A crock pot can make your day harder in the kitchen when it’s not properly cleaned. Do you know how to clean the inside of a crock pot effectively?
If not, you are in the right place to know everything about cleaning the inside of a crock pot and become a master at cleaning a crock pot.
Maybe you have already tried different methods like a dishwasher and other common home remedies to clean it. Still, it looks the same before cleaning. Isn’t it?
All parts of the crock pot need to be cleaned, like the inside portion, base, lid, and even the smell as well! Isn’t it tough? Don’t worry; we’ve got your back.
Over time, the crock pot becomes faded, dirty, discolored, burnt, etc. Repetitive uses help to mess inside the pot. Here you’ll find the solution to clean it properly.
All You Need to Know About Deep Cleaning A Crockpot:
No doubt, cleaning the inside of a crock pot is important enough after knowing the reason behind it. Take a quick look at them below.
- To keep the crock pot hygienic as well as the kitchen.
- Makes the crock pot more appealing on the table after cleaning it properly.
- Give ultimate satisfaction as a cleaned appliance.
What Do You Need To Clean Inside The Crock Pot?
Check out the list of essential supplies to clean inside the crock pot properly and match what you’ve got near you.
- Warm water
- Hydrogen peroxide or lemon juice
- Baking soda
- Magic cleaning sponge
- Non-abrasive pot scourer
- Dish Detergent
- A soft cloth or sponge x 2
How To Clean Inside a Crock Pot Properly?
It’s time to clean inside your crock pot after getting all the necessary supplies. To make the task easier for you, we described the process step by step. Let’s have a glance at them below.
Step 1: Use Soapy Water
Fill the crock pot with hot water. Make sure the level of the water is just above the line of the burnt food. Take some dish detergent and add a squirt of it in hot water.
Wait at least 30 min for proper soaking. To get the best result, you can let it soak for an hour.
Step 2: Scrub away food particles
Now, remove all the food particles. Use a scouring pad (non-scratch) with soapy water for it. Clean it properly from the sides and bottom of the pot. After cleaning, rinse the crock pot and let it dry.
Step 3: Final scrubbing
Sometimes, a non-scratching scouring pad is not enough to clean all the food particles. It is possible because there is some hard-to-move residue remaining.
Scrubbing with baking soda will give better results to remove it. Baking soda can do a great job, whereas soap can’t.
Final Step: Rinse and dry
Finally, you’re done with cleaning the inside of the crock pot. Now, rinse it with fresh water and dry it to get a sparkling clean finish.
Remember, you are cleaning a crock pot, not the metal body of your car. So, never try to use any kind of harsh cleaner or brush to clean inside the crock pot.
All of these instruments can scratch the surface of your crock pot. As a result, you’ll discover stains on your crock pot soon.
Read More: Can I Use A Cracked Crock Pot? Reasons and How to Fix it
How To Clean a Crock Pot Base?
The crock pot base is the metal part containing the heating element. It is made of aluminum or sometimes stainless steel. Inside the base, you’ll find some burnt-on residue. It happens even after taking great care during the cooking.
Most of the time, the tiniest spillage of cooking liquid seeps down. It gets its way into the base. Here are the steps you need to follow to clean the base of a crock pot.
- Using baking Soda: To get the best result, you can use baking soda in a paste and some water. You can also use cleansers & polish of different brands.
- Scrub the spot: Take a pot sponge and start to scrub the spot. You can also use a little bit of elbow grease. If you’re going to use it, please use it to clean inside the heating element base. Take a damp cloth or soft paper towel to wipe. Wipe it a few times. After loosening the grime, let it dry for a while.
- Use vinegar or soapy water: Cleaning inside the crock pot base is not enough when there is something disturbing outside of it. So, you also need to clean the outside of the crock pot base. Take a damp cloth or sponge. Let it soak in vinegar or soapy water. Wipe the soaked damp cloth over the base.
Don’t use ammonia to clean the base. Using ammonia also gives a great result in cleaning the crock pot base. I prefer to steer away from it. Its odor and corrosive nature can give you some trouble. Now rinse it, and let it dry.
How to Clean Burnt Crock Pots or Slow Cookers?
Did you notice your crock pot ended up tight with a crusty rim after it burnt on the contents? Don’t itch your head to get an idea to clean it perfectly. Let me help you to do it. Here is the best way.
- Step 1: Take the removable stoneware inner pot and soak it with warm sudsy water. Make sure it is above the burnt-on area to get a better result.
- Step 2: Don’t hurry! Let it sit as much as you can. Maybe a few hours is enough based on the burnt-on situation. Use a simple hand wash process to remove the residue.
A bit of scrubbing will be helpful because the residue is soft enough to remove easily. Now rinse and dry it properly.
See More: Crock Pot Smells Like Burning Plastic – Causes & Solutions
How to Get the Smell Out of a Crock-Pot?
Your crock pot has an awful smell! Wait, what? Yes, it can happen even after cleaning it perfectly, and it still looks new.
So, how to get rid of this bad odor? The steps are a bit tricky but easy for you. Here is the secret you need to follow to eliminate the smell of your crock pot.
- Take one cup of white vinegar and three cups of water. Pour them into the crock pot.
- Now take ¼ cup of baking soda and slowly pour it into the water.
- Let’s have fun for a while. It will bubble and fizz. Let the bubbles die down.
- Cover the crock pot and let it stay alone for at least 1 hour.
- Time up! Remove the lid and use a soft sponge for gentle rubbing. For better results, you can also use some elbow grease.
- Now rinse it with warm and soapy water.
- Let it dry completely and get a smell-free crock pot like the new one.
How to Clean a Crock Pot with Vinegar?
Vinegar is the most common home remedy used to remove odor from different types of things. It’s also used for the crock pot. The process of using vinegar is simple.
Just wipe down the outside and inside of the metal heating base of the crock pot. If there is any film of grease that remains, then use vinegar to remove it.
More Read: Can You Put a Crockpot on the Stove? Quick Guidelines
Frequently Asked Question’s (FAQ)
First, use a paper towel and soak up excess grease. Take dish detergent and perform a hand wash process and rinse it perfectly. If there is any grease remaining after drying the pot, take vinegar and wipe it over the spot.
Yes, but not all crock pot parts are safe in the dishwasher. You can only put the lid and the removable stoneware into the dishwasher. The base contains eclectics as heating elements. So, the dishwasher is not safe, especially for the crock pot attached to the base.
No, it’s not porous if the glazed finish of the stoneware inner pot is intact. You can do it only when the glossy finish is history.
Steel wool is a harsh scrubber, and it’s totally against crock pot cleaning remedies. It can badly damage the surface of the crock pot, especially the ceramic portion. So, you can’t use steel wool.
Maintaining a crock pot is not rocket science. After use, turn your crock pot off and unplug it completely from the electrical outlet. Before cleaning, let it cool. Use the dishwasher and hot and soapy water to wash the lid.
Conclusion:
Crockpot gives the best performance when it can work its way. To make sure it’s a proper working process, you must know how to clean inside of crock pot.
Routinely cleaning a crock pot inside and outside is the best way. When you can maintain a sparkling crock pot, it will shine on your table and kitchen as well.
On top of that, cleaning a crock pot properly means it is going to be hygienic again. To enjoy cooking, a clean crock pot can give you the best support.
It will give you excellent performance for years if you keep focusing on cleaning it perfectly. I hope this article works as a complete guideline for you to keep the crock pot clean and smell-free all the time. Enjoy cooking!
