Blenders are amazing appliances that can make your home cooking journey a lot more convenient and tastier. Once you get used to making a morning smoothie or a blended homemade soup, it can be hard to stop looking for other ways to use your blender!
With frequent blender use comes frequent cleaning, which is not my favorite part of the blending process to say the least! While there are many resources out there on blender cleaning, you still may not have a clear answer to the question “is my Vitamix blender dishwasher safe?”
The short answer to this question is… it depends. The longer answer to the question will be based on which model you have and the components you are looking to put into the dishwasher. In this article we’ll explore whether or not Vitamix blenders are dishwasher safe, as well as some cleaning tips that will make your life a whole lot easier.
Is my Vitamix Dishwasher Safe?
Whether or not your Vitamix container is dishwasher safe will depend on which model you have. According to Vitamix’s official website: Only the S-Series 20-ounce and 40-ounce containers are top rack dishwasher-safe.
So, if you have a model other than the S-Series, it is not recommended to put your Vitamix container into the dishwasher. If you have any question about which model you have or what Vitamix may say about your model specifically, it’s best to check the user manual.
When it comes to the blade assembly, Vitamix does say that your blade assembly can be washed on the top rack of the dishwasher if you have the Ascent series. They do recommend detaching the blade assembly before washing.
Based on this official guidance from Vitamix, it’s easy to see that they mostly don’t recommend putting their products in the dishwasher. This may seem a bit surprising at first. After all, they are just plastic containers right?
Well, Vitamix knows their products will have the best performance over the longest time if they are cared for properly. Even on the top rack of a dishwasher, items are exposed to high heat and heavy duty soaps. For the best results when caring for your Vitamix, they encourage washing your blender without the use of a dishwasher.
With that, what is the best way to wash a Vitamix blender? Let’s find out!
How to Wash a Vitamix Blender
Determining how to wash your Vitamix blender will depend on just how dirty it is! If you keep up with cleaning your container after every use, it will be pretty simple to keep your Vitamix clean. If you let things sit in the container for a little while after blending, you may need to do some deeper cleaning to get things where you want them to be. Here, we can dig into both situations!
Quick Cleaning Your Vitamix
Washing your Vitamix out after every use is the easiest way to keep your Vitamix clean. If you stay on top of cleaning your pitcher, here are some easy steps to quick clean your Vitamix:
- After you are finished using your blender, rinse your blender pitcher with warm water and try to get as many of the food scraps out as you can
- In your rinsed out pitcher, add a few drops of dish soap and fill it halfway with warm water
- Attach the lid and hit the “Clean” selection on your blender. Once it’s clean, your blender will automatically turn off
- If your blender doesn’t have a clean setting, set it on low and check the results after about 20 seconds
- Open up the blender, dump out the soapy water, and rinse the blender until it’s clean
- If it’s not as clean as you’d like, grab a sponge and scrub away any left over food
- Once it’s as clean as possible and rinsed, place the pitcher and blades upside down to air dry
Deep Cleaning Your Vitamix
Sometimes despite your best efforts to keep it clean regularly, your Vitamix blender may need a deep cleaning. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. The process is quite similar to the quick cleaning process above.
Instead of filling your Vitamix halfway with water and a few drops of soap, fill your Vitamix all the way to the top with hot water and a few drops of soap. Then, let your Vitamix sit for 1-3 hours and give it a rinse.
After rinsing, take a sponge to scrub out any debris left in your blender and rinse again.
At this point, simply follow the Quick Cleaning guide above and your blender should be good as new!
How Do You Get Rid of Odors from a Vitamix?
Sometimes your blender can look clean but smell… not so clean. If you want to get rid of the odors your Vitamix blender may be holding onto, follow these steps:
- Fill your blender 1/4 of the way to the top with warm water and another 1/4 of the way with white vinegar. Your blender should be 50% full of this solution.
- Turn your blender on the “clean” function, or low if there is no cleaning function.
- Rise your blender out and then follow the quick cleaning guide above
As simple as 1, 2, 3! If your blender still has an odor after following that process, fill it again with the water and vinegar mixture and let it sit overnight. Then in the morning, complete the rest of the process.
Cleaning the Vitamix Blender Blades
We’ve talked a lot about cleaning the Vitamix blender container, but what about the blades? While the blades should get cleaned through the deep clean and quick clean processes we just went over, sometimes it can be difficult to get stuck on food off the blender blades.
If you are having a hard time getting stuck on food off of your blades, try scrubbing them with a brush and then run through the quick cleaning process.
Vitamix does make a specially designed blade scraper as well, for this problem exactly. If you want to have the best shot at removing stuck on food easily, the blade scraper would be a great tool.
Of course, the best way to clean the Vitamix blender blades is to prevent food from getting stuck on there in the first place. Getting into the practice of rinsing out and cleaning your blender right after using it will prevent any build up that requires a big effort to clean.
Making Your Vitamix Blender Look New
Even though your blender may not be dirty, overtime the pitcher can become cloudy making it look a bit dirty.
If you are looking to clear the cloudiness from your Vitamix blender pitcher, there is a simple process you can follow to restore your pitcher back to its clear glory.
To reduce the fogginess in your blender, you will just need white vinegar and warm water.
First, fill the blender up halfway with warm water. Then, fill it up to the top with white vinegar. This mixture will help to break away the particles that are making your blender appear cloudy.
Once full, let your blender soak for 2 hours before dumping out the mixture and scrubbing away any particularly cloudy areas.
After the scrub, just run the quick clean cycle on your blender and it will be looking as good as new!
Frequently Asked Questions
What will happen if I use the dishwasher anyway?
Vitamix makes recommendations on how to care for their products to last the most amount of time in the highest quality. The fact that they don’t recommend using the dishwasher in most cases for the products means that they believe that avoiding the dishwasher will help their products last for many years to come. If you choose to use the dishwasher anyway, you may be reducing the useful life of your Vitamix blender and risk damaging it.
How do I Clean the Vitamix Base?
Cleaning the Vitamix base is usually as simple as getting a damp cloth and wiping any debris off of it. Sometimes the base may get particularly dirty and you need a brush to get into some of the smaller areas of the base. When cleaning the base, use as little liquid as possible as you don’t want to damage the motor.
How hot should the water used to clean my Vitamix be?
You want to be careful when putting very hot liquids into your Vitamix. Vitamix recommends not exceeding 170 degrees Fahrenheit when it comes to liquids in the blender (things you are making or water being used to clean the blender). With this, you will want to be careful with out hot the water is and definitely avoid using boiling water.
Final Decision: Are Vitamix Blenders Dishwasher Safe?
As you can see the answer varies based on the model you have, but by and large the answer is no. Even with models that are dishwasher safe, Vitamix recommends washing these items by hand and avoiding the dishwasher. By avoiding the dishwasher you will keep your Vitamix blender components working well and looking good for years to come.
The best way to avoid cleaning problems with your Vitamix is to simply give it a quick wash after each use. If you can keep up with the regular cleaning, you will very rarely have issues that require a more in depth cleaning!
