip of the base with a small scrubbing brush or toothbrush to remove any stuck-on food.
How To Clean Tough Stains With Bar Keepers Friend
For next level shiny pot, we love to use Bar Keepers Friend powder or liquid cleaner. Also dont forget the bottom of the pot on the outside, if you are a Mr. Clean like me.
Final verdict: And here is how shiny and spotless stainless steel pot looks like when cleaned with Bar Keepers Friend. Definitely, it is more powerful than baking soda. I prefer cream to powder cleaner because it scratches less, which is particularly important when cleaning quartz countertops.
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How To Clean Instant Pot
Dont forget to sign up for my email list to receive a FREE comprehensive guide on How to Clean Your Instant Pot and how to AVOID those pesky smells!
You can also watch my video on How to Clean your Instant Pot! I have a whole Instant Pot 101 series on there!
I improvised with what I had for a year, and I did just fine! I dont want anyone wasting their hard earned money on stuff they dont need! HUGE pet peeve of mine to waste money!
How To Prepare Jars For Canning In An Instant Pot
You can always wash your jars with hot water to sterilize them either by hand or in the dishwasher. But did you know you can sterilize the jars using your instant pot as well?
Heres how:
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Next And Most Importantly Is How You Store Your Instant Pot Lid And Sealing Ring
In my opinion, proper storage is the one thing that will prevent the Instant Pot lid and sealing ring food odors. Instantpot.com thinks so too.
Instantpot.com care and cleaning instructions say to store the lid upside down!
My Instant Pot lid is clean I promise those are just water spots from the dishwasher.
The idea of storing the lid upside down is to allow the silicone sealing ring to air out.
Kind of like airing your dirty laundry.
Haha!
If your lid and sealing ring still has some food odor after being run through your dishwasher, storing it upside down with the sealing ring resting on top will completely get rid of the smell.
It just needs a little time to air out.
Clean Exterior Housing With Damp Cloth
First, wet a clean damp cloth to wipe off any food residual or stains on Instant Pots exterior housing. We prefer to use Microfiber Cleaning Cloth for our magic pot.
If Microfiber Cleaning Cloths are good enough for cars paint, its good enough for the Instant Pot.
*Caution: Never immerse the exterior housing in water or any other liquid.
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The Proper Way To Clean Your Instant Pot
To clean your Instant Pot, wipe the outside of the cooker with a damp cloth, and wipe it down inside as well, being sure that the heating element stays dry. Scrub around the lip with an old toothbrush, if need be.
Hand wash the lid, the inner pot, and the lid before cleaning the lid, though, it’s best to remove the sealing ring and anti-block shield. The shield is not dishwasher-safe, so it should always be hand-washed in warm, soapy water. The condensation collector is another non-dishwasher safe part. Although it doesn’t need to be cleaned every time you use the Instant Pot, you should remove it every so often and give it a gentle hand washing.
Cleaning The Steel Inner Pot
The stainless-steel inner pot is durable, which means itll be completely safe within the confines of your dishwasher. Just rinse it out and place it on the lower rack.
If your pot develops any stains or stubborn grime, you can use a nonabrasive cleaner. Alternatively, just fill it with one cup of vinegar and let it soak for five minutes. Check out the video above for more deep-cleaning tips. Just make sure the inner pot is completely dry before you place it back inside the base.
We recommend purchasing an extra inner pot, so you can keep up with your cooking when one is getting a deep clean.
$29.99
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How To Deep Clean An Instant Pot
While daily maintenance is important to maintaining your Instant Pot, a well-loved Instant Pot will begin to show signs of use after a while. If you use your Instant Pot frequently, aim to deep clean it at least once a month.
Heres What Youll Need:
- Paper Towel
Instructions:
What Is An Instant Pot
Just to make sure everyones on the same page, lets take some time to talk about what the Instant Pot is. You can kind of think of an Instant Pot as a modernized pressure cooker.
One of the main reasons why home cooks are hesitant to use pressure cookers is safety. Handle a pressure cooker the wrong way and its contents could explode. Youll be lucky if the result of that is just a messy kitchen floor. The Instant Pot addresses that concern by adding numerous safety features. As long as you follow the clear instructions, you should have no trouble successfully using this cooking device.
The name of the cooking device itself also hints at one of its most notable features. Instant Pots significantly speed up the cooking process for all kinds of meals. The faster cooking speed comes in really handy if you have to prepare a meal for your family after work.
Instant Pots are also prized for their versatility. You can set it to different modes to properly cook specific dishes.
The convenience the Instant Pot presents also cannot be overlooked. It does a lot of the work for you after you turn it on. The convenience also extends to the required maintenance of the Instant Pot.
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Is An Instant Pot Lid Dishwasher Safe
Lets begin with answering this part of the question very confidently because I have done it myself as well.
And the answer to this part of the question is YES, an Instant Pot Lid is completely Dishwasher safe.
The parts of an Instant Pot that can be washed in the dishwasher without any hesitation are the inner pot, sealing ring and the lid.
