The method that keeps a stainless steamer spotless will destroy a bamboo one. Here's the right approach for each material, plus how to shift limescale and lingering fish smells for good.
- Wash while it's still warm, not tomorrow. Starch and protein residue bonds hard once it dries. Two minutes now saves fifteen later.
- Never soak bamboo, never submerge an electric base. These are the two mistakes that actually destroy steamers. Everything else is recoverable.
- Descale with white vinegar every few weeks. Limescale insulates the heating surface, so a scaled steamer is slower, hungrier for energy and worse at cooking.
- Dry it completely before it goes away. Mould and stale smells are both moisture problems, not cleaning problems.
Why steamers need different care from other cookware
A frying pan gets dirty where food touches it. A steamer gets dirty everywhere, because condensing water vapour carries dissolved minerals and microscopic food particles into every slat, vent and corner, then leaves them behind as it cools. Rinse the basket and you've cleaned perhaps half of what's actually there.
Four things build up: mineral scale from hard water, starch films from rice, potatoes and dumplings, protein residue from fish, eggs and poultry, and trapped moisture. The first three block steam flow. The fourth causes smells and, eventually, mould.
The cooking consequences are real and easy to spot. When perforations clog, steam distributes unevenly, so vegetables go mushy on one side and stay raw on the other. Dumplings turn soggy instead of springy. And because limescale is a poor conductor of heat, scale on a heating element forces an electric steamer to work harder for the same steam — slower cooking, more electricity, shorter life. Hygiene matters too: the Food Standards Agency's home food hygiene guidance is the baseline for any equipment food passes through.
The after-every-use routine
Five minutes, every time. This is the habit that means you rarely need a deep clean at all.
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Let it cool, but don't let it dry
Wait until the parts are safe to handle — steam burns are the most common kitchen injury with this equipment. Don't leave it overnight, though. Warm residue wipes off; dried residue needs scrubbing, and scrubbing is what damages surfaces.
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Take it fully apart
Every basket, tier, lid, drip tray and insert. Residue collects in the joins between parts, which is exactly where nobody looks. On a bamboo steamer, separate the tiers so air can reach the rims.
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Wash with warm water and mild detergent
A soft sponge or a soft-bristled brush. No wire wool, no scouring pads, no cream cleaners. Scratches in stainless steel and silicone become traps for food particles and bacteria, and they never come out.
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Rinse more thoroughly than feels necessary
Detergent left in a perforated basket ends up in the next thing you steam, and delicate foods like rice and white fish pick it up immediately. Rinse until the water runs clear and there's no slipperiness.
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Air dry completely before storing
Stand parts separately on a rack rather than stacking them. Damp parts stacked inside each other is the single most common cause of smells and mould. Bamboo especially needs air on all sides.
Cleaning by material
This is where most damage happens — people apply one routine to everything. Find yours below.
| Material | Never do this | Dishwasher? |
|---|---|---|
| Bamboo | Soak it, or store it damp | Never |
| Stainless steel | Use chlorine bleach or abrasive pads | Usually fine |
| Silicone / plastic | Expose to high heat unless rated for it | Check the label |
| Electric base | Submerge it in water | Never |
Bamboo steamers
Bamboo is porous, and that porosity is the point — it absorbs excess condensation so water doesn't drip back onto your dumplings. The same property makes it vulnerable to everything wet.
- Rinse under warm running water and work the slats with a soft brush. Don't fill the sink and leave it in there.
- Skip detergent where you can. Bamboo absorbs soap and gives it back to the next batch of food.
- Line the tiers with parchment or cabbage leaves while cooking. Prevention beats cleaning by a wide margin here.
- Dry upright in a ventilated spot, tiers separated, for several hours. An occasional hour in sunlight helps.
- Rub a little neutral oil into the slats now and then if it looks dry and pale.
Stainless steel steamers
The easiest material to live with. Non-reactive, durable, and it forgives most things — but it shows water spots and chalky mineral film, especially in hard-water areas.
- Warm soapy water handles daily cleaning. Most baskets and inserts are dishwasher-safe.
