Preparing your fruits and veggies for juicing, extracting the juice, and sipping it, either to boost your immune system, detoxify the body, or as a weight loss diet, are all fun and enjoyable parts of the juicing ritual.
However, cleaning the juicer, as important as this is, is never as enjoyable. Some bone-idle folks choose not to give juicing a try to avoid the “torrid” exercise of cleaning.
But cleaning a juicer can be fun and easy. When you learn the basic procedures and good practices of cleaning it, you’ll find out how easy this can be.
In this article, we’ll see how to clean a juicer effectively in some easy-breezy steps. Once you master this, you’ll find out it’s just a small task that can be done even on “autopilot.”
What type of juicer do you have?
First, you have to ask yourself what type of juicer you have as the procedure for cleaning a manual juicer is different from that of an electric or professional juicer such as leafy green juicers.
Some models have a centrifuge that separates the juice from the pulp. However, almost all include a strainer.
Manual juicers
This type of juicer has an oval shape with ridges or undulations on which a fruit cut in half is usually placed. To use it, it is pressed to extract the pulp.
This oval shape is fixed to a plate that collects the pulp. You can find them in plastic, metal, or aluminum. These are very easy to clean because they have a limited number of parts. You can wash them manually or in the dishwasher.
Electric juicers
Electric juicers allow you to extract juice without as much effort as a manual juicer requires. You just need to place the piece of fruit cut in half on the cone and press slightly so that the electrical machine can rotate and extract the juice by friction.
Cleaning these is not as easy as the manual model but not as difficult as with the professional centrifuges and masticators.
Professional juicers
These allow extracting more juice from both fruits and vegetables. You can get a very high yield of juice and this can be done between two to 30 minutes, depending on the type.
They usually have a lot of power. They are generally rated at a minimum of 200W. Whether slow juicers or centrifuges like celery juicer they are usually seen in restaurants, hotels, stores, supermarkets, as well as in homes if you have a large family or you make juice regularly.
While the centrifuges are easier to clean, the slow masticators are the most complicated to clean. This is because there are more parts to clean than you have in centrifuges or other types of juicers.
Ingredients for cleaning a juicer
To clean a juicer, below is the list of ingredients you will need for the exercise:
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For A Manual Juicer |
For Electric and Professional Juicer |
For the Filter or Mesh Screen |
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A Step by Step Guide to Cleaning a Juicer
After knowing the varieties of juicers, let’s go straight to the task ahead. This task can be easy, but if you don’t do it right, you can damage the juicer during the process or reduce the durability/service life of the juicer.
Cleaning a manual juicer
To clean a manual juicer, follow these steps:
Remove the juicer: Sometimes they have only one piece and you don’t have to disassemble.
Wash and scrub: Wash the pieces under the hot water tap and scrub with a scouring pad and dish soap.
Rinse and air-dry: Rinse with plenty of water and let the juicer air-dry.
Cleaning electric and professional juicers
To clean an electric juicer, take the following steps:
Unplug the juicer: The first thing to do is to unplug the juicer from the electrical outlet.
Disassemble: Then, disassemble the juicer by separating the washable parts from the non-washable parts. The part of the juicer that you will wash is mainly the jug or tank, in addition to the grid that retains the pulp and the moving tip of the juicer on which you support the fruit to extract the juice.
Clean the washable parts: To clean the washable parts, you just have to put them under the hot water tap and rub them with a scouring pad and dish soap.
If your juicer is made of plastic, we do not recommend that you put the washable parts in the dishwasher as it may damage.
If it is made of glass or some other material such as stainless steel, you can wash it in the dishwasher without any problem. Glass should be washed in the upper rack of the dishwasher.
Air-dry: After washing it, let the pieces dry completely.
Clean the non-washable parts: For the motor part, use a microfiber cloth soaked in water to clean it superficially. The inner part contains the electrical mechanism that operates the juicer. Do not immerse or wash it with too much water.
Reassemble: After the whole piece have air-dried, finally, you can now reassemble the juicer.
- To clean a professional juicer such as centrifuges or slow masticating juicer, you need some time and extra care. Many pieces are involved. Misplacing or damaging just one of them can render the entire unit useless except replaced.
- Cleaning should always be done immediately after using the juicer. Do not store your juicer dirty after use, mainly for hygiene and health reasons, but also because if you wait too long to clean it, dirt could affect the proper operation of the juicer. Remember that in this case, it is about cleaning an electronic device.
- When it comes to knowing how to clean a juicer, you must distinguish between the moving parts and the outer casing. Never immerse this part of the juicer in water, nor do you apply a jet of water directly to the outer casing. Do not use abrasive cleaners. In this case, it is best to moisten a microfiber cloth in a little water and clean the surface of the case.
- You can also add a few drops of dishwasher soap to the water. Wipe-dry immediately afterward with another cloth to give the juicer a clean appearance without watermarks.
How to Clean Tough Stains from Your Juicer
There are times when the juicer gets dirtied or stained than necessary and it may take more effort or cost more to clean. In this case, you can use lemon, since it is a good bleacher, whitener, degreaser, and disinfectant. Follow the following steps:
Add lemon juice to hot water: Fill the sink with hot water and put a few drops of lemon juice in the water.
Leave it submerged: Leave the pieces submerged for a couple of minutes.
Rinse and clean: Rinse the juicer with clean water. And if you see that there is still some residue, you can clean it with the scourer.
Air-dry and store: Now you have to let the juicer dry and stow it away.
A Guide to Cleaning the Filter/Mesh Screen of Your Juicer
To clean the mesh screen or filter, a special procedure is required. Follow the following process:
Prepare a vinegar or citric acid and water mixture: The first step is to make a water mixture that contains vinegar or citric acid. A commercial kitchen cleaner such as Citroclean is also ideal. Mix the vinegar or cleaner in a ratio of 1/3 with water.
Soak in a solution of water and vinegar: Soak this part for a few hours in the water solution.
Scrub gently with a brush: After soaking the mesh or filter, scrub with a toothbrush or cleaning brush.
Clean under running water: Unlike the outer casing, these moving parts can be cleaned under hot running water and submerged. After brushing, you can clean the part with a soft sponge under running water.
Dry with a microfiber cloth: Next, dry all the pieces with a cloth before putting them back.
How to Clean the Plastic Parts of Your Juicer
Cleaning the plastic parts of your juicer can be done by following the process below:
Unplug the device and disassemble: Disconnect the juicer, wind the wire up, and disassemble the plastic parts. If you don’t know how to, go through the instruction manual.
Rub with a damped sponge or cloth: Wet a sponge or cleaning cloth in water and gently clean the stained areas.
Scrub with a small brush: Use a soft small scrub brush or toothbrush on the leftover stains or residues for about 2 to 3 minutes, including hard-to-reach areas.
Soak overnight: If there are still stains on the parts, soak the parts in a solution of lemon or vinegar water overnight.
Dry with a microfiber cloth: The next day, or before then, dry the parts with a dry microfiber cloth and let the rest air-dry. Keep it away from direct sunlight as it can discolor the parts.
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Verdict
Knowing how to clean a juicer and putting the procedures into practice regularly is the secret to a lasting and hygienic juicer. Keeping your juicer clean can be a breeze. You only need home ingredients such as vinegar, lemon juice, microfiber cloth, soft brushes, and a running tap. A dishwasher can also make things easier but you can always do without it. If you want your juicer to stay clean and useful for longer, always clean it immediately after use.
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