How to Clean a Zojirushi SW-EZE35 Food Jar and Lid

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Identify the set and empty every food compartment

Read the model marking and compare the lid with the SW-EZE35 diagram. Remove leftover food from the jar and side bowl, and take everything out of the tote. Let hot contents cool enough for safe handling before washing. Keep the small silicone pieces on a clean tray where they cannot disappear into the drain. The insulated jar, hollow stopper, side-bowl lid, and fabric carrier serve different purposes; dishwasher or laundry permission for one component would not establish permission for the others.

Step 2: Open the hollow lid and remove its two seals

Unscrew the lid cover from the stopper, lift off the stopper gasket, and remove the central valve packing with finger and thumb. Use the manufacturer's SW-EZE35 diagrams on pages 6–7 to identify them. Do not pry with a knife or stretch a seal until it turns white. The cavity under the cover is part of the cleaning job, not a permanently sealed compartment. Photograph the orientation if helpful, but use the manual to check an incorrectly assembled old lid.

Step 3: Handwash the jar, lid pieces, and side bowl

Use mild kitchen detergent and a soft sponge or sponge brush. Reach the jar's bottom and mouth, both sides of each seal, and the accessible hollow lid cavity. Wash the side bowl and its lid separately. Rinse away loosened food and soap, then remove remaining water. Do not immerse the whole product for a prolonged soak, use chlorine bleach, or put the set in a dishwasher or dish-dryer. Abrasive powders, wire wool, and aggressive scouring are unnecessary for routine food residue.

Step 4: Treat mineral marks without treating every stain alike

For rust-colored spots or water scale inside the container, the manual permits filling it with hot water containing approximately 10% vinegar, leaving the lid off for 30–60 minutes, then washing thoroughly. This means a vinegar-and-water mixture, not concentrated cleaning acid. Keep that treatment inside the jar and away from children. Do not combine it with another cleaner or seal the hot mixture under the lid. Physical pitting, a damaged rim, or flaking material needs manufacturer assessment rather than repeated acid treatment.

Step 5: Handle absorbed odors with the correct component method

Wash first; trapped food is not solved by adding fragrance. Page 9 gives a separate odor procedure: the washed container and rigid lid or bowl parts can dry in a ventilated sunny place for one to two hours. Only the removed valve packing and stopper gasket have the specified ten-minute boiling treatment in water containing approximately 10% vinegar. This narrow seal treatment is not permission to boil the assembled jar. If an odor remains, ask Zojirushi about its specified cleaner or replacement parts.

Step 6: Wash the tote and dry the disassembled set

For the matching tote, use a laundry net and the gentlest machine cycle, or handwash gently in water no hotter than 30°C/86°F. Dry the tote in shade; do not tumble-dry it or use alcohol-containing detergent. Wipe moisture from the jar and from between the lid cover and stopper. Keep the lid cover off while the cavity dries. Set the small seals where they cannot be lost. Packing damp food containers inside a damp tote defeats an otherwise careful cleaning routine.

Step 7: Refit the gasket and valve in their proper positions

Seat the stopper gasket with its flat face down, aligning its recess with the stopper ridge and pressing evenly from outside toward the center. The valve packing's projection belongs in the middle of the stopper's three holes, not either adjacent hole. Refit the cover and check that neither seal is twisted or missing. Use cool water over a sink to check assembly before transporting food. Replace rough, torn, or distorted parts; extra tightening is not a remedy for a damaged sealing surface.