5 Signs It’s Time to Replace Your Blender
You and your blender have been through it all: party-worthy pitchers of margaritas, your daily green smoothie, and your DIY almond butter kick. But now, after years of good times, it’s starting to show its age.
Is it time to replace it? Here are five signs it most definitely is.
1. It stops midway through blending.
This is pretty much an obviously sure sign it’s dead. You can try letting it rest for a few minutes and restarting it, but more often than not, its motor blew. It’s a sad situation, but all you can do is scoop out whatever it was you were attempting to blend and grab a spoon. Check the warranty on your blender to see if you qualify for a replacement before running out to buy a brand new one — you may get lucky.
2. The motor is slow or inconsistent.
If it’s just not blending like it used to and giving you poor results, this means it’s probably on its way out. You could keep attempting to use it until it completely burns out, or you could try assessing the problem to see if it’s fixable. It might have something to do with the fuse shorting or a wire being loose. Take it to a small-appliance repair shop to check out what’s going on.
3. The cord is starting to fray.
This is simply a safety issue. You don’t want to use any electronic appliance that has a frayed cord — even if there’s sentimental attachment because it was passed down from your grandmother. (She’d want you to be safe!)
4. It’s leaking.
This could mean a few things. First, there could be a crack in the pitcher. If that’s the case, then you can likely just replace the pitcher. But if it’s an older model, the replacement might be hard to track down or pricey, so you might just have to buy a new blender entirely.
The other reason could be that the rubber, “O-shaped” gasket that fits in the base of the pitcher, just under the blade, is dried up and cracked. If this is the problem, you should be able to simply buy a replacement online or even at a hardware store.
5. You want a blender that does more.
If you have a standard blender, you may find that while it does a lot, it might not do everything you want. It’s not particularly strong enough to crush ice and purée completely frozen fruit, but a high-powered blender can. Powerful machines like Vitamix and Blendtec can do this, plus churn out creamier soups and even make nut milk. So if you’re interested in having your blender do more for you, you may want to consider an upgrade.
Some Help When Shopping for Blenders
How old is your blender? Are you starting to think about replacing it?