How to Clean a Stand Mixer: Body, Shaft, Bowl and Beaters

Unplug, wipe the body with a damp cloth, hand-wash the whip and bare aluminum beaters. What KitchenAid and Cuisinart manuals say, and where ATK differs.

By Maksud · Published Oct 4, 2026

To clean a stand mixer, unplug it, wipe the body and beater shaft with a soft damp cloth, and never immerse the body. That’s the instruction in KitchenAid’s stand mixer cleaning page (filed under the Artisan Mini) and Cuisinart’s SM-50 instruction booklet. Wash the bowl and coated or stainless tools in hot sudsy water or on the dishwasher’s top rack. Hand-wash the wire whip and any polished bare aluminum (burnished) beater. KitchenAid says burnished aluminum, which also forms most whips’ hubs, can oxidize in the dishwasher.

Kitchen Watcher compiles manufacturer manuals, support pages and independent test findings, and doesn’t use the products itself. Every instruction below is credited to the source it came from. How we research explains the method.

What you need to clean a stand mixer (and what to skip)

Use:

• A soft cloth, damp, plus a dry towel
• Mild dish soap and hot water
• A soft nylon brush or soft old toothbrush
• A toothpick for seams and crevices

Skip:

• Household or commercial cleaners on a KitchenAid body. KitchenAid’s support page and its tilt-head owner’s manual both say not to use them.
• Abrasives on a Cuisinart power unit, per Cuisinart’s SM-50 booklet.
• A wire brush, steel wool or bleach on a Cuisinart bowl, also per that booklet.

Some cleaning guides disagree. Simple Green’s cleaning guide sprays its all-purpose cleaner directly on the tilted-back motor head and onto a cloth for the body, which KitchenAid’s own instructions rule out.

Step-by-step: how to clean a stand mixer

1. Turn it off and unplug it. KitchenAid’s support page says to do this before cleaning. Cuisinart’s booklet says to unplug before fitting or removing attachments, after use and before cleaning.
2. Take the bowl and tools off first. Cuisinart’s booklet says to remove all accessories and attachments before washing, and KitchenAid’s manual says to remove the flat beater, whip or dough hook first.
3. Reach the beater shaft. On a tilt-head model, tilt the motor head back, as the tilt-head manual’s beater-removal steps do. Wipe the shaft under the head. KitchenAid’s manual says to do this “frequently” to remove residue that builds up.
4. Wipe the body and dry it. Use a soft damp cloth on the motor head, pedestal and base, then a dry towel. Never immerse the body in water or other liquids (KitchenAid). Cuisinart says never to immerse the power unit or use abrasives on it.
5. Pick out crevices with a dry tool. The manuals don’t cover this step. In Today’s cleaning guide, cleaning coach Leslie Reichert suggests a toothbrush or toothpick for the head’s ridges, the back vent holes, the speed control and the bowl-clamping plate, and wiping the cord without wetting the plug. Simple Green’s guide warns against letting liquid into vents or the openings around knobs and levers.
6. Wash the bowl and tools. See the next section for which tools can go in the dishwasher.
7. Dry everything before you put it back together. KitchenAid says not to store the beaters or the wire whip on the shaft.

How to clean a KitchenAid mixer’s beaters, whip and bowl

The material decides the method, not the brand. KitchenAid’s Beater Care page describes three beater finishes:

• Burnished: shiny, polished bare aluminum. It isn’t dishwasher safe.
• Coated: aluminum with a polyester coating, white or (since 2018) “subtle silver”. It’s dishwasher safe.
• Stainless: stainless steel all the way through. It’s dishwasher safe.

KitchenAid says it moved to all dishwasher-safe beaters in 2018. Its “subtle silver” coated beater is silver too, so color alone won’t separate it from burnished; a white beater is coated. If you’re not sure, hand-wash it, which every source here allows.

The full part-by-part yes-or-no list, model by model, is in Are stand mixer parts dishwasher safe?.

