We’re teaching you exactly how to clean your Instant Pot (after-each-use-cleaning and deep cleaning) so that it’ll stay working, looking, and smelling (if you know, you know!) like new for years to come!
If you snagged an Instant Pot over Black Friday (or maybe you’ve had one for years now), but cleaning it feels a little bit mysterious, you are in the right place! We’re sharing all of our Instant Pot cleaning tips + tricks with you so that your pot can stay in perfect working order (and look as shiny and new as the day you pulled it out of the box) for years.
If you stumbled upon this page and you’re in the market for an Instant Pot, we have a really great, thorough article on the best Instant Pot models (with pros and cons of each) to help guide your purchase. If you’re in the market for Instant Pot accessories, we’ve listed our very favorite Instant Pot accessories here.
How to Clean Your Instant Pot
First, we’ll chat after-each-use maintenance cleaning and then we’ll move on to deep cleaning. We think that keeping up with each of these is key to getting the longest life out of your Instant Pot!
After-Each-Use Cleaning
The cleaning that you’ll do each time you use your Instant Pot is really easy and just requires a few extra minutes of your time. Here’s what you should keep up with on a regular basis:
- Wash the Inner Pot – this one is a no-brainer! The inner pot is the pot that your food actually sat and cooked in, so it will, of course, need to be washed. To keep things super simple, just throw the inner pot in the dishwasher for a good clean after each use.
- Clean the Sealing Ring – on the underside of the lid of your Instant Pot, you’ll find a silicone sealing ring (sometimes clear, sometimes blue, and sometimes red). Pulling this ring out of the lid and cleaning it is KEY to keeping your Instant Pot odor-free, so we recommend washing it with warm soapy water (or popping it in the dishwasher) after each use.
- Clean the Lid – don’t forget to clean the lid too! We recommend giving your lid a quick handwash with soap and water, but it can totally be thrown into the dishwasher too.
- Wipe the Instant Pot Down – lastly, after each use, we recommend grabbing a damp cloth or paper towel and giving the outside of the whole machine a really good wipe down. This will clean off any splashes or drips and keep your Instant Pot in tip-top shape. The rim of the Instant Pot can be a bit difficult to clean because of the small gap, so we recommend either covering a knife with a thin cloth to get into the grooves, using a toothbrush, or grabbing a set of these appliance cleaning brushes!
Deep Cleaning (Once a Month)
If you use your Instant Pot on a weekly basis, we recommend doing a deep clean once a month. If you use your Instant Pot less often (think: every other week or so), you can likely get away with doing this every 2 months. Before getting started, be sure to unplug your machine and put the cord away (we certainly don’t want to chance the cord getting wet during the cleaning process!).
- Wipe Clean the Housing Unit – to keep things super clean, wipe the housing unit, or the part of the pot that the inner (cooking) pot sits in, with a damp cloth or paper towel. Though it is unlikely that this part of your Instant Pot will be super dirty, it’s a good idea to wipe it down every once in a while to be sure.
- Clean the Small Parts – because food and residue can easily get stuck in the small parts of your pot, be sure to clean them! Start by removing the “quick release” handle and washing it with warm, soapy water, and then remove the metal shield that covers the steam valve (on the inside of the lid) and wash that with warm, soapy water too! Once you finished each of those, grab the condensation cup (the small-ish, clear, plastic cup on the backside of your pot) and give it a good wash too.
- Deodorize Your Instant Pot – once the small, just-washed parts of your Instant Pot are reassembled, you can move on to the final step of deep cleaning your pot. To do this, you’ll add 1 cup of vinegar, 1 cup of water, and the peel of one lemon (optional!) to the inner pot, fasten and seal the lid, and then set the Instant Pot to steam for 2 minutes.
Can I submerge my Instant Pot lid?
Yes, the Instant Pot lid is waterproof, so you can soak it or even put it in the dishwasher if you prefer!
How do I get the smell out of my Instant Pot?
The easiest way to get the smell out of your Instant Pot is to give it a thorough cleaning and run the sealing ring through the dishwasher. If that still doesn’t do the trick, try step 3 above and deodorize your Instant Pot by steaming vinegar, water, and lemon peel!
We hope that this guide keeps your Instant Pot in tip-top shape so that you can whip up quick, healthy meals with this magical machine for a long time!
