How to Clean a Meat Thermometer (Instant-Read, Probe and Dial Types)

You pull the chicken out of the oven, stab the thickest part with your thermometer, see 165°F, and move on to dinner. The probe goes back in the drawer. A week later, you use the same probe to check a steak, and you’re pushing whatever was left from that raw chicken straight into your food.

A meat thermometer is one of the best food-safety tools you can own, but only if it’s clean. The tip touches raw meat every time you use it, and grease that builds up on the stem can also slow down or skew the reading.

This guide covers how to clean a meat thermometer of every common type: the instant-read kind you poke in and pull out, leave-in probes with a cable, wireless probes, and old-school dial thermometers. The main rule for all of them is the same: clean the metal part well, and keep water out of the electronics.

Quick answer: Wash the metal probe with hot, soapy water after every use, rinse it, and dry it with a clean paper towel. For extra sanitizing, wipe the probe with a 70% alcohol swab. Wipe the body or display with a damp, soapy cloth instead of soaking it, and never put a digital thermometer or cabled probe in the dishwasher unless the manufacturer says it’s allowed.

Why You Need to Clean a Meat Thermometer Every Time

It’s easy to think a thermometer barely gets dirty. It’s in the food for a few seconds, after all. But those few seconds happen in the part of the food where bacteria live before cooking.

There are two good reasons to wash it every time:

• Cross-contamination. If you check a raw burger patty early, then check it again once it’s cooked, the probe carries raw juices back into food that’s about to be eaten. The USDA’s “Is It Done Yet?” guidance says to clean your food thermometer with hot, soapy water before and after each use.
• Accurate readings. A crust of baked-on fat and meat juice sits right over the sensor near the tip. It won’t make a thermometer wildly wrong, but it can slow the reading and makes the probe harder to push into food cleanly.

ThermoWorks, which makes the Thermapen, gets even more specific. Its care guide says to wipe the probe clean every time it’s been in uncooked meat, particularly before you probe cooked food that’s ready to eat, and again after each cooking session before you put it away.

If you cook chicken often, pair clean habits with safe storage. This guide on how long chicken lasts in the fridge covers the other half of chicken safety.

What You Need to Clean a Meat Thermometer

You don’t need special equipment. Most of this is already under your sink.

Item	What it’s for	Notes
Dish soap and hot water	Everyday washing of the metal probe	Your main cleaning method
Paper towels or a clean cloth	Wiping the body, drying the probe	Use a fresh section for the probe
70% isopropyl alcohol prep pads	Quick sanitizing of the probe between foods	Keep off the display and plastic body
Soft bottle brush or old toothbrush	Cleaning the seam where the probe meets the handle	Gentle bristles only
Unscented liquid chlorine bleach	Optional sanitizing solution (1 tablespoon per gallon of water)	Rinse well afterward
Baking soda	Scrubbing off burnt-on grease from leave-in probes	Mix 3 parts soda to 1 part water

A small pack of alcohol prep pads is the most useful extra. They take up almost no room, and you can tear one open at the grill or on a camping trip alongside your camping cookware when there’s no sink nearby.

How to Clean a Meat Thermometer Step by Step

This routine works for the most common kind: a digital instant-read thermometer with a fixed or folding probe. Adjust it for your type using the sections further down.

1. Let the probe cool. Right after you pull it out of a roast, the tip can be very hot. Give it a minute before you handle the metal.
2. Wipe off the worst of it. Use a paper towel to wipe grease and bits of meat from the probe, working from the handle toward the tip.
3. Wash the probe with hot, soapy water. Hold the thermometer by the body, tip pointing down, and scrub the metal stem under the tap with a soapy sponge or cloth. Keep the body out of the stream unless your model is waterproof.
4. Clean the seam. Grease loves to sit where the probe meets the plastic. Use a soft brush or the edge of a soapy cloth to clean that spot. On a folding thermometer, also wipe the groove the probe sits in when it’s folded.
5. Rinse the probe. Run warm water over the metal to remove soap.
6. Wipe the body. Use a damp, soapy cloth or paper towel on the plastic housing and display, then a damp clean one to remove the soap. Use a separate part of the towel from the one you used on the probe.
7. Dry everything. Pat the probe and body dry with a clean paper towel before you fold it or store it.
8. Sanitize if you need to. If the probe was in raw poultry or you’re about to check ready-to-eat food, wipe the stem with an alcohol pad and let it air dry for a few seconds.

