Do you know how to clean a hand mixer? By that, we mean clean it and sanitise it to ensure nothing is left behind, resulting in bacteria growing on your hand mixer? Considering how often we tend to use this item, knowing how to clean your hand mixer correctly makes a lot of sense.
Good news! It does not require an extensive amount of work, no matter the brand of electric hand mixer you may be using. So, we have some straightforward steps for you to follow that will get your electric mixer looking brand new and ready to be reunited with that mixing bowl for your next baking experiment.
Cleaning a Hand Mixer the Easy Way
Being able to clean a hand mixer correctly should never be difficult. It would put people off trying various recipes and making their own loaf of bread in their house if it was.
It’s not like that at all. If you love to bake a cake or whip up a sponge, you want to know how to get things clean.
So, that is where we are going to help. But it will not take us long to explain what is going on and how to get everything sparkling and ready to use again.
Step 1: Make Safety a Top Priority by Unplugging Your Appliance
The first thing to do with your electric mixer is to unplug it before you start cleaning. This is clearly from a safety perspective. People can tend to remove the attachments from the appliance and then forget to unplug the main base unit.
Considering you will be wiping it down with clean water, making sure that it will not cause any hazard is key. Also, it is safer to remove the different attachments from the machine if you unplug it first. You don’t want to hit the button by accident.
Step 2: Cleaning the Exterior Parts of a Hand Mixer
Begin by cleaning the outside of your electric mixer. You can use a damp cloth to wipe over the base unit. Don’t soak it, though, as you do not want to get water inside the mechanisms. Otherwise, your electric mixer will become a thing of the past. The water inside will quickly damage the electrical parts and cause the mixer to malfunction.
But if you have some stains on the exterior that will not come off with a damp cloth. You need to switch to a dry one. A dry cloth gives you some added friction to help rub off those tough stains. In addition, it will often result in you getting the mixer’s motor sparkling clean, minus all those marks.
Step 3: Washing the Attachments
One of the best things about electric mixers is how you can easily remove the different beaters or mixing tools for cleaning. These removable attachments make your life so much easier, and there’s no reason you cannot wash away all those stains and leftover batter.
The key is to use simple dish soap. Yes, soapy water is the best cleaning solution for the attachments you get with electric mixers.
To Handwash or to Put Them in a Dishwasher
Not to mention that most of the attachments that come with hand mixers can be thrown in the dishwasher. However, we would still recommend trying to scrub the marks off by hand before doing this.
Plus, try to clean and rinse things clean as soon as you finish using your hand mixer. You do not want to let things start to set and harden, making the cleaning process significantly harder. Liquid dish soap is excellent, but it works even better when all the sticky stuff has been initially washed off. So, wipe and rinse as soon as possible since it makes the wash part easier.
Extra Tips for a Sparkly Clean Mixer
That is on how to clean a hand mixer. We said it was super easy! However, we need to also provide you with a few tips that could make life that little bit easier when it comes to your hand mixer.
Removing Marks From Beaters or Other Attachments
You have been using the beaters to create the perfect sponge mix, and now you want to get every remnant off. Admittedly, getting into all areas can be difficult, but not if you know what to do.
In this instance, we recommend you start by wiping things down. It makes cleaning much faster if you initially remove the cake batter from the actual mixer attachments.
After that, look to see if anything is left. If so, then forget about using a cloth and look for a brush with relatively firm bristles. This is best if the appliances with the mixers are metal rather than plastic. The bristles could be too rough on the surface for hand mixers with attachments made of plastic, leading to scratches appearing on your beaters.
Clean Immediately After Use
Another tip is to clean the hand mixer immediately after use. This applies to the beaters, the mixing bowl, and anything else you have used when getting that sponge mixture ready for baking.
We recommend you whip off the blades as soon as you know you will no longer be mixing anything and get it all clean.
The problem with mixing dough for bread, or baking anything, is that it can become quite sticky. That is why we recommend you clean things as soon as possible. That dough will stick to everything and make cleaning a nightmare. Plus, using an attachment with raw dried up batter may contaminate your new mixture.
Things to Avoid Doing
But there are a couple of things you should try to avoid when cleaning your hand mixer. After all, we don’t want you to go ahead and destroy your mixer as you clean it.
First, don’t soak the part that contains the motor. They are not designed to withstand a lot of water, so it has to be just damp and not soaking wet.
Don’t be tempted to use baking soda or anything else to get the attachments clean. There is no need if you follow the steps and advice we have listed above.
Is Cleaning a Stand Mixer the Same?
What if you have a stand mixer that you want to clean? To clean a stand mixer, you only have to use the same principles as you do with a hand mixer.
That means you use soapy water with stand mixers, the same as electric mixers, and avoid any other product aside from liquid dish soap.
Wipe everything with this mixer to get it clean, but make sure the water cannot enter the motor part of the device. You can remove the attachments and clean them in the dishwasher. However, you must adopt the same approach as before by using warm water and wiping clean wherever possible.
You can also clean the bowl of this device in the same way as any other mixing bowl. The mixer bowl tends to be pretty sturdy with a stand mixer, which means you can clean it with a touch more vigour than other parts of the device.
Keeping Your Hand Mixer in Great Condition
And that is how to clean a hand mixer. As you can see, there is nothing complex about it, and there is a certain sense of satisfaction once it’s all done and every last bit of batter has been removed from your electric mixers.
Also, it should not take a long time either, so you have no excuse not to make sure both the electric mixer and all the attachments are not spotless for the next time you use them!
Do you have any other tips for cleaning hand mixers? Share your experience and solutions in the comments below!
Additional Resources
- How to Use a Mini Oven
- What Is a Paddle Attachment for a Hand Mixer
- How to Whip Cream Using a Hand Mixer
- How to Make Eggs in the Microwave
- How to Remove Smells From an Ice Maker
Tom is a former chef turned full-time food blogger. He has always been passionate about food, and loves nothing more than experimenting in the kitchen and sharing his recipes with others. Tom’s blog is one of the most popular food blogs on the internet, and he has won numerous awards for his cooking. When he’s not blogging or cooking, Tom enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children.