How to Get Your Instant Pot Liner Looking Good as New

Shifrah Combiths
Shifrah Combiths
With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She's been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.
updated Feb 27, 2020
pinterest
comments
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
Credit: Joe Lingeman

We’re taking an unofficial poll: What does your Instant Pot liner look like right now?

A) It’s “well-loved” with burnt-on bits from the last 20 uses.
B) It’s just a little dirty because you didn’t clean it last night.
C) It’s sparkling just like the day you took it out of the box.

We’re willing to guess that no one here picked C! And that’s why we’ve put together this little how-to. We’ve got the steps to help you get your liner back to good-as-new status, whether it’s browned from burnt-on foods (you know, after you get that dreaded “BURN” alert!) or you’re just dealing with a liner that you should have cleaned hours ago.

Here is how to make your Instant Pot liner look as shiny as the day you pulled it from the package. 

Credit: Joe Lingeman
1 / 5
Soften burnt-on messes: Add warm water and dish soap to the liner and let it soak for at least an hour to soften stubborn burnt-on food.

How to Clean Your Instant Pot Liner

What you need

  • Liquid dish soap
  • Plastic pot scraper
  • Non-abrasive scouring cleanser (like Bar Keepers Friend)
  • Gloves
  • Non-abrasive scrubbing sponge or pad

Instructions

  1. Soften burnt-on messes: Add warm water and dish soap to the liner and let it soak for at least an hour to soften stubborn burnt-on food.
  2. Scrape and rinse: Once you’ve given the water-and-dish-soap solution time to work on your liner, use a plastic scraper to loosen burnt-on stains. Rinse out your liner. 
  3. Use a scouring cleanser: Sprinkle a non-abrasive scouring cleanser like Bar Keepers Friend in your Instant Pot liner while it’s still wet. Put on gloves and use a non-abrasive scrub pad to tackle any remaining residue. 
  4. Rinse clean: Wash out all of the loosened gunk and cleanser residue from your Instant Pot.
  5. Erase discoloration and hard water marks. Once your Instant Pot is completely clean, you may still notice a bluish or rainbow-colored discoloration in your liner. This is common with stainless steel cookware, which reacts with minerals or salt in the food. To address it, cover the bottom of your liner with white vinegar. Let it sit for five minutes and then dump it out and rinse the liner clean. Hard water marks may require a wipe-down with a damp sponge soaked in vinegar.
Credit: Joe Lingeman

Cleaning Extremely Stubborn Burnt-On Food From Your Instant Pot Liner

If the steps above don’t work (because , let’s say, you really didn’t put enough liquid in with your oats or potatoes), the power of pressure cooking can help! Here’s a step-by-step that will save you a great deal of scrubbing and frustration.

  1. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of baking soda over the bottom of your liner. 
  2. Add about 2 cups of water. 
  3. Pour in about 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap. 
  4. Put the liner in your Instant Pot and turn the machine on at high pressure, set to two minutes. 
  5. Release the steam. 
  6. Remove the lid and scrape residue off with a plastic scraper. 
  7. Follow the steps above again as necessary. 
Filed in:
Cleaning
How To
Instant Pot
Cooking Methods