That whole process takes under two minutes. If you do nothing else, doing steps 3, 5 and 7 after every meal covers most of the risk.

A quick clean between checks

Sometimes you’re checking a pork loin that’s still raw in the middle and you need to check it again in ten minutes. You don’t need to do the full wash every time. Wipe the probe with a soapy paper towel or an alcohol pad, then reinsert it. Save the full wash for when you’re done cooking.

How to Sanitize a Meat Thermometer

Washing removes grease and most germs. Sanitizing goes a step further. For most home cooks, a good wash after every use is enough, but sanitizing is worth doing after raw poultry, ground meat or seafood, or when someone at home has a weaker immune system.

Here are the common options, from easiest to most involved:

• Alcohol wipes. A 70% isopropyl alcohol swab on the clean probe is the fastest method. Wipe the whole metal stem, then let it dry. Keep the alcohol on the metal only.
• Bleach solution. The USDA suggests a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water for sanitizing kitchen surfaces like cutting boards. You can dip or wipe just the metal probe in the same mix, then rinse with clean water and air dry. Never dunk the body.
• Boiling water. Some cooks dip the probe tip into boiling water for about a minute. This works for the metal, but the steam can creep into a digital body, and ThermoWorks lists a body operating range of only -4 to 122°F for the Thermapen. If you use this method, keep the handle well above the pot and brief.
• Commercial probe wipes. Restaurants use pre-soaked probe wipes that meet food-safety standards. They’re handy if you cook a lot of meat, but not required at home.

Whatever you use, wash first. Sanitizers work poorly on a greasy surface, so cleaning comes before sanitizing, never instead of it.

Match Your Thermometer Type to the Right Cleaning Method

Not every thermometer handles water the same way. This table sums up what’s usually safe for each type. Your own manual always wins if it says something different.

Thermometer type	Can you rinse it?	Can you soak it?	Dishwasher?	Best cleaning method
Waterproof instant-read (IP67, like Thermapen ONE)	Yes	Brief dunk only	No	Soapy wash and rinse, towel dry
Water-resistant instant-read (IP65)	Yes, under running water	No	No	Wash probe under the tap, wipe body
Splash-proof or older digital	Probe only	No	No	Wash probe, damp-wipe the body
Leave-in probe with cable	Probe only	No	No	Damp cloth and kitchen cleaner on probe and cable
Wireless probe (like MEATER)	Yes	No	Check the model	Hot soapy water, dry before charging
Dial (analog) thermometer	Stem only	Stem only	Rarely	Wash stem, wipe dial face

How to Clean an Instant-Read Thermometer

Instant-read thermometers are the ones you check with and pull out. They’re the most common type in home kitchens, and there are two things to watch.

Know your water rating. Many thermometers list an IP (ingress protection) rating. The second number is the water part. IP67 means the housing is sealed well enough to be dunked briefly, while IP65 means it can handle water jets and running water but isn’t meant to be submerged. ThermoWorks rates the Thermapen ONE at IP67, but notes it stays waterproof only as long as you don’t rotate the probe hub under water. Its older Classic Thermapen is splash-proof and should never be immersed.

Budget models vary. The ThermoPro TP19H is sold as a waterproof instant-read thermometer, and the Lavatools Javelin PRO Duo is listed as IP65 water resistant. Even with a good rating, a quick rinse beats a long soak.

Keep the hinge clean. On folding models, the pivot point is where flour, oil and moisture can slowly work their way past the seal. ThermoWorks specifically warns against getting moisture, flour or oil on the rotating hub. Wipe that area with the edge of a cloth after cooking.

