Forgot to Clean This Part of the Instant Pot? Say Hello to Maggots!

So. Gross. I will never take this part of my Instant Pot for granted again.

Look at you! You FINALLY took the Instant Pot that you received for Christmas out of the box and got cooking. Now that you're over your initial fear of the electric pressure cooker, are you absolutely in love with it? With snow showers in the forecast again next week, you're going to absolutely love cooking up some savory soups and chili to warm you up!

When you're done...just make sure that you follow the cleaning instructions to a "T." Admittedly, most of us skip this part of the instruction manual but with this appliance it is absolutely necessary to read and re-read! Why? Because if you don't clean this one often forgettable part of your Instant Pot, you're creating an breeding ground for a colony of maggots! If you've lost your instruction manual, here's the piece you need to clean.

It's the removable condensation cup on the back of the pot.  You know that when you perform a quick release on your Instant Pot, steam and food particles are released through the steam release valve. During the cooking cycle, some of that leftover liquid containing particles of food and fat dumps into the condensation cup creating the perfect breeding ground for maggots to breed and grow. Leave that dirty cup unattended for days or weeks at a time and you'll never want to use your Instant Pot after looking at what decided to make it home!

Before seeing some photos of this actually happening (in this case, the larvae matured into ants) I almost never washed the condensation cup because it usually looked empty.  In fact, I only remember seeing something in it once and that's because the liquid was red from the tomatoes in the soup I was making. I'll never, ever gamble with not washing it again!