Blenders are a convenient appliance to have in a kitchen for a variety of reasons. Whether you’re looking to puree foods to make soups or have a quick, frozen smoothie on a summer’s day, having a blender is akin to having the best helping hand there is in the kitchen.
Unfortunately, like most appliances in a kitchen, your blender may also be prone to malfunctions after prolonged use. This affects blenders of all types, regardless if you’ve purchased a cheap or expensive blender.
So, why does your blender keep breaking? In this article, we’ll explore 5 practical reasons why your blender keeps breaking and what you can do about it.
5 Reasons Why Your Blender Keeps Breaking
Many people may have the misconception that expensive blenders don’t break as often as the cheap ones in the market. Sadly, this doesn’t always seem to be the case. The last thing you’ll want to experience is to invest in a blender that costs you over $1,000 only to see it break down as soon as you want to use it.
So, what’s causing your blender catastrophe? Let’s find out 5 of the top reasons why your blender keeps breaking below:
You Remove Your Blender Jar Before The Blades Have Stopped Running
As the excitement to dig into your smoothie or puree gets the better of you, you may make the mistake of removing your blender jar before the blades have completely stopped. This is one of the main reasons behind why your blender would break, as it strains your blender’s blades.
Similarly, you should never remove your blender jar from the blades just to check on the consistency of your puree while the blades are still rotating. Instead, you should always ensure that you have turned off your blender or that the blades have completely stopped before you check through your puree.
You Overwork Your Blender Too Much
Although a blender is supposed to help you with almost every job in your kitchen, overworking the unit can cause it to break. This is as the motors would overheat, causing your blender to malfunction beyond repair. You shouldn’t think that this only affects cheap blenders because even the motors in the most expensive blenders may need a break.
As a rule of thumb, you should always allow your blender to completely cool between blends if you’re going to use the unit for various foods. Instead of consecutive blends, try allowing a 5-minute interval before you start your next blend. This should allow your blender motors to cool and malfunction less often.
You Don’t Clean Your Blender As Often As It Needs
We’ve all been there, leaving food to sit in the blender until you feel the energy to clean again. After all, you’ve only just cooked up a storm, and the last thing you’ll want to do is clean the blenders. But did you know that by leaving the food debris in your blender, you could be causing it to break down prematurely?
Food debris that dries up often gets stuck to the blades of your blender, thus making it work harder the next time you want to blend something else. This puts a strain on your blades and blender motor, causing it to break down prematurely.
Dried food can often also seep into your blender’s gasket, causing it to malfunction after a short period.
Your Blender Is Set Too Near A Wall And Other Appliances
When you have one too many appliances in the kitchen, it can be tempting to place them close to each other. However, this shouldn’t be the case with your blender. This is because the fan of your blender may have a hard time dispersing heat from its motor, causing the blender to overheat as you blend.
When your blender constantly overheats, it is bound to break down prematurely. In fact, not only will this significantly shorten the lifespan of your blender, but it could also be a cause for fire in your kitchen. As such, it’s always recommended that you take your blender farther from the wall or other appliances when it is in use.
Having an open kitchen with better airflow should also help avoid blender overheating issues.
Your Blender Has A Malfunctioned Fuse, Or You’ve Attached It To The Broken Electrical Outlet
Finally, a broken blender may not be the fault of the blender itself. Instead, you could just be looking at a blender that has malfunctioned fuse or that you’ve attached it to an electrical outlet with no power. This simply means that your blender cannot be powered on, and you may have the assumption that it has broken down.
The best way to determine if the issue with your blender is in the fuse or the electrical outlet is to switch electrical points. If your blender works through a separate power outlet, then you’ll want to consider looking at your home electrical points to see if something is wrong. Most blenders will also be lit up on the panels when there is electricity to power the unit.
Should there be no light on the electrical panels of your blender, then you’ll want to see if there are any loose wires connected to your blender. You should try to wiggle the wires around to see if a better connection can be established. If all of these fails, then chances are that your blender has broken down completely.
What To Do If Your Blender Breaks?
Given that you may have invested a lot of money into your blender, the last thing you’ll want to experience is to throw it out the moment it breaks down. So, what do you do if your blender breaks? Here are some options to what you can do to a malfunctioned blender:
Bring It Back To The Store Or Manufacturer
If your blender is still new and under warranty, the best thing to do is to bring it back to the electrical store you’ve bought the unit from or the manufacturer. Once you’re there, they should be able to diagnose what has gone wrong with your blender and advice you on your next steps accordingly.
Some high-end blender brands may offer a lifetime warranty to some of their parts, although certain manufacturers may require you to pay a small fee for services. If your blender is still under warranty, you’ll want to be sure not to do any DIY servicing and maintenance works to the unit. This is to ensure you won’t void the warranty by accident.
Clean Your Unit, Let The Motors Cool, And Try Again
Blenders that stop working midway through a blend may not necessarily indicate that it is a broken unit.
Instead, you can try to clean the unit thoroughly, ensuring that there are no dried bits of food from your previous blend stuck to your blade. Be sure to remove any gunk that is still attached to your blade before you try to restart your blender.
Subsequently, you’ll want to allow your blender some time to cool down. Most high-end blenders often come with a heat disconnector to ensure that your blender doesn’t overheat. Once your blender achieves a certain degree of heat, your blender will stop functioning until the motors are cooled and ready.
Remember to not overwork your motors or blades, as this could shorten the lifespan of your blender units.
Where possible, you’ll want to ensure you give a 5 to 10-minute break to your blender after each blend.
Clean and dry your blender accordingly, avoiding water contact to the motors as much as possible.
Replace A Broken Jar Immediately To Avoid Leaks To Your Blender Motor
Despite being able to withstand most blending works, there will come a day when your blender jar could break. In fact, they often break closer to the bottom of the jar, where you screw on the blades. This could be due to the strain from the turning blades. This results in your blender jar leaking, which can affect the lifespan of your blender’s motors.
A great way to check if the blender jar is the culprit to your blender malfunction is by clearing the unit from any food and filling it with water. Replace the blender jar if you do realize that the leak is caused by the blender, or try screwing the blade top tighter as that too can cause a leak.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there could be a variety of reasons why your blender may have a shorter lifespan, and it’s not always your fault. As much as manufacturers would love to provide you a perfect unit for years of use, simple wear and tears may often lead to your unit breaking down.
As a rule of thumb, you should also bring your blender to its service center now and then. Doing so can drastically improve your blender’s lifespan, so you don’t have to replace it sooner than you’ve expected to.
