Any advice for removing a bad smell from a rice cooker?
Since moving to Japan I haven't had the energy to cook elaborate meals, and have been using my rice cooker for a lot of easy recipes. These recipes often involve some variation of rice+water (obviously), veggies, mushrooms, and fish. Sometimes I throw in some kimchi.
Unfortunately, every time I use the rice cooker now for plain white rice, it smells like rotten fish. I'm not super concerned about food safety since I know it's clean, but it's not very appetizing, but maybe I should be worried?
Unfortunately, no matter what I do I can't seem to get rid of the fishy smell. I've taken out all the parts and washed them with soap and water. I even soaked them in vinegar. No improvement.
I'm curious if running it with just water+vinegar might help, but I don't know if that's bad for the device or if it would even improve anything.
Any ideas would be really appreciated!
EDIT:
To clarify further:
1. It is a Zojirushi.
2. Yes I wash it every time I use it.
3. I regularly wash the steam cover (maybe not every single time, but definitely any time I cook anything but regular white rice in it).
4. The steam vent appears completely clear.
Thanks for the ideas so far. I really think the smell is like baked into the plastic parts of the rice cooker and I have no ideas for getting rid of it. Everything is perfectly and thoroughly "clean" from what I can tell, though.
by datviolinist