These Simple Hacks Make Cleaning a Blender So Much Easier
They're fast and safe — and you don’t have to worry about scrubbing sharp blender blades.
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Blenders are a go-to kitchen appliance for whipping up smoothies, soups and purees, but they can be a pain to wash. Cleaning a blender by hand and trying to scrub the lid, sides, spout and areas around the blade without cutting yourself is a time-consuming challenge. While many blender parts are dishwasher-safe, extensive dishwasher use dulls the blades’ sharpness over time. There’s no guarantee that a wash cycle will remove stubborn residue, either. Instead, try this quick and easy hack for cleaning your blender—no scrubbing required.
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How to Clean a Blender
Fill the blender with hot water: as soon as you’ve finished using the blender and emptied the blender’s contents, fill the carafe with hot soapy water. If you’re pressed for time, you can leave the blender to soak until you’re ready to wash it.
Rinse the blender and re-fill: Once it’s cleaning time, pour out the water, rinse out the carafe with fresh water, then fill it up halfway with hot water and a few squirts of dish soap.
Run the blender: Return the carafe back to the blender base and turn on the machine. Run the blender (think of it kind of like a soap smoothie) and let the blending action dislodge and clean the inside of the carafe and underneath the blades.
Rinse and repeat: Dump out the soapy water. Fill the carafe halfway up with warm water (no soap) and blend one more time.
Wipe down: To remove any grime or stickiness on the outside of the blender, wipe it down with a soapy sponge, then dry off the surface with a kitchen towel.
How to Remove Grime from a Blender
If after running the clean cycle outlined above your blender carafe is still oily or has stubborn residue, fill the blender halfway with warm water again and add about 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar or a few tablespoons of baking powder and blend again. Discard the water mixture and rinse clean.
How to Deep Clean a Blender
Take apart your blender carafe by unscrewing the blades where they attach to the bottom of the carafe. Scrub the now blade-free carafe by hand with hot soapy water.
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How to Clean a Blender Blade
Once you remove the blades from where they attach to the bottom of the blender carafe, soak the blade in hot soapy water and then carefully clean with a sponge or cleaning cloth, then dry with a kitchen towel.
For more kitchen cleaning tips, check out our guide How to Clean Any Stainless Steel Kitchen Countertop Appliance and our primer 9 Clean Habits That Are Actually Making Your Kitchen Dirty.
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