How to Clean a Clay Pot for Cooking (Burnt Food, Stains, Mold and Smell)
Short answer: how to clean a clay pot depends on the pot, and makers disagree on the big questions. Some say a few drops of dish soap is fine. Others say never use soap. Most do agree on four things: use a soft sponge, skip metal scrubbers, fix stuck food with a soak or a baking soda or vinegar boil, and dry the pot fully before you put it away.
If your pot came with a care sheet, follow it over anything here.
This guide is about cooking pots, not garden planters. Every instruction below links to the page it came from, and we last checked those pages on 11 November 2026.
Can you use soap on a clay pot?
It depends on who made the pot. Here is what each care sheet says.
| Pot or maker | Soap | Dishwasher | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Römertopf clay baker | Hot water and a few drops of liquid dish soap | Not mentioned | Distributor care sheet |
| Iga donabe (Nagatani Seito) | Mild detergent for stuck food, rinsed off quickly. None before the first seasoning | Not recommended | Maker FAQ |
| Kinto clay pots | Neutral dish detergent and a soft sponge | Yes, if items don’t touch it. Not the IH donabe pot | Care guide |
| Marui donabe | No cleansers or metal scrubbers | Described as compatible with household dishwashers | Instruction manual |
| Terra Klay earthen pot | No soap on stuck food | Not mentioned | Care sheet |
| Mitticool clay cookware (seller) | Never soap or detergent | Not mentioned | Washing guide |
That split is real, not a typo. Mitticool says porous clay absorbs soap, and the residue can leave a soapy taste in later meals. Nagatani Seito says soapy water can seep into a donabe during a dishwasher cycle. Our guide to unglazed clay and stoneware cookware explains why clay is porous in the first place.
How to clean a clay pot after every use
- Wash it soon after cooking. Marui says liquid left in the pot gets absorbed over time and causes odor and burning.
- Use lukewarm water and a soft sponge or cloth. Musubi Kiln’s care page says to skip abrasive scrubbers and harsh detergents. Marui says metal scrubbers and cleansers can leave invisible scratches and cracks.
- Dry it fully. Wipe it, then stand it upside down in a well-ventilated spot. Nagatani Seito and Musubi Kiln both say this.
- Store it dry. Römertopf says to put the lid upside down inside the base and keep the pot somewhere ventilated.
- Don’t keep leftovers in it overnight. Toiro Kitchen, a donabe seller, gives this advice in its care guide.
How to get burnt food out of a clay pot
Start gentle. Terra Klay says to soak the pot overnight, then scrape the bottom softly with a wooden spoon. Nagatani Seito also says to soak first, then scrape the burnt spots with a wooden spatula. If a spot stays, the sheets have a next step:
- Baking soda. Marui says to fill the pot about 80 percent with water, add 3 tablespoons of baking soda, and heat it until it boils. Nagatani Seito suggests a baking soda soak for very stubborn spots. Kinto says to simmer baking soda and water, let it cool, then rub off the residue. It warns against cleansers and scrubbing brushes.
- Vinegar. Terra Klay says to add a little vinegar to water and boil it for residue that won’t budge.
Soaking time is another split. Terra Klay says overnight. Marui says not to soak the pot for a long time. Our judgment: start with a short soak, and go longer only if your maker allows it. For soaking before you cook, see our guide to how long to soak terracotta pots.
What about stains?
Mostly leave them. Römertopf’s care sheet says its pot changes color and gets darker in places, and that this is natural, not a defect. Marui says the outside can darken from direct fire and some burnt marks may stay after cleaning.
Scrubbing harder is the risk here. Makers warn that rough cleaning can scratch or crack the clay.
How to get mold out of a clay pot
Mold usually comes from storing a pot before it has dried fully. Nagatani Seito says a half-dry donabe may get moldy. Marui and Musubi Kiln say the same about drying too little. Terra Klay adds that in very humid places you need extra care to get the clay fully dry.
To remove it, Nagatani Seito says to fill the donabe about 70 percent with water, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of vinegar, and boil it. Toiro Kitchen says to scrub the mold with a sponge and dish soap. For a moldy smell, it says to simmer the pot 80 percent full with a few tablespoons of distilled vinegar for about 10 minutes, then repeat the seasoning step.
Toiro Kitchen adds that, depending on how persistent the mold is, a stain may remain after cleaning, and says the pot is still safe to use. It also says to stop using a donabe that has a crack reaching the edge or any visible damage. The other sheets don’t say whether a pot is safe after mold. If the mold keeps coming back, or you’re unsure about the pot’s condition, don’t cook in it. That last part is our judgment, not a maker’s rule.
How to get the smell out of a clay pot
Marui says to fill the pot about 80 percent with water, add 3 tablespoons of used tea leaves or vinegar, and heat until it boils. Toiro Kitchen says to simmer a small scoop of green tea leaves in the pot, 80 percent full, for about 10 minutes. Musubi Kiln links smell and mold to drying too little, so fix the drying habit too.
Can you put a clay pot in the dishwasher?
Only if the maker says yes. Marui says its donabe is compatible with household dishwashers. Kinto allows it for some pots if they don’t touch other items, but says its IH donabe pot can’t go in. Nagatani Seito and Musubi Kiln both say to avoid it.
Baking stones follow different rules
A baking stone isn’t a cooking pot, but it often lives in the same cupboard, so here is the short version. Yodersmokers’s care sheet for its porous stone says not to wash it or submerge it. It says to brush off crumbs lightly, wipe with a dry rag, and never use cleaning fluids or a harsh brush, which can crack it. It also says a seasoning patina builds with use. Weber’s glazed stone is the opposite on soap: its care notes allow hand washing with mild detergent and a non-abrasive sponge, though still no soaking.
If you have no instructions
Here is how to clean a clay pot when you can’t find the maker’s sheet. Use warm water and a soft sponge, with no soap. Skip metal scrubbers and cleansers. Dry the pot upside down until it is fully dry. That is a judgment call, not a tested result.
The reasoning is simple. Makers who allow soap still say to rinse it off quickly, and makers who ban it say clay soaks it up. Skipping soap costs you little. Stuck food is what the soak or baking soda boil above is for. To find your pot’s real sheet, search the brand and model with “care instructions,” or ask the seller.
The verdict on how to clean a clay pot
How to clean a clay pot comes down to your pot’s maker. Makers mostly agree on a soft sponge, no metal scrubbers, a baking soda or vinegar boil for stuck food, and fully drying the pot before storage. They split on soap, soaking time and the dishwasher, so follow your own sheet on those.
If you can’t tell what you have, use warm water, no soap, and dry it upside down. Darkening is normal on clay, and some marks may stay after cleaning. Mold and smell often trace back to a pot that was stored damp.
