Cleaning Probes

[jfmorris]

Ok, maybe this is OCD of me, but is there any way to actually get these Thermoworks probes clean, or do I just have to live with blackened probe boots and wires? After smoking for a couple of months the probes I bought this summer look like crap. I’m wiping with a damp soapy rag or some chlorox wipes, but the rubber boot and the braid over the wire stay pretty sooty looking...

[kmhfive]

Never tried those probes. My Mavericks turned pretty black. My Fireboard probes clean up pretty in the dishwasher.

[Jerod Broussard]

I clean somewhat with a paper towel before each cook. Whatever stays on was meant to stay.

[HawkerXP]

Me too.

[scottranda]

Same. But I use alcohol swabs too.

[bten]

same here

[DWCowles]

I soaked my in Dawn and hot water in a glass. But I don’t let the top of probes where the cable enter get under the water.

[ComfortablyNumb]

Don't think of it as dirty, think of it as patina.

[Jerod Broussard]

Baaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!

[kbremer]

The best thing I have found is Mr Clean Magic Eraser.........works great!!!

[Mudkat]

Here's Themoworks reply to my email about cleaning and performance of the Smoke probes.

Re: Cleaning Smoke Probes

To:Orders ([email protected]);
Hello,


Thank you for your email. The performance will not be affected if the cables are blackened from use. You just need to make sure you keep them inside of their temperature ranges to avoid damage.

The best way to clean them is to spray an all purpose cleaner onto a cloth or paper towel and then clean off the probes that way. You may also find cleaning wipes here.

Best regards,

Krista Dyer
Customer Care
741 E. Utah Valley Drive

American Fork, UT 84003
toll-free: 800.393.6434
ph: 801.756.7705
[email protected]
www.thermoworks.com
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Oh, and if you could take 30 seconds to let us know about your experience with ThermoWorks, it would be helpful. Just click here .

[grumpynuts]

I accidentally let one of my probes get water in the cabling. At its next use it read 19 degrees warmer compared to the other probe. Thermoworks happily sent me another probe and reminded me to keep the wires out of water, and to maybe use their probe cleaning wipes. (I did order a box to see how they work). Kudos to their customer service.

[Mudkat]

Ditto on their customer service grumpynuts. They are a company who just backs up their products and just does it right.

[Steve R.]

Right or wrong, my method is to scrub the probe with an SOS pad, being careful not to allow water to get in the area where the wire enters the probe. For the wire itself, I hold by the boot and make a couple of quick swipes down the length of the wire with the SOS pad. Then carefully rinse without allowing water to enter the boot. That will remove enough black crud that I can at least handle it without getting my hands dirty.

[Jetski]

That's how I've always cleaned mine, right or wrong. I haven't seemed to damage any probes so far.

[choffert]

Clorox wipes for the probes with a little elbow grease...shiny as new.

[Psinderson]

I just wash the probes with the scrubby side of my dish sponge, gets all the smoke and food grime off. I don’t do anything with the top of the probe that doesn’t go in the meat or the wire. I do even less with the ambient probe.

[jfmorris]

Ok, I'll not worry about blackened wires. Or boots I guess. The probe itself I can get pretty clean. Actually, the part that is inside the meat has stayed shiny. The air probe is pretty blackened though, but I'll consider it a "patina"...

[HouseHomey]

DWCowles and Steve is right. I wish I would have read this before I for the first time cleaned my Maverick probe.. it don't work now. 😠ðŸ˜

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

I bought a couple extra sets on Amazon, but using Clorox or Lysol wipes, I don't think I've had any go bad.

[Troutman]

I use a Simple Green de-greaser solution to clean everything involved with my pits including my probes. Stuff works great ! As someone mentioned I just use the rough side of a scrubber sponge and I get rid of most of the blackened buildup. I even do the temperature probe in my pellet grill on a regular basis since it was recommended. I can't believe that ThermoWorks would state that the buildup would not affect performance, it's counter intuitive to me but maybe the buildup has zero effect on the migration of heat into the probe metal.

The other issue I read in at least two responses above was soaking and placing in the dishwasher. I may be way wrong but I'm pretty sure I read where that's not good for the probe in general. It is after all an electronic part, albeit a simple conductor of heat. I'm curious as to whether or not those who do this have encountered any issues with probe failure.

[997cab]

One thing that I have been doing is wrapping the wire & the start of the probe with aluminum foil. I cover about 4" of the wire, the connector & 1" of the probe. This keeps these areas clean from any spills & the temptation of getting water in the start of the probe since you won't have to clean these areas.

[Spinaker]

I use Dawn soap and an SOS pad. It takes it right off.