How To Deep Clean Your Crock Pot

Recommendations are independently chosen past Reviewed's editors. Purchases yous brand through our links may earn u.s. a commission.

In that location's nothing like opening your front end door and inhaling the smell of a delicious dinner–specially when you didn't have to stand over a hot stove to cook information technology, considering your slow cooker did all the work.

That's how we get through the winter at my house. We load the crock with meat and veggies in the morning, ready the cooker on low, and eight hours later, nosotros come dwelling house to a tasty meal that's been simmering all day. Afterward dinner, we clean information technology all up.

Okay, not quite all of information technology. Nosotros soak and scrub the crock, even run it through the dishwasher sometimes, along with the glass chapeau. Just the metal pot, the part that heats up—well, allow'south only say we never thought about it much.

Until the last time I took the crock out to move it over to the sink for washing, and I was shocked by what I saw inside the metallic pot: baked on grime. The pot itself is not immersible. And you can't fill it with water and float the crud away. You've got to go in at that place and clean it by mitt.

So, I tackled information technology all. I didn't take to buy anything special to clean it, just used things I had effectually the business firm. It didn't take long, probably fifteen minutes, and it would have taken less time if I had been cleaning the pot regularly. (Lesson learned.)

When y'all're ready to clean up your boring cooker, grab your supplies and follow the steps below.

What You lot Demand
* A grimy wearisome cooker
* Dish washing detergent
* Baking soda
* Ammonia (optional)
* Paper towels
* A microfiber cloth
* A sponge or non-scratch scrubbie
* Random dishtowels

Time Needed
fifteen minutes

Difficulty
Easy

How to wash the crock

As I've learned, you need to clean your tiresome cooker as soon as you tin. The residual warmth is your friend in terms of removing stuck-on food. So unplug information technology (of form) and go started.

Take out the crock, scrape it, make full it with hot water and a squirt of detergent, and scrub abroad the grease and food particles. If stubborn spots persist, fill the crock with water, pop the encompass on, plug it in, and run it on depression for a couple of hours.

Credit: Reviewed / Cindy Bailen

If the crock is hard to make clean, add water and a eject of dish detergent, put it dorsum in the pot, plug it in, and heat it on depression for a couple of hours.
If at that place are nevertheless some stains, attempt scrubbing them off with some blistering soda on a clammy scrubbie. The baking soda is a mild annoying that volition help remove baked-on food.
Yes, you can clean the crock in the dishwasher, just if you practise, exist careful not to block the spray arm, or the residue of the dishes in there won't become clean.

This is the part I never used to clean, and information technology would have definitely been easier to practice if I'd kept afterward it.

Use baking soda to clean the slow-cooker — Credit: Reviewed / Cindy Bailen

Make a paste of blistering soda and as little water as possible. Put a little flake of it on a paper towel or microfiber cloth and gently scour the gunk from the metal pot.

Credit: Reviewed / Cindy Bailen

Hither are the before and afterward pictures. I was amazed at how clean and shiny the metal pot looked after I cleaned it.
If using elbow grease is non enough to clean off the baked on food, yous can pour a small amount of ammonia into a pocket-size bowl that fits inside the metal pot, put the cooker cover on, and permit the fumes do their work for a few hours.
Wipe out the pot with a damp textile or paper towel.
Dry it with a dishtowel.

Put on the finishing touches

Now that the inside is clean, move onto the exterior.

You lot'd exist surprised how greasy the plastic handles become. Rub them with some dishwashing liquid on a material or paper towel, and wipe them with clean h2o.
Wipe the outside of the slow cooker. If you're obsessive, apply a gentle polish. But it'south okay to terminate there.

Put information technology back together

You're done. Reassemble the pot, stow information technology away, and yous're ready to cook tomorrow's dinner. Next time you prepare a repast in your deadening-cooker, mist the crock (Non the metallic parts) with some vegetable oil or cooking spray first. That will clean up easier in the future.