MixerFixer
416-419-3632 · mixerfixer.org
KitchenAid mixer care guide
A KitchenAid stand mixer will last decades if it is used within its limits and serviced on time. This is everything that matters, on one page.
The number one rule
Dough hook: speed 2 only. Never higher.
Kneading above speed 2 is the most common way these mixers get damaged. It overloads the gearbox and strips the worm gear.
Maintenance schedule
| After every use | Wipe the body with a damp cloth, wash the attachments and dry them fully before storing. |
|---|---|
| After sitting unused for a while | Before using it, run it empty on speed 10 for 2 minutes, then wipe away any oil around the beater shaft. Oil separates from the grease when a mixer sits. |
| Every 6 months | Check the beater clearance with the dime test, snug up the tilt-head hinge pin screw, and look over the cord for cuts or kinks. |
| Every 3 to 5 years | Re-grease and new gasket. Make it every 2 years if you knead heavy dough most weeks, and sooner if it starts leaking oil or getting noisy. |
Do
- Start on Stir and step the speed up gradually.
- Lock the tilt-head, or raise the bowl fully, before switching on.
- Stop the mixer before scraping the bowl or changing attachments.
- Let butter soften, or cut it into small cubes, before mixing.
- Rest the mixer for 30 to 45 minutes if the head is too hot to touch.
- Stay with it while kneading. A loaded mixer can walk across the counter.
Do not
- Do not overfill. Check the flour limit in your manual, and make smaller batches of stiff doughs like bagel or whole wheat.
- Do not keep kneading once the dough is smooth and elastic. Extra time only adds heat and wear.
- Do not put uncoated aluminium attachments in the dishwasher. They turn grey and leave residue in your food.
- Never immerse the mixer or spray it with water.
- Do not keep using it if it is grinding, leaking or smells hot.
The dime test
Put a dime in the empty bowl, fit the flat beater and run on Stir. The beater should nudge the dime along about a centimetre each pass. If the dime does not move, the beater is too high. If it is pushed around constantly, the beater is too low. Turn the adjustment screw (in the neck on tilt-head mixers, on the column on bowl-lift mixers) a quarter turn at a time and test again.
Stop and get it looked at if
Due for a service?
Text me what it is doing. You will know the price before any work starts.