If you’re shopping for a new one, our list of the best meat thermometers for smoking covers fast instant-read models alongside leave-in probes.

How to Clean a Leave-In Probe Thermometer

Leave-in probes stay in a roast or brisket for hours, connected by a cable to a base unit outside the oven or smoker. The probe and cable get coated in grease and smoke, and they’re easy to damage when you clean them.

ThermoWorks’ care guide for its ChefAlarm and DOT probes is clear: don’t put the probe in the dishwasher, and don’t drop the whole probe and cable into a sink of water. The joint where the metal probe meets the cable is the weak point. Water that gets in there can cause bad readings or a dead probe.

Here’s how to clean one safely:

1. Unplug the probe from the base unit.
2. Let it cool completely, or handle it with heat-resistant gloves. After a long smoke, the cable can be hot for a while.
3. Wipe the probe and cable with a damp cloth and a kitchen cleaner or a little dish soap.
4. For stubborn, sticky smoke residue on the metal, rub it with a paste of baking soda and water, then wipe it off.
5. Rinse the metal probe under the tap if you like, holding it tip-down so water runs away from the cable joint.
6. Dry the probe and cable fully before storing.

Store the cable loosely. ThermoWorks recommends coiling the cable loosely or hanging it rather than wrapping it tightly around the base, which puts strain on the wire where it enters the probe. Kinks and tight wraps are a common cause of probe failure.

If you’re using a leave-in probe in a smoker, our guides on how to use an electric smoker and choosing the best offset smoker for beginners cover where to place the probe for the most reliable readings.

How to Clean a Wireless Meat Thermometer

Wireless probes like MEATER sit completely inside the meat, with a small ceramic handle sticking out. Because there’s no cable, cleaning is easier, but there’s one thing that catches people out: charging.

MEATER’s support guide says to wash the probe with hot, soapy water after each use, using the rough side of a sponge, then dry it completely before putting it back in the charger. Its Pro Collection probes are fully waterproof, while its Alpha Collection probes are water-resistant, and both can go under running water.

For heavier cleaning, MEATER suggests scrubbing with a paste of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water or white vinegar. It also says to wipe the metal contact points in the charger with a dry cloth. Grease you can’t see on the probe is a common reason a wireless probe stops charging.

On the dishwasher question, MEATER says its Pro Collection probes are dishwasher safe, and that its Alpha Collection probes shouldn’t have problems in one either. It still recommends washing by hand, because a dishwasher can leave a greasy film that stops the probe from charging properly.

How to Clean a Dial Meat Thermometer

Analog dial thermometers are simple and don’t have batteries, which makes them tougher in some ways. You still shouldn’t soak the dial head, because water trapped behind the glass fogs the face and can rust the mechanism.

1. Wash the metal stem with hot, soapy water.
2. Wipe the dial face and head with a damp cloth.
3. Rinse the stem and dry the whole thing with a towel.
4. Store it with its plastic sleeve on, if it came with one.

Oven-safe dial thermometers are designed to stay in a roast while it cooks, including the big cuts you’d cook in a roaster oven. Once they come out, grease on the stem hardens quickly, so wash them as soon as they’re cool enough to handle.

Dial thermometers also share a lot with candy thermometers. If you have both, the same care applies, and our list of the best candy thermometers explains the difference between the two.

Can You Put a Meat Thermometer in the Dishwasher?

For most thermometers, no. ThermoWorks says its Thermapens and cabled probes should never go in the dishwasher. The long soak, high heat and strong detergent can force water past the seals and into the circuit board, and once that happens the thermometer usually can’t be saved.

The exceptions are some wireless probes, like MEATER’s Pro line, and a few plain metal dial thermometers where the manual allows it. If your thermometer’s packaging doesn’t say “dishwasher safe” in plain words, assume it isn’t.

The dishwasher isn’t even a better cleaner for this job. A thermometer probe has almost no surface area, so a 30-second wash at the sink does just as much. While we’re on it, if your dishwasher leaves a greasy film on everything, here’s how to clean a dishwasher so it works properly for the dishes that do belong in it.

