Hello KitchenChore lover.! Today issue is how to clean a slow cooker yourself. Slow cookers make cooking much easier and save on the time you spend in the kitchen. It has also become darling kitchen equipment in many households as you just get your cooking ingredients ready, turn it on and simply wait for your food to cook. However, at some point, we do miss out on some very crucial things like the time needed for a meal to be ready. If left for a bit longer than usual, food can stick on the slow cooker and you are left to wonder how you will clean it up. Cleaning becomes easy if you have the know-how on how to but what if you do not know how to?
Worry less, because in this article am going to guide you on different ways to properly clean your slow cooker.
How to Clean a Slow Cooker Step by Step.
We have to use a slow cooker for different types of food cooking. To get better performance from a slow cooker it needs appropriate take care. Actually a programable slow cooker needs special taking care to get real performance from it. Lets we know different cleaning methods like step by step.
Using soap and water
We all do want to clean the slow cooker almost immediately after we have emptied the food and have left the cooker to cool off. What you will need to do is to ensure the slow cooker is free from any leftover food, add some warm soapy water, scrub it and rinse it off.
Using baking soda
At times food tends to get stuck on the bowl and to get rid of those tough food stains you can add warm soapy water and turn it on “low” mode for some time. You can also add some baking soda into the water to help loosen up the stuck food. After a while, scrub the inner bowl well and rinse it off.
Using Ammonia
Wondering what to do to the burnt mess left behind? If yes, all you will need to do is pour some water in a container and add some ammonia into it. Transfer the water with ammonia into the slow cooker and leave it for a few hours. After pouring the water out, you could notice some little bits left out, especially at the top part, and you can clear it off by cleaning the cooker with hydrogen peroxide and baking soda.
Using Vinegar
Most often developing on black slow cookers due to mineral deposits, the whitish color could become a bother to you. The solution to getting rid of it is vinegar. You will need to fill the slow cooker with water, add white vinegar and leave it for some hours. After that, you can go ahead and wash your slow cooker and dry it. You will notice the white deposits will have cleared out or will be less noticeable.
You may like: How can we use rice cooker as a slow cooker.
How to Clean Different Parts of a Slow Cooker.
Outer part
If at the time of cooking your food spewed out, leaving a mess on the outer casing, here is what you will need to do. Usually, Slow cookers come with a user guide manual to guide you on how to clean it, if there is no specification on how clean the outer casing, then you will need to wipe the mess out with some paper towels. Alternatively, you can use a dump piece of cloth and pour some baking soda onto it and wipe out the mess. The base of the cooker houses all the heating elements so you should strictly keep off water from spilling there to prevent damage to your cooker.
Inner bowl
Cleaning the inner pot is quite easy. All you will need is some soap and water and a little scrubbing then rinse off the soap.
Condensation collector
Just like its name suggests, this part collects the condenses vapor formed during cooking. You can hand cleaning it and let it dry before fixing it back in place.
Lid
If not properly cleaned, the lid can emit some odour which would also affect the smell of your food. To ensure it is well cleaned, you can remove the rubber ring on it and clean them well with some warm water with soap and allow them to dry before assembling them back together.
Preventive Measures for Your Slow Cooker.
Here, I have prepared a few measures to make your cleaning experience easier.
Use non-stick cooking spray
Spraying the inner bowl with no-stick spray before putting your ingredients into it prevents the food from sticking into it. In case the food gets burned, it also does help in cleaning it out easily.
Use a heat-safe plastic liner
These plastic liners are used with foods that have a higher risk of burning when cooking. They are available in the market and they should be thrown away after use.
Place on a flat surface
Placing your slow cooker on a flat surface prevents spilling of food or water which messes with the outer metallic part.
The correct temperature and cooking time
For food that will cook longer, you can set the temperature at low and vice versa. This prevents the food from overcooking or undercooking.
Dishwashing Verses Handwashing
Mostly, slow cookers pot can be removed and be tossed into the dishwasher. Firstly, recheck the manufacturer’s directions to make sure that your brand can be washed in the dishwasher without affecting its performance.
Placing the slow cooker in the dishwasher rack eats up quite some space, and it also needs to be rewashed again to clean out any food particles that may have been left out. Choosing to hand wash is much simpler. There is also risk of breaking the pot after continuous washing in the dishwasher. If the slow cooker has some tough stains on it, then choose to hand wash for better results.
How to deep clean slow cooker.
Conclusion
You should consider what type of material the bowl is made from when purchasing. This is to ensure you maintain your slow cooker well and give it longer usage life. Some come with a ceramic bowl and others a non-stick bowl. The ceramic used also varies from one bowl to another, the specific time the pot should be in the water and which chemicals can be harmful. On the other hand, a non-stick bowl is more delicate than the ceramic bowl. You can stick to cleaning with just soap and water as a safety measure.

Jennifer D. Simon has spent the last 26 years studying and practicing nutrition science. She has used a larger part of this time in improving people’s livelihoods. She has done so by coming up with unquestionable ideas on how to tackle food problems in her community. Read More
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