Do You Clean Under HERE?

Do you have an immersion blender?
Do you normally toss it in the sink or dishwasher and think that'll do the cleaning-trick?

I do, it's a KitchenAid, and I quite like it.
And, I did always toss it in the dishwasher, and still do... but every 2-3 weeks, I also clean under here:

my KitchenAid immersion blender

That disc-shaped plate that sits under the blade.  If you haven't ever popped up that plate to see what's under there... well, let's just say I didn't take a photo to show you what was lurking under mine.  Blech.

It was hubby that first got to cleaning it.  Not that he's some master cleaner.  But, he's a micro-manager cleaner.  You know the type.  I can do a full sweep to vacuum the house in about ten minutes, whereas he'll spend that same ten minutes in one room... but, not always get to the other rooms!  And, while I do a once-over sort-and-tidy, he'll get to one shelf and reorganize it as if Martha is coming to inspect.  (He once posted an inventory on our deep freeze.  Uh-huh.)  I love him, and I guess at one time I gushed over that quirkiness rather than joke about it on my blog, lol!  (Still love you, hon!)

Anyhow, one morning he said "have you ever cleaned under this plate?"

I said "no...", to which he replied "it was disgusting what was under there", and snapped the plate back in place.  Honestly, I never thought that much could even get under that disc.  But it does.  And, if you think about when you are whizzing at high speed for dressings, sauces, smoothies, etc - some of that uggyness (yes, that's a word) must be getting back into your food.

Not to creep out all of you germophobes reading.  Rather than disturb you with what is (or might be), I'm hoping to give you a tip to prevent the ickiness.

So, let's move on to the how-to.  Because after you pry/pop up that plate, the opening is actually pretty small to try and clean manually (see photo above).  The disc moves around, and so to try and get a dishcloth in there is tricky, and running it under water doesn't have enough power as some of the residue is sticky.  If you have a high-powered spray nozzle on your faucet, that might do the trick.  But I don't, so, here's my solution: just as you might clean the stick in your sink by whirring it in some soapy water, do the same - with the plate detached.  You don't need to do it for long, just check after a few whizzes to see if the gunk is cleaned up.  Should be.  Then, dry fully and pop the plate back down.

Now, don't you feel much better when drizzling on that vinaigrette?  No more heebie-jeebies.  Just be sure to clean it again in a couple of weeks.  :)