Mistakes That Ruin Meat Thermometers

Most thermometers that die early are killed by the same few habits. Here’s what to avoid.

• Soaking the whole thermometer. Unless it’s rated IP67, the body shouldn’t sit in water. Even waterproof models only need a quick rinse.
• Leaving an instant-read in the oven. Instant-read thermometers aren’t built to stay in a hot oven or grill. ThermoWorks warns against leaving them in ovens, grills, smokers, or on hot surfaces, and lists 572°F as the top limit for the Thermapen probe.
• Laying a probe cable on the grill grate or oven rack. The hot metal can melt or damage the cable and the joint, and it’s an easy mistake when you’re also juggling a smoker box on a gas grill.
• Using strong alcohol on the display. Stick to a damp, soapy cloth for plastic parts. High-strength alcohol is fine on the metal probe but can cloud or damage plastic over time.
• Storing it wet. Moisture trapped in a folding hinge or a case leads to corrosion and fogged screens.
• Scrubbing the tip with steel wool. You don’t need anything that harsh. A sponge and baking soda paste handle even smoky residue.

How to Check That Your Thermometer Is Still Accurate

Cleaning and calibration go hand in hand. A few times a year, and whenever you drop your thermometer, do a quick ice water test.

1. Fill a tall glass with ice, then add cold water to the top.
2. Stir and let it sit for a minute or two.
3. Put the probe at least 2 inches into the ice water without touching the sides or bottom, and wait for the reading to settle.
4. It should read 32°F. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension treats anything within 2 degrees either way as accurate.

For a second check, you can use boiling water, which should read 212°F at sea level. Water boils at a lower temperature the higher up you live, so the ice test is the more reliable one.

Dial thermometers usually have a small nut under the dial that you turn with a wrench or the clip on the sleeve until the needle reads correctly. Many digital thermometers have a calibration mode in the manual, but plenty of budget ones don’t. If yours is off and can’t be adjusted, it’s time to replace it.

Temperatures to Check With a Clean Thermometer

A clean thermometer is only useful if you’re aiming for the right number. These are the USDA safe minimum internal temperatures for the foods people check most. Measure in the thickest part, away from bone, fat or gristle.

Food	Safe minimum internal temperature	Rest time
Chicken, turkey and all poultry	165°F	None needed
Ground beef, pork, lamb and veal	160°F	None needed
Beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops and roasts	145°F	3 minutes
Egg dishes	160°F	None needed

Chicken breasts vary a lot in size and thickness, which is exactly why checking the temperature beats trusting the recipe’s timer. Our guide to how much a chicken breast weighs shows how big that range can be. And when you’re warming up leftovers, from chicken to reheated pizza, a probe is just as handy. Our guide to reheating chicken wings covers getting them hot all the way through without drying them out, and cooking sausages in the oven shows when to pull them.

Storing a Meat Thermometer in a Small Kitchen

A thermometer is small, but it’s also delicate. Tossed loose into a crowded utensil drawer, the probe tip gets bent, the display gets scratched, and the thing you need in a hurry ends up buried.

A few small-kitchen habits keep it clean and ready:

• Give it a dedicated spot in a drawer. A narrow tray or divider in your utensil drawer keeps the probe from rattling around with knives and whisks. These ideas for organizing kitchen drawers in a small kitchen show how to carve out a slot for small tools, and these small kitchen cabinet organization ideas do the same for the cupboard above it.
• Put it on the wall. Many instant-read thermometers have a magnet on the back. Stick it on the fridge or a magnetic knife strip so it’s off the counter and within reach, which fits with these countertop organization ideas for a small kitchen. ThermoWorks also suggests a zip case or wall bracket to protect the probe.
• Use the case for probes. Keep leave-in probes coiled loosely in their case rather than wound tight around the base.
• Store it clean and dry. A small pack of alcohol pads stored right next to the thermometer makes cleaning the path of least resistance.

