Care, Use, and Maintenance Tips for your KitchenAid Mixer

Mixer Safety Tips

Close supervision is necessary when any appliance is used by or near children

• Do not remove the ground prong
• Do not use an adapter, transformer, or extension cord
• Do not immerse cords, plugs, or the stand mixer housing in water or other liquids to protect against electrical shock
• Do not let the cord hang over the edge of a table or counter or touch hot surfaces
• Do not operate your mixer with a damaged cord or plug after the machine has malfunctioned or has been damaged in any matter
• Do not attempt to clean the sides of the bowl while the motor is running
• Always keep your hands, clothing and hair away from the machine attachments while operating
• Always use a 3 prong grounded plug (GFCI outlets are not recommended)
• Always unplug your mixer before attempting maintenance, repairs, or cleaning and after each use

Care & Cleaning

Wipe your mixer down after each use with a clean cloth. Pay special attention to the planetary and agitator shaft. The spring & washer should be free from debris at all times. Mixers made after 1986 are powder coated and can be wiped down with alcohol and a clean rag. Attachments should never be left on the mixer after use as they can become impossible to remove when dried ingredients get in the attachment. Enamel coated attachments can be washed in the dishwasher top rack, uncoated attachments should be hand wash and dried only, stainless attachments and bowls are dishwasher safe. Never use abrasive or harsh chemicals around your mixer as you will be preparing food for consumption!

Mixer Maintenance Tips

Regular maintenance is important to keep your mixer in good working order. A regrease or tuning is recommended every 5-8 years depending on usage. Commercial use is not recommended for any KitchenAid mixer with the exception of a 7-8 QT commercial NSF rated model.

Additionally, a regrease/tuning is recommended if:

• Oil is dripping from the planetary or lower housing
• Grinding/scraping noises are noted or a loss of power occurs
• Excessive bouncing of the top housing, or walking across the counter
• Attachments are hitting the sides or scraping the bottom of the bowl
• Motor is running but the planetary is not spinning
• The mixer is not changing speeds correctly or missing speeds

Bowl Height Adjustment

Dime Test -- The bowl height adjustment is always done using the regular paddle attachment. Place a dime in the bottom of the bowl. On the slowest speed check to see if the dime is gently bumped each me the paddle makes a rotation. Once the height is set with the regular paddle attachment, all other attachments (whisk, hook etc.) will be set to their appropriate height, no further adjustments are needed.

For Tild Head Mixers -- To raise the paddle on a tilt head mixer, unscrew counter-clockwise, to lower the paddle, screw in clockwise. The Everdime™ is helpful in keeping the adjustment set and to provice a cushion a reduce "bouncing" of the head while in operation.

For KSM5/K5SS/K5A Mixers -- There is a bowl height screw under the lower housing near the pedestal. To raise the bowl, screw in clockwise, to lower the bowl unscrew counter-clockwise. If the bowl is still too low after fully adjusting, or there is no adjustment screw, you can use our patented Hi-Rize™ to get further height adjustments.

For Professional and Commercial models -- There is a screw located on the pedestal neck above the bowl which turns 90 degrees in either direction for bowl height. Turn clockwise to raise the bowl and counter-clockwise to lower the bowl.

Once the height is set with the regular paddle attachment, all other attachments should be set to their appropriate height.

How to calibrate your mixer speeds

Each speed setting on your mixer has a certain number of rotations it should be making per second. Use a stopwatch (I've added one below if you'd like to use ours!) when calibrating your mixer's speeds to make sure it's tuned properly.

Make sure to check out the video down below to get the full walkthrough! It goes over how the speed control board works, some common issues, and how to adjust the speeds of your mixer.

Tilt Head Speeds

• Stir - 1 rotation per second (Should be 10 rotations for 10 seconds)
• Speed 6 - 30 rotations per 10 seconds

Once you get these 2 speeds set, the rest of the speeds should fall into the correct speeds/rotations.