In a trending video, a woman issued a PSA about everyone’s favorite pressure cooker.
Gone are the days of manual, intimidating pressure cookers. Ever since Instant Pot came on the market in 2010, it has slowly but surely worked its way into becoming a household staple. Six years after launching, it became the top-selling (non-Amazon) product on Prime Day.
Since then, getting an Instant Pot has basically become a right of passage—even if it ends up collecting dust in the cabinet.
Its virality can be attributed to its ease of use and the flood of Instant Pot recipes that have been published online. The only other product that’s had this much staying power in recent years has been the mighty air fryer.
But a TikToker has issued a warning about Instant Pots that may concern you.
What happened to her Instant Pot?
In the video, which has more than 50,000 views, Elizabeth Hassell (@lifes_a_hassell) explains that she pulled out her Instant Pot to make dinner but forgot to use the metal bowl insert, instead pouring her beans directly into the reservoir.
Realizing her mistake, she flipped the Instant Pot over to dump the beans out.
That’s when she saw something concerning: there was a large whole burned through the bottom of the device that left the internal wiring exposed.
Hassell clarifies that she’d never put the device on a stovetop or anything else hot.
“This is just from use,” Hassell says. She added in the caption, “That is a fire [hazard] so it was kinda a happy accident that I accidentally put the beans in there.”
Haseel warned others to check their Instant Pot to make sure the same thing didn’t happen to them.
@lifes_a_hassell #greenscreen #instapot ♬ Mischievous Prankster – Bernd Schoenhart
Instant Pot announces warning
Several years ago, Instant Pot admitted that five batches of their Gem 65 8-in-1 Multicooker were overheating, resulting in “localized melting damage to the underside of the product,” according to a Facebook post from their official account.
The specific batch codes affected were “1728, 1730, 1731, 1734, and 1746.” Based on the silver sticker on the bottom of Hassell’s machine, her Instant Pot was not part of the affected 2018 machines—but its plausible that this issue is happening once again and affecting a new batch of machines.
When this happened a few years back, Instant Pot decided not to issue a recall and instead asked customers to stop using the product immediately. They stated that the affected machines would be replaced.
Is this dangerous?
In a forum, a fellow Instant Pot user with a melted underside said that their device ultimately exploded.
While it’s unclear how the exposed wiring would cause an explosion, it is concerning that the exposed wire could come in contact with water on a countertop and potentially lead to an electric fire.
Commenters react
“Plot twist: He did it and didn’t tell you,” a person said, referring to Hassell’s husband (who insisted it wasn’t him).
“I have never actually got out of bed to check something so fast from a tt. Thankfully mine is fine. But that’s scary,” another wrote.
Many people speculated that somebody must have accidentally or unknowingly burnt it because it didn’t look like a burn that came from the inside.
“If the heat had been internal going out, the bottom would sag. Also, the feet ar melted from the bottom. Even though you have gas, this has been melted downward onto a hot serfac, not from the inside,” a commenter theorized.
“For those in comments saying it’s burned from outside look at the vents holes. My question how did you not smell melting plastic?” another added.
The Daily Dot reached out to Hassell for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to Instant Pot via email.
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