Question:
An Electronic sandwich maker that has labels on the outer surface (as in Warnings….) Do they need to be removed? P.S. The food will only touch the inner metal. (The outer surface has a smooth coating)
Answer:
It depends whether people usually want those stickers removed or not. If you want the labels to stay attached to the machine, then they are considered a part of the machine and they are not a chatzitza, however if you do not wan’t the labels to stay there, then they will have to be removed from the machine before toveling it. The fact that only the inside of the sandwich maker comes in contact, does not make a difference here, because once a utensil has to be toveled, the whole utensil has to be immersed. The same way we will not say that only the prongs of a fork have to be toveled since only that part comes in contact with the food.
I understand your concern that you are afraid that the wires will get wet and it will ruin the sandwich maker. First of all, if the metal plates are detachable from the rest of the machine, (a feature made so that the plates can be washed easily), you can detach them and tovel them by themselves. Otherwise, you will have to tovel the whole sandwich maker. It will not get ruined unless it has a computer chip, etc. and you just have to be careful that it totally dried out before using it. After toveling it, shake out any excess water. It should be left in the sun, or near a heat source, (or dry it with a blow drier) so that the leftover water can evaporate. Then leave it for a few days until it is dry, and then it will be fine.
Sources:
Sulchan Aruch Y:D 120-12, Darcei Teshuva ibid 96, Ohel Yackov Tevilas Keilim 214, ftnt. 247, and ftnt. 346.
