Care of the Pressure Cooker Gasket Back to Library Menu Related Articles Care of the Pressure Cooker Lid Care of the Pressure Cooker Gasket Care of the Valves and Weights Care of the Pressure Cooker How Do I Care for New Gaskets? Most new gaskets are make of silicon or other polymers and not rubber. This makes for a better seal, the material does not retain food odors and is less subject to becoming cracked and brittle with age like rubber products. There is no need to do anything special to a new gasket other than give it a quick wash. The old wives tales about soaking in water are a fallacy, neither silicon or rubber absorbs water so this does nothing to improve the gasket. Don't pull or stretch the gasket because you'll weaken it and it could tear or not seat properly in the lid. How Do I Clean the Gasket? The gasket must be removed from the lid after every use and washed in warm soapy water. While cleaning the gasket always examine it closely for any signs of wear, cracking or tears.Do not put the gasket in a dishwasher. Do not use harsh cleaners or bleach. Dry with a towel and store it loose in the bottom of the cooker until ready to cook. How Do I Install the Gasket in the Lid? Some gaskets have a right side and a wrong side and must be installed with the right side up. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions where available. Look for any kind of printing on your gasket. Install the gasket in the lid so the words are facing up towards you when you look down at the lid. This may make it easier to open and close the lid. How Do I Install the Gasket in the Lid? Some gaskets have a right side and a wrong side and must be installed with the right side up. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions where available. Look for any kind of printing on your gasket. Install the gasket in the lid so the words are facing up towards you when you look down at the lid. This may make it easier to open and close the lid. What Can I do When if Lid is Hard to Open or Close? If the lid is difficult to lock, or sticks when the pressure has dropped, making it harder to open, apply a film of Vaseline to the rim of the cooker bottom as well as the gasket. Vaseline withstand higher heat than cooking oils and will still be there when you need to open the cooker. Also check to be sure that your gasket is not stretched out of shape, if no longer fits snugly inside the lid it will be necessary to replace the gasket. If you use your pressure cooker frequently then its a good idea to keep a extra gasket on hand.  Gasket material will keep well, and if you have a handy spare you will not be inconvenienced with waiting for a new one to arrive. Always keep a record of the address of where you can purchase replacement parts for your pressure cooker. When Should I Replace the Gasket? Gaskets vary in their life-expectancy. This in part depends on the gasket material, the frequency of use, the care, and even the foods cooked. Some pressure cooker users may be lucky in having their gasket last many years, while others may have to replace their's in less than a year. The rubber, silicon or plastic ring that is placed around the lid to seal the cooker is subject to the usual wear and tear of frequent use, and abuse caused by the user. Heat and misuse, not age, will eventually weaken the gasket material. Sometimes there is no advance warning when a gasket fails. The first indication you may notice is steam escaping from a certain spot(s) beneath the lid. Depressurize the pot and carefully remove the lid. Look at the gasket at the point where you noticed the escaping steam and you will find a tear or crack in the gasket. Sometimes this is a very tiny tear, but it is enough to prevent the cooker from coming to pressure. Gaskets that feel tacky or sticky should be replaced. If the gasket is either too shrunken to fit to the lid, or too stretched to lie smoothly, then it must be replaced. An old-fashioned thumbnail test is a good way to check - if pressure with thumbnail leaves a permanent dent in rubber, it is too brittle and should be replaced. Replace the gasket if it becomes too hard, cracked, or too soft and sticky to make a good fit. If the cooker will not come to pressure it's a good indication that the seal is bad. If there is steam leaking out from round the lid the seal needs to be replaced. If it is difficult to settle the gasket in the lid, or if the lid is hard to open and close its probably a good time to replace the gasket. It's a good idea to replace all the soft sealing part at the same time and some will manufacturers package replacement gaskets with other parts as a set with the blow-out plug. I Can't Locate a Replacement,What Can I Do? If you have the misfortune of owning an orphan pressure cooker/canner, or otherwise find that you can no longer obtain parts your pressure cooker is useless.   Never attempt to resurrect a pressure pot by attempting use any type of homemade gasket.   