Slow cooker base got wet! Can I use it?

January 18, 2020 6:23 AM

Unfortunately, the based to my slow cooker got immersed in water by someone trying to be helpful and clean it. I came home to it drying upside down on a towel, having obviously been immersed or cleaned with a lot of water. I could tell a small amount of water was inside the casing. This was about 2 months ago and I haven't touched it since. Will I kill myself or a family member if I try to use it??
posted by schwinggg! to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

The risk here is a short from the water. Fortunately, the GFCI outlets that are in your kitchen (assuming they're installed correctly) are specifically there to protect you from a short due to moisture. Test your GFCI with the button, reset it, plug the crock pot in, and turn it on if needed.

There's a chance the crockpot could short to the casing if there's a lot of water in there (although I think you'd hear that sloshing). Plug it in via the insulated cord. Use a single extended finger to turn it on if needed, and don't reposition the crock while plugged in until it starts exhibiting normal operation.

In short: I think it's highly improbable you're going to injure yourself, but take reasonable precautions given that you're in a slightly higher risk situation. Also, I'm a dog on the Internet, so make your own risk-based decision on this. This could be a great excuse to buy a new crock pot.
posted by bfranklin at 6:49 AM on January 18, 2020 [4 favorites]

I once had a computer projector (the type used for PowerPoint presentations) get completely submersed in water when there was a major flood in the basement. I dried it off as best as I could and then propped it up against a baseboard heater for about two weeks. Then I plugged it in. It worked fine. And it still works fine about five years later.
posted by JD Sockinger at 6:50 AM on January 18, 2020

While I agree that it will probably work fine, this could also be a great excuse to buy an Instant Pot.
posted by box at 8:00 AM on January 18, 2020 [5 favorites]

After two months, any water inside has almost certainly evaporated. It should be fine to use.

You should be able to disassemble the base and be able to see, if you're so interested.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:05 AM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

I have a slow-cooker and it's just riveted shut--there's no way to disassemble it in any way. I accidentally started making soup in the slow-cooker without actually having the ceramic pot in it, but it just drained out the hole in the bottom luckily.

I would recommend shaking yours--if you hear any water sloshing around, that's a problem. If you don't, and I don't think you will, then by all means plug it into a GFCI outlet and see if it works fine. I'm pretty sure it will.
posted by Slinga at 9:37 AM on January 18, 2020 [2 favorites]

I did the same thing as Slinga. I poured most of a bottle of wine into mine before it shorted out the fuse on the kitchen outlet and I noticed wine was running out the bottom.

So I washed it out thoroughly with water, yes, even the electrical part, and dried it out for about a month. I've been continuing to use it for the year since with no trouble.

I was only willing to risk it because I'd seen how the fuse shorted to protect things when the cooker was wet inside, so YMMV.
posted by lollusc at 10:29 AM on January 18, 2020 [3 favorites]

GFCI outlets have a testing button on them (or are downstream if one, but that's not germane). Use the GFCI outlet. It's probably really fine, but caution with electricity is wise.
posted by theora55 at 4:09 PM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]