The outer part of the Instant Pot should NOT be put inside the water as it contains the heating element of the pot and water could damage it. Lid and Inner Pot is, however, completely safe to be cleaned in a Dishwasher.
For the outer part, you can use a cloth to Clean it. A damp cloth will do the job very well.
Is there still any confusion regarding how to go ahead with cleaning an Instant Pot Lid?
If yes, Dont worry.
In the next section of this article, Ill provide you the step-wise procedure about the best way in which an Instant Pot Lid can be cleaned.
So, what are we waiting for?
Lets move ahead
Instant Pot Lid Can Go In Dishwasher
Hygiene-conscience people might be happy after knowing that they can put their favorite multicooker lid into the dishwasher to get cleaned thoroughly. BUT, WAIT! Heres one thing! You must follow the prompt steps to wash the lid. Why? Your Instant Pot Lid has sensitive silicon rings and an inner sensitive shield which needs certain cleaning procedures. So! Your lid can definitely go in the dishwasher but with particular exceptions, following
Dont worry! We got you covered. In this article, we have addressed the cleaning issue of Instant Pot Lid along with its step by step cleaning approach. Read on to know HOW!
Steps To Wash Instant Pot Lid:
Before you begin washing, dismantle the parts of the lid before you load it into the dishwasher. Heres how you do it:
1. Remove The Float Valve:
First of all, you would need to remove the float valve. Look up the bottom side of the lid and there you would see a visible partsilicon cap. To remove the float valve, you would need to eliminate this cap by pulling it out. Now, push the float valve towards its opposite side. The float valve would be removed.
2. Remove Sealing Ring:
In this step, simply remove the sealing ring. All you would need to do is peel the ring away from the backside of the sealing ring rack. Note that changing your sealing ring after every 12-18 months is good. You are also recommended to use different rings for savory dishes.
3. Remove Anti-Block Shield:
4. Wash Instant Pot Lid With Warm Soapy Water:
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How To Clean Instant Pot Ring And Remove The Odors
Instant Pots silicone ring is porous and absorbs odours easily that cannot be removed with dish or dishwasher soap. However, good news is it usually does not affect the taste of food. For example, lid after cooking Instant Pot beef stew can be hand washed and used for making Instant Pot oatmeal without sweet porridge tasting like garlick-y stew.
Silicone ring tip: Any cooking utensil and silicone sealing ring washed in a dishwasher with mainstream dishwasher detergent, will absorb the taste and smell of synthetic fragrances. It is because silicone material is very porous. To avoid this unpleasantry and for health reasons, we use this natural dishwasher detergent and it works wonderful!
To remove the odour from the sealing ring, soak it in a solution of cold water and vinegar overnight, about every few months or as often as you wish. Place ring in the inner pot of Instant Pot or large bowl, cover will cold water until it is fully submerged, and add 1 cup white vinegar. Leave on the counter overnight, then rinse and make sure to place back in the lid correctly and most importantly tight.
Storage tip: Storing lid upside down allows air to flow through and helps to eliminate cooking smell from the Instant Pots inner pot and the lid.
You Always Leave The Lid On
Not every mode on your Instant Pot needs the lid secured for proper cooking. For example, itâs perfectly OK to saute or heat up foods with the lid off. In fact, sauteing mode wonât brown and crisp your food with the lid trapping in steam. If youâre not sure if you need the lid on or off, check your recipe or manual for instructions.
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Cleaning The Sealing Ring
The circle of silicone inside the lid is called the sealing ring. Instant Pot recommends you replace it every 12-18 months, depending on how much you use it. Its also advisable to use a separate one for savories and sweets, so the smells wont transfer.
Its super-easy to removejust watch the video above if you need some help. You can either hand-wash it or place it in the top rack of your dishwasher. Be sure to remove it completely to ensure its cleaned thoroughly, though.
Make sure its completely dry before you pop it back in place.
Safe To Use In Instant Pot
If youre still feeling uneasy about how safe it is to use Pyrex in your Instant Pot, here is a list of other acceptable accessories you can use in your Instant Pot.
- Glass canning jars are designed for pressure canning. Unless you have the Instant Pot Max model, you wont be using these jars to can in your Instant Pot. Many Instant Pot owners use canning jars to pressure cook successfully. They are glass, so they can break but they are created to withstand the pressure during canning. Check out the amazingly delicious Small Batch Instant Pot Lemon Curd by Julia at Imagelicious for her use of glass for pot-in-pot pressure cooking.
- Ceramic ramekins are used by many, although technically it can still break if there are any cracks/fissures.
- Quick Cooker Ceramic Pot by The Pampered Chef is made specifically for use with pressure cooking! Plus it comes with a silicone lid and a wire cradle to lift it out easily too!
- Silicone is safe to use inside the Instant Pot.
- Stainless steel is always a safe choice. You can find several stainless accessories to use here.
- Non-stick baking pans are also safe for pressure cooking. However, due to risks of chemicals leaching into foods and possibility of the coating flaking off into food, we avoid using these products now.
- Aluminum pans are also popular to use in the pressure cooker. Our family is stepping away from using aluminum products due to research about its correlation to Alzheimers disease.
More Instant Pot Recipes:
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