Cooked rice was left out for a week. Cleaning the rice cooker...

Drez

So someone in my household idiotically left cooked white rice in a rice cooker for about 7-10 days. I’m not going to name any names *cough* Drez *cough* but he somehow completely forgot about cleaning it out.

Anyway, I opened the lid and the odor was foul. I know even day old cooked rice can be dangerous, and this was left out for far longer.

I did not see any mold, but the remnants of said rice were a liquidy mash.

My question is: Is it safe to re-use the rice cooker if I’ve given it a good and thorough scrub with hot water and dishwashing liquid? The lid too, of course. Do I need something stronger, like bleach or whatever?

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knitdan

As someone who has made more than their fair share of rice-cooker--based fungal cultures,

Hot water and dish soap should be sufficient.

Those pots are built to be easily cleaned so unless it’s pitted (in which case it needs to be replaced anyway) you should have no issues.

Shadowfire

I would not use bleach on the pot. Maybe use some vinegar to clean it, but bleach has the potential of making food taste awful down the road.

mts

the concern i think is the gaskets could absorb odors.

Casually Hardcore

If you’re super paranoid, scour with salt and vinegar. It’s how I clean my cutting board.

Drez

Thanks, maybe I'll do that just to be on the safe side.

TNTrooper

Salt and vinegar. If really want to make sure it is disinfected wipe it down with 190 proof Everclear.

Drez

Fair.

dispatch.o

That all seems excessive to me. Depending on the rice cooker that's a good way to ruin the finish.

Metal isn't porous. Just clean it with soap and water. Maybe put some boiling water and vinegar in it if you're worried about smells.

Soap and friction will kill anything.

finalflight89

If anything, just run it once and throw the contents away! The heat and steam will take care of the rest.

Shadowfire

dispatch.o wrote: »

That all seems excessive to me. Depending on the rice cooker that's a good way to ruin the finish.

Metal isn't porous. Just clean it with soap and water. Maybe put some boiling water and vinegar in it if you're worried about smells.

Soap and friction will kill anything.

Chemistry is still a thing, though. Clean a stainless steel coffee cup with soap enough times and the coffee will start tasting weird. Vinegar doesn't usually have that effect which is part of why it's used for so many cleaning applications in the kitchen.