Can Blenders Explode? (It DID Happen and Here’s Why!)

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It was just another day. You were making smoothies, and you’d just gotten the hang of using your new blender. You had never had any trouble with it before, but today…

There is a loud explosion, and sharp pains spread throughout your arms and body. You look down and see lots of glass shards halfway pierced inside your arms—and small bits of glass and mulched-up food all over you. Your whole body is in pain.

You look down at your blender in front of you: broken. Did your blender just explode?

Can blenders explode?

If you’re talking about a physical explosion where the blender blows up into pieces, then yes, blenders can explode. This usually happens when the blender is used to blend extremely hard items, like ice cubes or nuts.

Blenders operate and spin their blades between 17,000 to 30,000 rotations per minute. That’s insanely fast. In some rare instances, the blades of the blender can break off and become projectiles that can break through the jar and cause serious injury.

As a result, blenders are an appliance that can be very dangerous when they malfunction.

Blenders have been known to explode and cause serious damage, such as the incident in Washington State where a woman’s face was severely injured from a blender explosion.

What are the risks of using a blender?

Blenders can be a great way to prepare food, but they also come with risks.

Blenders can overheat and explode if used for too long. Avoid using a blender for longer than five minutes at a time to prevent overheating.
The blades of a blender can cause severe injuries if they come into contact with skin. Make sure your blade has fully stopped rotating before you open the lid.
Blenders can also create a lot of noise, so it is important to use them in a well-ventilated area. Blenders can get as loud as 69 to 88 decibels. That’s about as loud and sometimes louder than a lawn mower.
Thanks to rotations up to 30000 RPM, your blender will produce excessive vibrations. If you’re not holding it down while it’s on, it can really fall off the counter.
Be careful when securing the lid. Blenders can often experience heavy splashing if you don’t secure your lid on correctly. If your blending something really hot, it just makes the situation worse.

What should I do if my blender does explode?

If your blender does explode, the first thing you should do is to make sure that you and anyone else in the area are safe.

Turn off the power to the blender if possible, and carefully remove any debris. If there are any electrical wires exposed, be careful not to touch them.

Once you have made sure that everyone is safe, you can start cleaning up the mess.

It is likely that there will be food and other debris scattered around. Start by picking up any large pieces of debris, and then vacuum or sweep up any smaller pieces.

Keep in mind that there are likely going to be glass shards almost everywhere. Wear gloves and use the vacuum in areas that are hard to reach.

If there is food or liquid on the floor, be sure to clean it up right away to prevent stains or odors.

How to prevent blenders from exploding?

To avoid the risks associated with using a blender, it is important to follow some safety tips.

Always read the instructions that come with your blender before using it. This will help you understand how to use the appliance safely and correctly.
Be careful when handling the blades of a blender, and make sure that they do not come into contact with your skin when they are spinning.
Only use a blender in a well-ventilated area, as the noise from the appliance can be loud.
It’s recommended to keep your blender running for only a minute at a time. Give your blender plenty of breaks in between blending.
When blending hot liquids, be sure to remove the center cap on the blender lid and cover the opening with a towel. This will help prevent a buildup of pressure causing the hot liquid from splattering.
Be sure not to overfill the blender, as this can cause it to explode. Fill it no more than half full with ingredients.

How to blend hot foods safely

The biggest issue that comes with hot foods and blending is to ensure that you are not overfilling your blender. Filling your blender too full and then trying to blend can cause the top of the blender to come off. You also need to ensure you are venting your blender. This means removing the small cap in the center of the lid to allow steam to escape. Here are some tips that can help you ensure you are not going to get hurt.

First, you want to avoid overfilling your blender. You need to make sure you do not exceed the half-fill mark.
Next, make sure you remove the center of the lid. This is going to allow the blender to vent while you are blending.
You also need to make sure you put a towel or a pot holder over the opening and hold it down while blending.
If you have a great deal of hot liquid to blend, you should do so in smaller batches to help ensure you stay safe and to ensure that the soup or liquid does not go out and all over the kitchen.

Why do blenders explode?

1. Overheated blender

The first is that you have overheated your blender.

By blending too much, if water or other liquid gets down into the motor, or if you have blended something that is very hard or that takes a great deal of power to blend, the blender may overheat. It may be smoke or a short circuit.

2. Misuse of blender

Another issue you may have is that you have been misusing the blender.

This means that you might be doing things like blending items that are too hard, like nuts with shells on, hard ice, or other overly hard items.

3. Electricity fluctuation/ breaker trips/ short circuit

You may also see that there has been a fluctuation in the electricity or power source for the blender.

Say you are blending and the breaker trips or there is a short circuit. This might make it look like the blender is blowing up or that it is broken.

4. Blender not properly fixed

Your blender may be broken, or may not have been properly repaired if you have had it worked on. If that is the case, a blender that is still broken can lead to issues with use.

A broken blender can cause a huge range of problems and can cause you a great deal of trouble. If you notice that the blender is damaged, you should not use it to ensure that it does not cause more problems in the future.

5. Getting old

An older blender is also likely to have issues as well and may appear to blow up or be damaged. These older machines do tend to become damaged more often and may be harder to get to work properly.

If you notice that it is smoking or that it is not blending the way that it should be, you may just be dealing with a machine that is old and that is near the end of its usefulness.

6. Faulty blender

Still, another issue you might notice is that your blender is simply damaged or faulty. A blender that is faulty can explode, burn up, or become damaged to the point that it simply does not do what you need it to do.

A damaged blender can lead to issues with the evenness of the blending and it can also lead to the blender is a bit too forceful or even not working at all.

7. Low-quality blenders

Lower-quality blenders also have a bigger chance of becoming damaged or seeming to blow up. While they are not going to actually explode in a ball of fire, they can spark, they can smoke, they might emit a foul smell, and they can even make strange noises that make it hard to use them and make it scary to use them as well.

Lower quality blenders are also going to have a much less even blend which means that they might blend with more force in one moment than the next.

8. Overfilling the jar

The last issue you might notice is that you have overfilled the jar when you are blending. With hot liquids especially, steam can build up in the blender and can cause a buildup of pressure in the blender drum.

When this happens, the lid can be blown off. Also, hot liquids tend to be thinner than cold liquids which means that the blender is going to be able to force the liquid up and out of the jar easier than it would be with a cold liquid.

This again creates a build-up of pressure that can lead to the blender forcing the lid off or seeming to explode.

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