If you’re setting up a small kitchen from scratch, a thermometer earns its drawer space more than most single-purpose tools, especially when you cook small portions that go from underdone to overcooked fast. Our guides to small kitchen gadgets worth buying when you cook for one and stocking a small kitchen for solo cooking help you decide what else deserves a spot. For more ways to free up space, these vertical storage ideas for small kitchens get small tools onto the walls.

Cleaning Your Thermometer Outdoors and on the Balcony

Grilling on a balcony or cooking at a campsite makes cleaning harder, because there’s no sink right next to you. That’s exactly when cross-contamination tends to happen, since it’s tempting to use the same probe on raw burgers and then cooked ones.

Keep a few alcohol pads and paper towels with your grill gear. Wipe the probe between raw and cooked checks, then give it a proper wash inside once you’re done. Our guide to balcony grilling safety covers the other rules to follow when you’re grilling in a tight space, this walkthrough on setting up a small patio for grilling shows where to put a prep surface, and this list of small-space grilling accessories you actually need includes a thermometer for good reason.

When to Replace a Meat Thermometer

Good cleaning habits will keep a thermometer going for years, but eventually some need replacing. Look out for:

• A fogged display that doesn’t clear, which usually means water got inside.
• Readings that are off in the ice test and can’t be recalibrated.
• A bent or loose probe.
• A cable probe that gives wild, jumping readings or errors even when plugged in firmly.

If it’s time for a new one, pick a model with a clear water rating, so cleaning is easier from day one.

The Bottom Line on Cleaning a Meat Thermometer

Knowing how to clean a meat thermometer comes down to one habit: wash the probe with hot, soapy water after every use, and keep water out of the body unless the maker says it’s waterproof. Add a quick alcohol wipe when you’ve been in raw poultry, dry it before storing, and do an ice water check every few months. That’s all it takes for a thermometer that’s both safe and accurate.

Related Guides

• 9 Best Meat Thermometers for Smoking
• 7 Best Candy Thermometers
• How Long Does Chicken Last in the Fridge
• How to Clean Stainless Steel Pans
• How to Clean an Air Fryer Basket
• How to Clean a Ceramic Pan
• How to Clean an Electric Griddle
• Small Kitchen Gadgets Worth Buying When You Cook for One
• How to Organize Kitchen Drawers in a Small Kitchen

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you clean a meat thermometer between uses?

Wash the metal probe with hot, soapy water, rinse it, and dry it with a clean paper towel. The USDA advises cleaning a food thermometer before and after each use. If you just probed raw meat and need to check something else right away, wipe the probe with soapy water or a sanitizing wipe first so you don't carry raw juices into cooked food.

Can you put a meat thermometer in the dishwasher?

Most digital thermometers should never go in the dishwasher. ThermoWorks says outright that Thermapens and its cabled probes are not dishwasher safe. The heat, long soak and harsh detergent can push water past the seals and ruin the electronics. A few wireless probes are an exception: MEATER says its Pro Collection probes are dishwasher safe, though it still recommends hand washing.

Can I sanitize a meat thermometer with rubbing alcohol?

Yes, for the metal probe. A 70 percent isopropyl alcohol swab or wipe works well on the stem after you've washed off the grease. Keep strong alcohol off the plastic body and display, though. ThermoWorks advises against wipes with a high concentration of isopropyl alcohol on the Thermapen body. Use a damp cloth with a little dish soap there instead.

Can you submerge a digital meat thermometer in water?

Only if the manufacturer says it's waterproof, and only for a quick rinse. An IP67 rating, like the Thermapen ONE has, means the unit can survive being dunked. IP65 models handle splashes and running water but shouldn't be soaked. Older and cheaper models are often only splash-proof, so wash the probe and wipe the body instead of dipping it.

How often should you calibrate a meat thermometer?

Check it every few months, and any time it has been dropped or the readings seem off. Put the probe at least 2 inches into a glass of ice and water, stir, and wait. It should read 32°F. Many digital models can't be adjusted at home, so if one is out by more than a couple of degrees, contact the maker or replace it.