- For cloudy film or white deposits, soak in a solution of one part white vinegar to three parts water for twenty minutes, then rinse well.
- Avoid chlorine-based cleaners. Chloride ions attack the passive layer that makes stainless steel stainless, and the result is permanent pitting.
- Dry with a soft cloth rather than air-drying if you want to avoid new water spots.
Silicone and plastic steamers
Light, flexible and cheap, but they hold onto grease and smells more stubbornly than metal does.
- Warm water and detergent for daily use; a longer soak for greasy residue.
- For a greasy film, a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water left on for fifteen minutes lifts what detergent leaves behind.
- Check the manufacturer's temperature rating before putting anything through a hot dishwasher cycle. Repeated overheating warps silicone and clouds plastic.
- Stains from turmeric or tomato are usually cosmetic. Sunlight fades them over a few days.
Electric food steamers
Two separate jobs here: the parts that get wet, and the part that must never get wet.
- Baskets, lids and drip trays usually come off and are often dishwasher-safe — check the manual.
- The base unit gets a damp cloth and nothing more. Never submerge it, never run water into the reservoir opening beyond the fill line.
- Descale the reservoir regularly. This is the part people skip, and it's the part that kills the appliance.
- Empty the reservoir after every use. Water left standing forms scale faster and can corrode the element from the inside.
- Follow the manufacturer's instructions over anything you read online, including this page. Improper cleaning voids most warranties.
Brushes, sprays and cleaning kit
Everything for a kitchen that gets used, delivered across the UK.
Removing limescale and hard-water deposits
If you live in southern or eastern England, your water is hard, and scale is the main thing shortening your steamer's life. Calcium and magnesium crystallise onto hot surfaces and build up in layers that soap cannot touch.
White vinegar dissolves it. Acetic acid breaks the mineral bonds without scratching anything, and it's food-safe once rinsed.
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Mix one part white vinegar to three parts water
Stronger isn't better. For very heavy scale, use a 1:1 mix but shorten the contact time rather than leaving a strong solution sitting for hours.
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Fill the reservoir, or soak the parts
For an electric steamer, fill to the normal line and run one short cycle without food. For stovetop and stainless parts, soak them for twenty to thirty minutes.
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Wipe away the loosened deposits
A soft cloth or brush. Scale should come away easily now — if it doesn't, repeat rather than reaching for something abrasive.
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Rinse, then run a plain water cycle
Two or three rinses, then one cycle with plain water to clear any vinegar taste before you cook in it again.
The same method works on kettles, rice cookers and coffee machines, so it's worth doing them all in one session. We wrote a fuller version of this for cleaning an ice maker, where scale causes exactly the same problems.
One safety rule, no exceptions
Never mix vinegar with bleach or any chlorine-based cleaner. The combination releases chlorine gas, which is genuinely dangerous in an enclosed kitchen. Use one or the other, rinse thoroughly in between, and keep the window open either way.
Getting rid of odours that won't shift
Fish, shellfish, cabbage and heavily spiced dishes leave volatile compounds behind, and porous materials hold onto them. The smell isn't harmful, but it transfers — yesterday's mackerel turns up in today's broccoli.
- Steam with lemon. Run the empty steamer over water with a few lemon slices or a splash of vinegar for ten minutes. This works on bamboo, where you can't use much detergent.
- Bicarbonate of soda paste. For silicone and plastic, leave it on for twenty minutes, then rinse. It neutralises rather than masks.
- Fresh air and sunlight. Underrated and free. A day outdoors clears smells that no cleaner touches.
- Check you're drying properly. Persistent smells are almost always a drying problem. Moisture traps the compounds inside the material.
Mould, and when to stop trying
Warm, damp and dark is exactly what mould wants, so a steamer put away wet is close to ideal for it. Prevention is straightforward: dry everything fully, store somewhere ventilated, and never seal damp parts into a cupboard or a box.
On non-porous surfaces — stainless steel, silicone, an electric base — visible mould can be cleaned off properly, because there's nothing for it to grow into.
