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Hi, just did this as well =(
Any updates from Instant Pot customer service on what they would have done? Thanks.
Commenter Wendy
This comment sat on The Case of the Missing Inner Pot for a while. (Sorry for the slow response Wendy!)
To summarize the original post: My son and I had a misunderstanding. I said "Put the pot liner full of beans and water into the Instant Pot." He heard "Dump the contents of the pot liner into the Instant Pot base." Time slowed down as I watched him pour the water and beans into the cooker base.
What to Do if You Dump Liquid in Your Instant Pot Without the Pot Liner
My solution is the same for all electronics:
- Unplug it immediately
- Dry it off as much as possible
- Leave it to air dry for a few days before powering it back up again.
The danger is an electrical short - electronics burn out if water conducts electricity someplace it's not meant to go.1 Once it's dried out, it should be fine, as long as it didn't short out before I unplugged it.
It worked! That Instant Pot is still chugging along - I've moved on, but it's going strong for my Sister-In-Law.
That said, I was curious. "What would Instant Pot Support do?" Here's what they had to say about…
Oil: Base needs to be replaced
If the liquid is oil of some kind, we can only safely recommend they replace the base entirely.
Oil won't evaporate…sorry. Move on to "It's Dead, Jim."
Liquid: Wipe out as much as possible, let dry for 72 hours
When liquid gets into the electronics, it is very important to wait at least 72 hours before testing the unit.
The first thing to do is to wipe the inside of the cooker base and heating element with a dry cloth to remove as much of the substance as possible. Next, place the cooker base upside down to let all the liquid drain out of the pot. Additionally, to better dry the electronics, there is a plastic vent cover on the bottom of the base that you can take off (while the unit is unplugged) by removing one screw. [Update: Pics of vent cover below]
Once it is completely dry, you can use the "Saute" function for 3 minutes without the inner pot to see if the unit still heats. Please be sure to monitor your pot the whole time during the test. If the heating element is working properly, it would seem like the cooker base is functioning. If you notice any excessive smoking, please unplug your unit immediately.
The safest option would be to replace the entire cooker base.
Safety? Feh. I'll go with my "air dry it and hope". It's worked for keyboards, cell phones, and an Instant Pot.
Dry: Shake it Out!
And we have an additional one for just dry foods,
The first thing you can do is to turn your Instant Pot over, and try to shake out any food from around the element.
Next, there is a plastic vent cover on the bottom of the base that you can take off (while the unit is unplugged) by removing one screw. [Update: Pics of vent cover below]. Any food you couldn't get out from the top is likely trapped in there. While you have the cover off, please be gentle with the wires and circuitry, but feel free to reach up into the cooker housing to see if you can get the remaining food out.
I do remember a couple of rogue beans I had to fish out from under the heating element. Luckily, I didn't have any work their way deep into the insides of my pot.
How to remove the Instant Pot Plastic Vent Cover
That's the official name of the plastic on the base. My Instant Pot Duo Plus, Instant Pot Ultra, and Instant Pot Max all have the same type of cover on the underside of the base, held in place by a single screw. Back when I took these pictures, the screws were a standard Philips head. But, from reports from readers, Instant Pot has changed the screws to use a Torx T15 head. (I had to dig deep in my toolbox to find a screwdriver with a Torx head that would fit.)
To help the pot dry out, remove this base. Make sure the pot is unplugged before you remove the base! Water, electronics, and people with screwdrivers do not mix!
(You can see the tabs and notches along the edge of the cover)
Remove the screw, and the vent cover is held in place by tabs on the base. Rotate the vent cover, line up the holes with the tabs on the base, and the vent cover lifts right off.
When I dumped water in the pot, the vents in the vent cover held on to a lot of water, so I dried it off with a towel and set it next to the pot. There were also drops of water on the electronics board in the base, so I gently - oh so gently - patted it with the edge of a paper towel to lift the water off. Don't get overly enthusiastic and damage the electronics.
And, AGAIN, please make sure the pot is unplugged before doing any of this!
It's Dead, Jim.
Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that. If it didn't work, and the cooker is permanently damaged, you're not completely out of luck. User damage is not covered by Instant Pot's warranty, but Instant Pot Support can help you get a replacement cooker base. Contact Instant Pot support for the details: InstantPot.com/Support
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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- This is where all the "put your wet iPhone in a bag of rice" advice comes from - the rice is supposed to absorb the water. The rice does not matter - it doesn't do anything more than air drying - and anyhow I don't have enough rice to bury my Instant Pot, even with the big 25-pound bag from the Asian market. ↩
Gayle Cornelius says
MIlk. I poured 6 cups of warm milk into mine to make yogurt. What a mess all over that end of my kitchen. I am trying to dry it out now
Brammy says
I know this is an old article but I did the same. Luckily (I think) the pot wasn’t plugged in yet. On day 2 of the drying process in a room with a dehumidifier running. I won’t need it again for five more days. Wish me luck!
Mike Vrobel says
Good luck!
Brooks says
Thanks so much for this post! One question: how much smoke is "excessive smoke?"
After pouring water into the base with no pot, we followed your suggestions and dried it for 72 hours with the vent plate off. I reassembled and plugged it in this morning and turned on "saute" with the pot in (empty). After ~3 mins the bottom of the pot was warm/hot and seemed to be working normally, but I did notice a little bit of steam or smoke seeping up from around the edges of the pot, so I turned off the saute function and it stopped immediately.
It didn't smell like an electrical fire, so I hope that's just from dust or tiny bits of food residue that may have gotten down around the heating element over the years with regular use.
Are a few whisps of smoke acceptable or is this unsafe?
Mike Vrobel says
I don’t know if the few wisps of smoke are ok - like you said, it may be food stuck in there , or maybe not. Try a pressure test (2 cups of water at high pressure for 10 minutes). If it works , you’re good.
Taylor says
I just bought a faberware electric and the instructions are awful. I thought it looked funny and had the idea to ask "where does the water go". Thanks for the picture. It's very easy to read the cooking instructions and put water directly on the heating element. It looks like a hotplate. That's the only reason why I asked. Do they really want me to pour water on a hotplate?
Caitlin says
Anyone used this again in under the 72 hours? I need to make my daughters birthday cake and was really hoping to make it in there. Would be about 36ish hours from time of pouring the cup of water in there. Vent off, upside down, about to put it under the heater and fan 🤞🤞
Sage Walker says
Forgot to locate and set the timer that should be in my pocket, started to preheat, wandered away, got lost on the internet, went back to find boiling milk in great quantities everywhere, including the innards of the Instant Pot. Cleaned everything I could and took the thing outside. With your help, I found the proper screw head so now the pretty colored wires are getting a good sunbath. I am sure all will be well. She said, whistling. Thank you!
Katie says
So, I was making pulled pork with a cup of cola. I have mine upside down with the bottom off. Will the cola corrode the electronics?
Rusty Conner says
Sorry for all of us but relieved I'm not the only one! Lesson to me is that I need to have my second cup of coffee before I try to make egg bites on Saturday morning. Thanks for the Allen wrench tip. I have the bottom off and starting the drying process. Fingers crossed.
Imogen says
Thank you for your time and dedication in helping netizens go where no one has dared to go before...the mysterious base of the Instant Pot. While trying to clean the gunk around the lip of the cover (one of the Big Flaws of the thing), I accidentally let a trickle of water into the unlined base. Your photographs and mini tear down of the base of the Instant Pot were very helpful in helping me understand where the water might have gone. I'm now drying the entire unit out in hopes that it will not "die". Thank you.
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Aleah Bell says
Well I cooked a pot of beans without the rubber seal in place. Basically I boiled the beans and water was spewing out everywhere. I noticed a week later when I moved my pot it had stinking bean juice coming out the bottom.
At this point I wonder if just pulling bottom and cleaning it will remove odor as well?
Or should I attempt to pot in some water and rinse the stale stuff and then take apart to dry out residue?
Mike Vrobel says
That's a bigger mess than just liquid - I would get in touch with Instant Pot support at https://www.instanthome.com/support/contact-instant