We don’t like mold. We don’t like burnt-on grease. We don’t like calcium buildup. What we do like are intelligently designed products that are easy to clean!
Our final post in the Design Explained series for the year explains how many of our products, ranging from home use to commercial use, are smartly designed to be easy to clean.
Removable Inner Lid of a Rice Cooker
Our product designers and engineers ask fundamental questions like:
- Are the surfaces, grooves, threads and spaces between components large enough for thorough cleaning but small enough to prevent food from falling through?
- Are there areas where food can get stuck and spoil and how can they be cleaned?
- Will the area be easy to access for thorough cleaning?
In answering these questions, they realized that four key characteristics about our product design make them particularly easy to clean – their shape, the ability to disassemble their parts, the ability to remove components when necessary and the materials and finishes used to make the products.
Grooves of the Indoor Grill
Our Indoor Grills, Vacuum Insulated Mugs & Bottles and Vacuum Insulated Food Jars are prime examples of how the shape of the product influences its cleanability. Our Indoor Grills are designed with slightly rounded grooves that prevent food from falling through the grill, while also making it easy to wash away fats and food particles from inside the grooves. Our stainless mugs and food jars have wide mouths, making them not only easy to fill but also easy to clean with mild detergent, warm water and a sponge. And the lid of our Commercial Stainless Vacuum Creamer / Dairy Server is funnel-shaped with minimal threading to prevent dairy from getting stuck in the grooves and spoiling.
One Piece Lid with Minimal Threading
For some products, such as our Vacuum Insulated Mugs & Bottles, the ability to disassemble the components in the lids makes all the difference when it comes to thoroughly cleaning them. So often, liquids get stuck inside lid components, creating bad odors and causing mold. Disassembling all of the parts of the lid allows for thorough cleaning and continued hygienic use.
Disassembling Lid
Our Rice Cookers are just as easy to clean, even with all of the electronic components. The inner lids are removable, so that any stuck-on bits of food and dried on cooking liquids can be washed off without wetting the base of the appliance. The same applies to our Coffee Makers. They’re made with removable coffee filter baskets that can be thoroughly cleaned, so your coffee is fresh, without having to submerge the entire appliance.
Removable Water Tank
The materials and finishes we use in our product engineering directly influence how easy our products are to clean. This facet is integral to each product. Whether it’s the nonstick coating in the baking pans in our Breadmakers or nonstick interior in most of our Water Boiler & Warmers, these surfaces are engineered to repel odors, discoloration and buildup. For example, the inner pans in our breadmakers are removable and can simply be cleaned with mild detergent, warm water and a sponge, just like many of our other products. Our water boilers can get an even deeper yet gentle cleaning with our Citric Acid Cleaner (CD-K03EJU), which dissolves calcium buildup, instead of letting it flake off into the electronic components. These materials and finishes make cleaning and maintaining your appliances much simpler, prolonging their use and your investment.
We hope you’ll check out each of these products, and as always, love it when you share your stories with us. Have a wonderful end to 2019 and prosperous New Year!
How can I clean inside top lid of the NS-MYC10 rice cooker? I can not see any way to remove the metal lid. Food is inside the top lid. Thanks for your answer!
Hi Timm, thank you for using our NS-MYC10 rice cooker! The inner lid on this model is not designed to be removable. We would recommend cleaning from the outside as much as possible as we do not recommend disassembling the lid. We apologize that there isn’t a better answer!
This is a serious flaw in the NS-MYC10 design. The up side of the inner stainless lid can be seen through the top steam vent to be covered with brown, decaying food matter, but if there is no way to clean it, the NS-MYC10 becomes dangerous to use, inviting at the least bad tastes, and far worse, bacterial infection.
Hello Brad, I wanted to let you know that the NS-MYC10 rice cooker does not come with a removable inner lid. However, it was designed to ensure that any excess steam would collect in the steam vent cap. In case you observe that the inner lid gasket is showing signs of wear and tear, such as excessive steam condensation, it is essential to replace it to maintain optimal performance. If you continue using the rice cooker with a worn-out gasket, excess steam will keep accumulating, which can lead to further damage. In case your rice cooker is worn out, we suggest that you do not use it anymore and replace it. Please note that this model has been discontinued since 2009, and we have since made significant improvements to the inner lids for better rice cooking results and ease of use.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us: https://www.zojirushi.com/app/customer_service/entry
How will the water stain on the rice cooker’s heating element be removed? I recently purchased NL-AAQ10 and somehow a small amount of water dropped to the heating element. Wiping with damp/dry cloth didn’t remove it. appreciate your advice. thanks.
Hello! You should be able to remove it with a little bit of water and a melamine sponge (magic eraser). Please let us know if you have any other questions!