This article will guide you through the best way to keep your probe clean and shiny, which will ensure that it can charge and connect for your cooks.
Why Proper Probe Cleaning Matters
Of course keeping your kitchen tools clean is important for a sanitary cooking experience, but on top of that, cleaning your MEATER probes the right way is vital to the product's performance for a couple of reasons:
- Buildup from food or smoke can create a barrier between the probe and charger, meaning the probe can't charge for the next cook. And if a probe isn't charged, it can't connect, making not cleaning your probe the most common cause of probes not being able to connect.
- If probes are dirty and can't charge properly, this can drain unnecessary power from the charger, meaning the battery won't last as long as it should.
How to Clean Your MEATER Probe
Probes should always be cleaned after every use to ensure the probe can charge successfully and thus be able to connect to the app or the charging dock, depending on which device you have.
Everyday Cleaning
In most cases, probes can be washed with hot, soapy water and the rough side of a sponge, then dried before putting them back in the charger.
- Pro Tip: When docking your probe after cleaning, make sure the charger's LED indicates the probe is charging.
Alpha Collection probes are water-resistant, and Pro Collection probes are fully waterproof, so it's perfectly safe to put them under running water for washing.
Cleaning When Probe Isn't Connecting or Is Visibly Dirty
For the best performance, the stainless steel parts of the probe should always be completely silver. If the probe has stopped connecting, or if there's obvious black or brown buildup, try the following steps:
- Scrub the probe with something abrasive, like a scouring pad or a mixture of baking soda and water. Don't worry about being gentle, the probes can handle it!
- Cooking residue is not always clearly visible. Even clear grease polymerization can keep the probe from charging, so this step should always be followed for a probe that isn't connecting, even if it looks clean.
- Pay special attention to the flat end of the probe.
- Baking Soda: We recommend making a mixture of 3 parts baking soda and 1 part water.
- Wash the probe with soap and water.
- Wipe the contact points on the charger with a dry cloth.
- Make sure the probe is completely dry before docking it again.
- Let the probe charge up to be ready for a cook:
- For the original MEATER, MEATER Plus, and MEATER SE, the probe should charge for 2 hours.
- For MEATER Block, the probes should charge for 8 hours.
- For MEATER Pro, MEATER Pro Duo, and MEATER Pro XL, the probe(s) should charge for 15 minutes.