Bamboo is a different case, and we'd rather be direct about it than sell you a fix that doesn't work. Bamboo is porous, so what you see on the surface is usually the visible part of growth that has already gone into the material. Vinegar is not a reliable fungicide, and you cannot verify that a porous item is clean by looking at it. If mould appears on a bamboo steamer, replace it. It's a low-cost item and it's equipment your food sits directly on.
The same logic applies to other porous kitchen items — we covered it for coconut bowls, where the care principles are almost identical.
Mistakes that shorten a steamer's life
| The habit | What it does |
|---|---|
| Scrubbing with wire wool or scouring pads | Scratches trap food and bacteria permanently, and damage non-stick coatings |
| Soaking bamboo, or running it through a dishwasher | Swells and splits the fibres, then invites mould |
| Leaving water in an electric reservoir | Accelerates scale and corrodes the element from inside |
| Putting it away damp | Causes odours and mould — the most common failure of all |
| Ignoring scale until performance drops | By then it's thick, stubborn, and has already cost you energy |
| Using bleach on stainless steel | Pits and discolours the surface permanently |
How often should you deep clean?
Consistency beats intensity. Small regular maintenance stops you ever needing the heroic two-hour rescue.
| Task | Daily use | Occasional use |
|---|---|---|
| Wash and dry | Every use | Every use |
| Descale | Every 2–4 weeks | Every 2–3 months |
| Odour treatment | Monthly, or after fish | As needed |
| Full strip-down inspection | Monthly | Every few months |
In a hard-water area, halve the descaling intervals. You'll know within a month whether you need to.
What you actually need
Very little, and none of it specialised. A soft brush, white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, mild detergent and a cloth will handle everything on this page. The brush is the one thing worth buying properly — stiff nylon scratches, and a worn-out brush just pushes residue around.
The two things worth having to hand
Natural Dish Brush Set (4pc)
Plastic-free bamboo handles with natural bristles — soft enough for bamboo slats, stiff enough to shift starch. Includes a small detail brush for vents and seams.
From £13.95Shop
Glass Spray Bottle 500ml
Mix your vinegar solution once and keep it ready. Glass doesn't degrade with acid the way thin plastic does, and it's refillable indefinitely.
From £5.00Shop
For detergents, descalers and cloths, see the Cleaning Products collection. If you're still deciding which steamer suits your cooking, our guide to choosing the best steamer covers the trade-offs between bamboo, stainless and electric.
Always follow your steamer manufacturer's cleaning instructions — this guide covers general principles, and specific models vary. Improper cleaning can invalidate a warranty.
Frequently asked questions
How do you clean a bamboo steamer?
Rinse it under warm running water and brush the slats with a soft brush — never soak it, never put it in the dishwasher, and use as little detergent as possible because bamboo absorbs it. Dry it upright with the tiers separated for several hours before storing.
Can you put a steamer in the dishwasher?
Stainless steel baskets and most detachable electric parts are usually dishwasher-safe. Bamboo never is. Silicone and plastic depend on the temperature rating, so check the label. An electric base must never go near water.
How do I remove limescale from a steamer?
Soak the affected parts in one part white vinegar to three parts water for twenty to thirty minutes, or run a short cycle with that solution in an electric reservoir. Wipe away the softened deposits, rinse well, then run one plain water cycle before cooking.
How do I get the fish smell out of my steamer?
Steam the empty steamer over water with lemon slices or a splash of vinegar for about ten minutes. For silicone and plastic, a bicarbonate of soda paste left on for twenty minutes works well. Persistent smells usually mean the steamer isn't being dried fully.
My bamboo steamer has mould — can I save it?
Replace it. Bamboo is porous, so surface mould usually indicates growth that has gone into the material, and vinegar is not a reliable fungicide. For equipment that food sits directly on, replacement is the safe choice.
How often should a steamer be descaled?
Every two to four weeks with daily use, or every two to three months with occasional use. In a hard-water area, halve those intervals. Slower steam production is the sign you've left it too long.
Do you deliver cleaning supplies across the UK?
Yes — we ship UK-wide, with free delivery once your order passes £50. Full details are on our shipping policy page.
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