Slow cookers are a kitchen staple for many households, making it easy to prepare delicious, slow-cooked meals with minimal effort. However, cleaning your slow cooker can sometimes be a daunting task, especially if food residue has caked onto the surface. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to effectively clean your slow cooker, ensuring it remains in top condition for years of culinary adventures.
My slow cooker is probably my most used small appliance, just behind my coffee maker. I use it almost every day. Part of my daily housekeeping routine involves preparing for dinner. Often, I do “one dish meals” that I put in my slow cooker to cook on low all day.
That being said, my slow cooker gets pretty gross with baked on food and icky messes. Honestly, because I use it so often, I never really think about cleaning the entire slow cooker. Instead, I usually remove the crock pot itself and run it through the dishwasher.
However, when we are going to family events and church dinners, I often bring my meal in my slow cooker. It is really only then that I tend to notice if the exterior looks dirty. If it does, I usually clean it up prior to bringing a meal to share. Here are a few tips to clean your slow cooker.
How to Clean Your Slow Cooker
Step 1: Let It Cool Down
Before you start cleaning, always allow your slow cooker to cool down completely. Cleaning a hot slow cooker can be dangerous and may cause thermal shock, potentially damaging the ceramic insert.
Step 2: Remove and Soak the Insert
Once the slow cooker is cool:
- Remove the ceramic insert from the base.
- Fill it with warm, soapy water and let it soak for about 15-30 minutes. This will help to loosen any stuck-on food particles, making them easier to remove.
Step 3: Wash the Insert
After soaking:
- Use a non-abrasive sponge or cloth to wash the insert. Abrasive cleaners and scouring pads can scratch the surface, so it’s best to avoid them.
- Pay special attention to any areas with stubborn food residue. For particularly tough spots, create a paste using baking soda and water, apply it to the area, and let it sit for a few minutes before scrubbing gently.
Step 4: Clean the Lid
The lid often accumulates food splatters and residue:
- Wash the lid in warm, soapy water using a sponge or dishcloth.
- If the lid has a rubber or silicone gasket, ensure you clean it thoroughly, as food particles can easily get trapped there.
- Rinse the lid thoroughly and dry it with a clean towel or let it air dry.
Step 5: Clean the Base
While the base doesn’t come into direct contact with food, it can still get dirty:
- Unplug the base and wipe it down with a damp cloth. Be careful not to immerse the base in water or get the electrical components wet.
- For stubborn spots, use a mixture of equal parts vinegar and water to wipe down the surface, then dry it thoroughly.
Step 6: Address Lingering Odors
If your slow cooker retains odors from previous meals:
- Fill the ceramic insert with a mixture of water and white vinegar (about half and half).
- Place the lid on and turn the slow cooker on low for an hour.
- After an hour, turn off the slow cooker, let the mixture cool, then discard the liquid and wash the insert as usual.
Step 7: Dry and Reassemble
After cleaning:
- Ensure all parts are completely dry before reassembling your slow cooker. Any retained moisture can lead to mold or mildew growth.
- Reassemble the slow cooker and store it with the lid slightly ajar to allow air circulation, which helps prevent odors and mildew.
Regular Maintenance Tips
- Clean after every use: To avoid buildup, clean your slow cooker after every use.
- Use liners: Slow cooker liners can make cleanup much easier by preventing food from sticking to the insert.
- Avoid sudden temperature changes: Always let the insert cool down before washing to prevent cracking.
How to Clean Your Slow Cooker with Dish Soap and Ammonia:
The exterior surface can be wiped down with dish soap and water. For safety, always be certain it is unplugged first.
The interior, heating part (not the pot that food goes in!)can be cleaned with some ammonia to remove and grease and food residue. To do that, apply some ammonia to a paper towel and wipe down the interior surface. Allow it to air dry before putting your crock pot back in.
To clean the crock pot that actually holds the food, you can try a few methods. I mentioned earlier that I run mine through the dishwasher. Another option is to cook some hot, soapy water in it for a few hours. This works well to remove difficult food messes. Be sure to check it periodically to make sure your soap suds aren’t cooking and spilling over onto your countertop.
To prevent future messes in your slow cooker, you can try using a slow cooker liner. These liners can be purchased at your grocery store. After the meal is cooked, cleanup only involves throwing the liner away.
By following these steps, you can keep your slow cooker in pristine condition, ready to produce delicious meals with every use.
I hope this information on HOW TO CLEAN YOUR SLOW COOKER has been beneficial to you. If you haven’t already, subscribe to my blog for tips and tricks on cleaning everything in your home.
Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.
Struggling with the daily housekeeping chores? Check out my ebook on this topic, entitled Make Over Your Homemaking. Use this link to get it at a discounted price.
Need to deep clean? I have lists for you to guide you along.
My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.
My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.
My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.
My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.
My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.
Also, to keep up the general housework, you may need to create a daily housekeeping schedule that suits your specific needs. To do so, I have created a helpful series you can read here.
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The Year Long Thorough Declutter Series is designed to help you declutter every room and every space in your home.We declutter 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. It includes daily tasks, so you can track your progress. It also includes detailed lists to declutter each room and each space within your home. You can sign up here.
Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.
Need to Declutter Every room? I have declutter checklists for every room and every space in your home to guide you along below.
How to Declutter the Guest Room or Your Kid’s Room checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Laundry Room and Patio checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Coat Closet/Hall Closet/Linen Closet checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Home Office checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Attic checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Garage checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Living Room checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Kitchen Checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Entry/Foyer/Mudroom checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Clothing checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Bedroom checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Bathroom checklist can be found here.
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New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:
Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. If you don’t have a calendar, you can grab my free weekly printable calendar page here. It is in my shopify store, but it is totally free, so you won’t be prompted to put in any payment information. It is a free download and will be delivered straight to your email.
Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.
Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.
Step 3: How do you remove clutter? How Do You Declutter Your Home?.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.
Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered.
Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.
Check out the most popular posts on deemiddleton.com:
14 Things That Make Your Home Look Cluttered
How to Create a Daily Housekeeping Schedule
How to Clean House When You Are Completely Overwhelmed By Clutter
What is Preventing You From Getting Organized?
Also, check out a great post on decluttering over here from becomingminimalist.com. Joshua Becker has some great tips on decluttering and minimalism.
For further reading, check out the fly lady here. She has some great cleaning and kitchen decluttering ideas plus excellent organization tips to get you started.
Happy Decluttering!
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