Never Skip This Crucial Step After Buying New Kitchen Items

If you’re anything like me, whenever you buy a new dish, kitchen gadget, or small appliance, you’re eager to try it out as soon as possible. But there’s one important thing you should always do before using a new kitchen item: wash it!

Two images: on the left, a dough whisk being washed by hand in the sink; and on the right, a woman starting the dishwasher.

Why wash new kitchen items? While the risk of becoming ill after using an unwashed kitchen item is low, new kitchen gear — even packaged or boxed items — can carry bits of residual plastic, dust, or even metal shavings from the manufacturing process.

These residues can make food taste bad or lead to digestive upset, but you can easily avoid these unpleasant consequences by hand-washing new appliances, gadgets, and dishes when you bring them home.

scrubbing the metal lid of an instant pot with a soapy sponge

It’s especially important to wash new kitchen items that aren’t protected by packaging. These items should be cleaned and sanitized before you use them. (Not sure what the difference is? Check out my guide to cleaning versus disinfecting.)

Jillee’s Take:

In addition to washing the items you bring home from a shopping trip, it’s also important to wash your hands! Most shopping experiences involve handling things that have been touched by multiple other shoppers, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. (Hand sanitizer works too!)

The bottom line: Washing and sanitizing any new kitchen items before you use them is an easy way to limit your exposure to harmful pathogens — and avoid funny-tasting food! You can load them into your dishwasher, or hand-wash and sanitize them.