Never try to substitute or use a gasket intended for a different make or model. All too often I get mail from readers who thought to save money by buying an off brand only to find that there are no parts available is the US markets. If you try to use any alternate gasket you risk serious burns. Don't place yourself, or anyone else in your family at risk by attempting to use any sealing gasket or part that is not recommended by the manufacturer. Unfortunately the only thing you can do is buy a new cooker/canner from a well known company with a proven track record and good customer support. Find out what to look for in choosing a new pressure cooker and see what brand I recommend. How Can I Prolong the Life of My Gasket? Always wash the gasket after every use. Keep the gasket clean and dry between use. Wipe the rim of the pot with a clean, damp cloth to remove any grains of salt or other spices, fats, oils or other bits of food and drips before locking the lid in place. This will prevent the gasket from sticking to the food and tearing when you try to open the lid. Do not twist, knot, fold or stretch the gasket and don't let the kids (or the puppy, yes that happens too) play with the gasket. Always use sufficient water or other cooking liquids.  If you let your cooker run dry the heat increases and heat shortens the life of the gasket material. Do not cook with large amounts of oil because oil gets far hotter than water or other liquid. Gasket materials that are designed to work well at 250° may fail at 400°, the temp of boiling oil. Even small amounts of oil will splatter and that can damage the gasket material. How Do I Store the Gasket? During normal and regular use just store the clean and dry gasket inside the lid which should be inverted and place atop the base. Do not store the cooker with the lid closed because odors may build up and the gasket may become compressed. To store your gasket between infrequent uses apply a thin film of Vaseline over the gasket and place it in a ziplock plastic bag. Use Vaseline instead of cooking oil because it will not go rancid over time like cooking oils. Oils will also impart an off odor over time that may be impossible to remove. Add a spoon full of baking soda to the baggie and another sprinkled inside the pot to absorb moisture and odors. Wash in warm soapy water before using again. Store them in a cool dry place, excessive prolonged heat (like in a garage of outdoor shed) will cause it to deteriorate faster. Help! My Gasket Has Melted and Stuck to the Metal, What Can I Do? This may happen to old gasket that needed to be replaced, or exposure to prolonged or too high a heat source. If the gasket is stuck to the pot, use warm water and liquid dish soap to soak and loosen it and remove as much as possible. Do not use abrasives, sandpaper, scrapers or anything that may damage the metal sealing surfaces of the pot or the lid. It the gasket has melted or bonded to the metal products like "Goo-Gone", Gum Out" or similar solvents (check the housewares and automotive sections of stores like Walmart) may be the last result. They should be used only on metal surfaces, not coated finished. My Pressure Cooker is Leaking Steam, What Should I Do Now? One of the most common complaints with pressure cookers concerns leakage around the seal or gasket. A leak at the seal in a pressure cooker generally occurs due to improper maintenance. Another cause of leaks around the lid may occur if the rim, or one of the locking flanges, on the base or the lid is damaged, badly scratched, chipped or pitted. This may occur when cooks rap their spoon and other cooking utensils against the rim of the pot. Never knock the rim of the cooker while cleaning or using it. The dents that occur allow the steam to escape. Small scratches on the rim of stainless steel pots may be buffed out with steel wool. Acidic foods, spattering oil, frequent, long cooking times will all hasten the deterioration of gaskets and seals. Click here to see the up to date list of Replacement Parts Suppliers. At the highest pressure setting the inside temperature of you cooker is only 254º, excessive heat will shorten the life span of you gasket. If there is insufficient water inside the pressure cooker the pot will over heat, or users who persist in using large amounts of oil (oil heats to 400º) will damage the seal and leakage occurs. Many cooks use their pressure cooker in the oven to bake bread, but be sure to remove the gasket and all other rubber parts from the lid. Read the owners manual carefully, most recommend you not exceed a temperature of 300º because it may damage to handles. Looking for a new gasket? See the Replacement Parts Page and search for your brand. Why Vaseline? While most manufacturers recommend using mineral oil, or vegetable oil to lubricate gaskets, Vaseline might be a better choice. Cooking oils, just like other foods, can turn rancid over time. Especially after exposure to heat, vegetable oils will start to "dry" and turn into a varnish. First they get sticky, then eventually they harden like shellac. Testing shows vegetable oil does indeed bond the gasket to the lid and/or the rim and it may tear when the lid in opened, or crack later in storage. Consider lubricating with petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline) it will not impart any flavor or odor to foods and is stable under high heat and safe to use, after all we use it on babies! This might help extend the life of your old gasket until you get a replacement..   Find out more about the care and cleaning of all kinds of cookware.