Comments on: I got an awesome used bread machine, how do I clean it?

Question: I got an awesome used bread machine, how do I clean it?

el io — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 20:27:27 -0800

It's a great machine, but the blade is stuck to the pan.

The cleaning instructions with it (Sanyo) say not to soak water in then pan for that long, and certainly don't use abrasiveness; makes sense it's a non-stick coating. It also says not to use vinegar to clean it. I tried pulling it out with a set of pliers with cloth around them, also tried soaking 45 minutes or so, but the blade seems quite stuck. I noticed scrape marks around the paddle/blade as well, suggesting the previous owner was having trouble getting it off as well.

By: Decimask

Decimask — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 21:08:05 -0800

Hmmm. Perhaps near-boiling water from a kettle?

By: zamboni

zamboni — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 21:21:03 -0800

I've had success with a tea towel slipped under the bottom of the blade, then pulled upwards.

By: windykites

windykites — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 21:30:49 -0800

The flour and water will have created a hardened glue by now; just soaking it won't work. You need to flush it out with hot water, leaveing it to soak for about 5 minutes, wiggle and pry, repeat; you have to wash away the glue that has formed by dissolving it, which will take a lot of flushing and wiggling.

By: yohko

yohko — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 21:56:43 -0800

Gave up on mine, now I just wash carefully around the blade on my bread machine and use a toothpick to clean the harder to reach areas.

By: KokuRyu

KokuRyu — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 22:14:52 -0800

We (which would mean "my wife") generally avoid this by baking the bread in the oven, using the bread making machine just for kneading the dough.

By: viggorlijah

viggorlijah — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 22:20:30 -0800

We just kept a pair of pliers in the kitchen drawer when we used a bread machine regularly. Also, turning the inner tin upside down and pounding it on the countertop a couple of times, then letting it rest upside down for a few minutes seemed to help loosen the bread (gravity? pounding?) and make it easier to turn and release the blades.

By: (F)utility

(F)utility — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 22:36:19 -0800

The tea towel trick (although I used kitchen twine) worked for me after soaking.

By: CathyG

CathyG — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 22:40:09 -0800

When you say it is 'stuck', do you mean that it won't rotate? Or will it rotate but you just can't pull it out? My bread machine's paddle doesn't come out. It is fixed in the pan, but it rotates on its spindle. After I bake bread, I put water in the pan and soak it for a while until the baked crusty part softens and I can clean it out.

By: el io

el io — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 00:16:35 -0800

No, it rotates (ie: makes bread/dough fine), I just can't pull it out.

I've tired some of the advice above, and am going to keep trying, but the responses letting me know that it's not the end of the world if it doesn't come off make me feel better.

Also I'm getting the impression that I might want to use it just to make dough, and bake the bread in the oven for maximum results.

By: smoke

smoke — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 02:21:29 -0800

Are you sure the paddle on your model is made to remove? Many aren't.

By: el io

el io — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 03:09:09 -0800

Smoke: Yeah, I'm sure. (I just double-checked the manual which discusses inserting kneading blade; the model is a Sanyo SBM-201, fwiw).

By: jb

jb — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 05:25:33 -0800

Our bread machine paddle also will not come out (maybe flaw, maybe design). We just clean around it and it's been going for about 4 years now.

By: rdurbin

rdurbin — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 10:23:16 -0800

Ours is hard to get out. I find that holding the bottom portion that rotates the paddle and turning that in the opposite direction I am turning the paddle works. Just pulling up on the paddle has never worked.

By: el io

el io — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:47:10 -0800

Thanks everyone... The suggestions were good... I only marked 'best answer' on what is actually going to work for me (ie: don't worry about it, clean around it) as I didn't have success with the other methods (as it was quite cemented in place).