Hi Guys
Grant has been manufacturing scientific laboratory equipment for more than 60 years and in 2002 we developed a stirring unit suitable for sous vide cooking and for use in the harsh kitchen environment so the unit you have purchased should be fine for the application, i.e. heating water to a precise and consistent temperature . Food would not be in direct contact with the heating unit as it would be placed in vacuum sealed bags. With regards to cleaning, we would simply recommend any product which you might use to remove hard water deposits from a dishwasher, kettle, washing machine etc. Incidentally we offer a "cage" attachment on the sous vide SV200 unit which prevents the bagged food from touching the heating element which would break the vacuum and destroy the contents
thanks
Roy Homent
International Sales Manager Grant sous vide
