Just after a few months in the market, you are sure to find almost everyone using an instant pot for cooking and why shouldn’t they! Its space-saving and multi-purpose functionalities save a lot of time and hassle. While the pots don’t give up easily, yet if they are not properly maintained then you are sure to see a change in its overall efficiency. A little different from your traditional cleaning methods, instant pots are easy to maintain and here’s how you can clean your instant pot.
Off and Cool
Before you start on, make sure your instant pot is unplugged and has cooled down. You don’t want to work with a partially heated instant pot. Once cooled, separate the lid, the inner pot and the steamer rack. It is best to get all the parts out so that you can deep clean every little part and area.
The Exterior Body
For the exterior, never immerse it in water. The exterior body is made of electronic components and cleaning with a damp cloth is your best bet. You can use the same damp cloth for cleaning the inside of the body too. For the cracks, you can use a small toothbrush to get in to those deep cracks and remove dried food debris.
The Lid
You can clean the lid by placing it the dish washer, but regular cleaning with water can do the trick as well. In case you are in deep-clean mode, remove the sealing ring, the anti-block shield, the steam-release handle and the float valve and then clean the lid. Once done, reattach the steam release handle and float valve and make sure both these work normally without any obstruction. While cleaning the lid, make sure to not to remove the steam valve. Once the anti-block shield comes off, you have access to clean it easily.
The Steam-Release and Float Valve
For the steam release handle and float valve, its best if you hand wash it with small brushes. That ought to get most of the debris, all while being gentle on the tiny equipment.
The Sealing Ring
Because the sealing ring makes sure that the pressure stays inside while cooking, it usually takes a lot of beating. Therefore, if you notice the ring to be cracked or deformed, you can always get a new one. However, if you wish to clean the one you have, soaking it in vinegar will give you the best result because it gets rid of the residual food odor.
The Interior Pot and Steam Rack
The interior pot and the steam rack both can be cleaned and washed like all other utensils, either using dishwasher or by hand washing. But despite the regular cleaning, sometimes the odor tends to stay. The most easiest way to get rid of that pesky odor and rusty stains is by soaking the lid in one cup of vinegar. After five minutes, drain out the vinegar, wash it with water, rub in some soft bristles and it will be good as new. But be careful, Never use steel wool for cleaning the inside. NEVER.
The Steam-Clean Hack
If you are in mood for a quick but neat clean-up, then here’s a quick hack. Instead of dissembling everything, take your instant pot, add in 2 cups of vinegar or 2 cups of water with cut-out lemons and run the steam program for 2 minutes. This gets rid of the odor and stains inside the internal pot and sealing ring. Be sure to let it all air-dry afterwards.
Despite how hard they tend to work, instant pots are easy to clean. It only requires some basic knowledge of dissembling and assembling and some quick tricks up your sleeve.
