‘Check the bottom’: Woman issues warning after flipping over her Instant Pot

Photo by@lifes_a_hassell/Tiktok Stephanie Frey/Shutterstock

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.

Ever since, acquiring an Instant Pot has essentially become a rite of passage, even if it eventually gathers dust in the cupboard.

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, with over 50,000 views, Elizabeth Hassell (@lifes_a_hassell) shared that she attempted to cook dinner using her Instant Pot but accidentally skipped using the metal bowl insert, opting to pour her beans straight into the pot's base.

Upon realizing her error, she turned the Instant Pot upside down to remove the beans.

It was then that she noticed a troubling issue: a big hole was completely burned through the pot's bottom, exposing the internal wiring.

Hassell clarified that she had never placed the pot on a stove or any other hot surface.

“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.

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 particular batch numbers impacted were "1728, 1730, 1731, 1734, and 1746." According to the silver label at the base of Hassell's device, her Instant Pot was not included in the affected 2018 models—though it's possible that this problem has resurfaced and is now affecting a different set of machines.

A while ago, when this issue arose, Instant Pot chose not to initiate a recall. Instead, they urged customers to discontinue using the product right away. They assured that the affected devices would be replaced.

Is this dangerous?

In a forum, a fellow Instant Pot user with a melted underside said that their device ultimately exploded.

It's uncertain how the uncovered electrical cables might lead to an explosion, but it's worrying to think that the uncovered cable might touch water on a countertop, possibly resulting in an electrical 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.