Breadmaker trouble

[~emz~]

We have a Black and Decker breadmaker with one paddle that is pretty tense (for lack of a better word) and won't turn around that easily to mix everything. We think it is because we submerged it in water, and we tried WD-40. That loosened it up a little but it is still pretty stiff. Any suggestions?

 

[Katie H]

Is there a troubleshooting section in the instruction booklet? If there is and it doesn't address your problem, you might see if the company has a Website that you can contact for help.

One of the things I know about bread machines is that you shouldn't submerse the bread pans in water. That will damage the mixing mechanism.

 

[Corey123]

Yes, you're right!!

The manual that came with mine strictly warns against that. Rust could set in and render the pan totally useless.

Or the mechanism beneath the pan will just lock up, possibly placing undue strain on the motor.

I'd recommend that you try to order a new pan. And when the time comes to clean it, just fill it with hot soapy water, let it soak, wash it and then rinse it out, being very careful not to let the outside get wet at all.

 

[~emz~]

Thanks everybody. There seemed to be a mix up with the instructions. My dad was certain that it was submersible, but when he was looking through the instructions again for trouble shooting and such, he found a note at the back that said otherwise.

 

[pacanis]

Mine says to only soak for twenty minutes in warm water to loosen the paddle. I had no idea why, but always tried to heed that advice. I will pay closer attention now though.
I did notice mine having a little straining sound a few hours ago, but it was kneading just fine.
And the smell of a loaf that will be ready in about 10 minutes is filling up the house

 

[Katie H]

I never wash my bread machine bowl. I remove the paddle and wash it thoroughly. To clean the bowl, I first wipe it out with a paper towel to get all the floury bits out, then let the bowl sit for about an hour until all the dough bits, etc. dry out. At this point, all I have to do is to tap it to loosen these bits and finish by wiping with a damp cloth. The only area that I have to be careful with is the shaft area where the paddle fits. I have to be sure I rub out any dough gunk that is in that area.

 

[Bigjim68]

I did have mine become hard to turn once. I freed it up by standing the bowl upside down and soaking in a little cooking oil while turning by hand. Now I always turn the shaft a few times after cleaning and have had no problems. I typically don't wash the outside, just let any outside dough dry and knock it off by hand, and let the inside dry and knock off the dried dough before giving it a quick wash/rinse.

 

[Corey123]

I never wash my bread machine bowl. I remove the paddle and wash it thoroughly. To clean the bowl, I first wipe it out with a paper towel to get all the floury bits out, then let the bowl sit for about an hour until all the dough bits, etc. dry out. At this point, all I have to do is to tap it to loosen these bits and finish by wiping with a damp cloth. The only area that I have to be careful with is the shaft area where the paddle fits. I have to be sure I rub out any dough gunk that is in that area.

Sounds like a good idea.

 

[gale1965]

Mine says to only soak for twenty minutes in warm water to loosen the paddle. I had no idea why, but always tried to heed that advice. I will pay closer attention now though.
I did notice mine having a little straining sound a few hours ago, but it was kneading just fine.
And the smell of a loaf that will be ready in about 10 minutes is filling up the house

what I don't get is that if you use the delay timer, water sits in the bottom of the pan for hours. So I can't imagine letting it soak longer than 20 minutes would matter.

 

[Katie H]

Probably no problem, gale, with the inside of the container. The real area that shouldn't get/stay wet is the mechanism on the outside bottom. Moisture could definitely cause rust to form and seize the moving parts. I would imagine there are replacement containers available...but, most likely, at a price. Best to take care of our tools so they take care of us.

 

[pacanis]

what I don't get is that if you use the delay timer, water sits in the bottom of the pan for hours. So I can't imagine letting it soak longer than 20 minutes would matter.

Now that's a very good point. That really has me wondering why the twenty minute limit.....
The last couple of loaves I tried to pry it loose after just 4-5 minutes and it came loose just fine. I was trying so soak it as little as possible. Just the inside of the pan.
I don't use the delay cycle (and have no common sense) so that never occurred to me. It almost has me making a phone call to them to ask them why.

 

[gale1965]

Probably no problem, gale, with the inside of the container. The real area that shouldn't get/stay wet is the mechanism on the outside bottom. Moisture could definitely cause rust to form and seize the moving parts. I would imagine there are replacement containers available...but, most likely, at a price. Best to take care of our tools so they take care of us.

Yeah $40 for my old breadman and wouldn't you know-it died a couple months later and I couldn't find the same model. The current model at the time had a different pan. I wasn't really careful with that old machine about getting water on the outside of the pan. I didn't soak the entire pan (just put water in it) but I didn't worry about drying it thoroughly when it did get wet. I'm a little more careful now.