As time passes even the most sturdy of blenders will start to wear down. If you like your daily smoothie and use your blender each day, then this is really true. Today, in our throw-away society we’re quick to just trash a product at the first sign of a malfunction. Most of the time, taking a small kitchen appliance to get repaired is not worth it. Before just going out and buying a new blender and sending the old one to a landfill, there are a couple of things you can do to repair it. Trying to repair your blender yourself, especially if the fix is quite simply, is certainly worth the effort.

Leaks

Leaking is one of the most frequent problems you'll have with your blender. Even the best blenders as discussed in blender reviews will have problems at some point. The likely cause of this is the gasket or o-ring that resides in the bottom of the blender jar, attached to the blade assembly. The o-ring will start to be damaged over time. However, if you find your blender leaking from an area other than the bottom, then there's probably a crack in the container. If that's the case it will need to be replaced. Bottom leaking though is likely the gasket. To check, simply unscrew the blade assembly from the container and remove the rubber gasket. Then just inspect the ring, looking for tears and any other type of damage. This part is easily replaceable and only costs a few dollars. You can get a new one online or at a store that sells home appliances.

Damaged Blades

The blades is another area where you'll see problems start to pop up. In this situation the blades turn too slowly but the engine runs. The cause of this happening is usually something blocking the blade assembly. You’ll need to take the assembly apart and clean everything thoroughly with a scrub brush. Probably food and debris have been building up and causing the blades to slow down. Some of this gunk has built up over time, so you may have to soak the parts in soap or detergent for a few hours. Before soaking though, you'll want to check your owner's manual to be sure that this is safe for your blender. To get things moving even smoother, you can add some WD-40 to the blade assembly bottom. Just don't apply this to areas that will touch food. If none of this works, then you'll need to by a whole new assembly, which can be purchased online or at a retail outlet.

Busted Buttons

The control panel and the buttons will also see their share of problems in kitchen blenders. Often buttons will get stuck. The common cause of this is food build up that will jam up the buttoms. You can be really careful and clean the control panel and buttons all the time and still have small amounts of food accumulate over time. Removing the control panel or sticker will let you clean the buttons more thoroughly. Using an old toothbrush will help you get down deep into hard to clean areas. You can also get to the buttons easier by taking off the bottom of the blender unit and pulling out the control panel component. Before you take anything apart though, be sure to check the owner's manual. Many times a good cleaning will get those buttons going again.

We hope that this information will help you solve most of the basic blender issues. Many times repairing your blender yourself can be much less expensive than going out and buying a whole new blender. You're also helping to save the environment by repairing instead of just throwing away.