Where KitchenAid and testers disagree: coated tools in the dishwasher

KitchenAid says coated and stainless tools can go in the dishwasher. America’s Test Kitchen (published Oct 1, 2026) reports that after dishwashing, coated paddles and dough hooks “had often become chipped and damaged,” and uncoated aluminum “oxidized and blackened.” ATK concludes “it may be best to wash all parts by hand,” and prefers plain stainless-steel tools that are dishwasher safe. ATK separately says KitchenAid’s white-coated paddles and dough hooks become chipped after frequent use in its test kitchen.

Hauswirt’s cleaning guide goes further and calls white-coated beaters hand-wash only. That contradicts KitchenAid, and Hauswirt sells its own stainless tools.

The evidence is mixed, so here’s a simple rule. Hand-washing is never wrong, and KitchenAid permits the top rack for coated and stainless tools. KitchenAid also ties coating chips to the beater hitting the bowl and says to check the clearance regularly. The KitchenAid dime test covers how.

How to remove gray residue from a KitchenAid beater

KitchenAid’s Grayish Residue page says dishwashing or soaking a burnished aluminum beater oxidizes the finish. The residue is not harmful, KitchenAid says, but it may discolor food mixed in the bowl.

1. Soak the beater in hot sudsy water and scrub it with a nylon scrubber.
2. For stubborn buildup, use a powdered cleaner made to remove oxidation.
3. Hand-wash it, then towel-dry it right away.

KitchenAid also offers white coated, dishwasher-safe beaters as the alternative. Two cleaning guides conflict with this. Simple Green’s soaks all the attachments in the bowl in a cleaner solution for 1 to 2 minutes, then air-dries, and Today’s has you soak the bowl and attachments in water while you finish baking. KitchenAid says soaking is what oxidizes burnished tools and says not to let them air dry.

Sticky residue on the Flex Edge beater

KitchenAid’s Flex Edge cleaning page says to wash sticky buildup with a grease-cutting dish detergent and a soft nylon brush. If residue stays, clean it with white vinegar. Rinse it and dry it thoroughly before storing it.

Cleaning a Cuisinart or Hamilton Beach mixer

Cuisinart’s SM-50 instruction booklet says to unplug the mixer, then wipe the power unit with a damp cloth and dry it. Never use abrasives on it or immerse it. Wash the bowl by hand and dry it thoroughly, or put it in the dishwasher, but never use a wire brush, steel wool or bleach.

The paddle, dough hook and splash guard are top-rack dishwasher safe. The chef’s whisk must be washed by hand, and add-on attachments follow their own instructions. The booklet also says to keep the stainless bowl away from stovetops, ovens and microwaves. Our Cuisinart SM-50 review covers the rest of the machine.

Hamilton Beach’s use-and-care guide for the 63391 and 63392 says the bowl, splatter shield, nonstick dough hook, whisk and flat beater are top-rack dishwasher safe, but not on the “SANI” setting, because its temperatures could damage the parts. It says never to immerse the mixer, cord or plug, and to wipe the outside with a damp cloth or sponge and dry it.

Oil or grease around the beater shaft

Don’t add oil while cleaning. KitchenAid’s oil-leak page says the mixer is packed with enough solid grease to last its lifetime, and adding oil isn’t needed as regular maintenance. If oil appears around the planetary, wipe it off.

Hauswirt’s guide claims KitchenAid officially recommends regreasing every 3 to 5 years. KitchenAid’s own page says the opposite: the grease lasts the lifetime of the mixer. Causes and KitchenAid’s speed-10 routine are in KitchenAid mixer leaking oil.

How often to clean each part

KitchenAid’s “frequently” for the shaft is the only cleaning interval a manufacturer gives in the sources here. The deep-cleaning intervals come from cleaning guides, not manufacturers, and they disagree: Today says monthly, Simple Green says every few uses.

More on stand mixers

• Best stand mixers
• Are stand mixer parts dishwasher safe?
• KitchenAid mixer leaking oil
• KitchenAid dime test
• KitchenAid attachments compatibility
• KitchenAid Artisan KSM150PS review
• Cuisinart SM-50 review