It’s fun to cook, right? I know that at the end of the week, I love throwing a bunch of random leftover ingredients out of my fridge and trying a new stew in my slow cooker. Nevertheless, it’s all fun and games until you have to clean the thing up! Slow cookers can get so dirty and crusty that it takes all the fun out of cooking with them.
Luckily, Sara at Life Should Cost Less has a valuable time-saving tip for all of us slow cooker aficionados!
If your slow cooker is covered in crusty food particles, you know how difficult these appliances can be to clean. Sure, you can soak them, but in our experience, it still takes a lot of scrubbing and wiping until the slow cooker is back to its original state.
The advantage of this technique is that it allows the slow cooker to clean itself. As Sara says, “It’s super easy and requires minimal cleanup, which is great!”. We agree, it’s pretty awesome!
You can start this process by carefully following these instructions:
1- Turning off your slow cooker
With your slow cooker still plugged in, start by turning the dial to the “OFF” position. Although not mentioned in the video, we also suggest waiting until the slow cooker is no longer hot at all.
2- Fill the crock with water
Fill the slow cooker with enough water so that the “circle of gunk,” as our host calls it, is submerged. This should be at least a few inches from the edge of the unit.
3- Pour in the vinegar
Add one cup of vinegar to the water.
4- Add baking soda
Next, pour about a cup of baking soda into the vinegar-water mixture. Sara notes to add just a little baking soda at a time, as the concoction tends to foam if added too quickly.
5- Watch out for the foaming reaction
The chemical reaction begins when you add the baking soda. So it’s best to let the foam dissipate until you put more in the slow cooker.
6- Turn your slow cooker back on
Next, put the lid back on and set the slow cooker to the “LOW” setting. This works best if you give it 4-8 hours.
And this is what the crockpot looks like after an overnight soak!
Sara reminds the viewer to turn off the slow cooker and leave for at least an hour for the heat to escape. Be careful because the mixture will be very hot!
Then you can rinse the slow cooker, without having to scrub much.
Look at that shiny pan!
