I scored a great deal the other day at a second hand store. I love when I am right there when they bring out a new cart of items. Right there on the top of the pile was an old school Vitamix blender.
It was only $35. It is about the price of a new blender but these are made of steel and have a 750-850 watt motor. They will grind wet and dry items which is WONDERFUL!
These things were built to last. This is probably a model from the 1990's or so. My mother bought one of these in the early 80's and hers is still running. 
This nozzle design is the older model but I am sure there are enough of these around that people still use and enjoy that I figured I would share a post about how to clean it. Of course they figured out the problem with the nozzle model and their newer ones don't have them. 
My favorite treat coming home after school was to put a can of pineapple in the freezer and when it was frozen, I would dump the entire thing into the Vitamix and blend. I would get a sweet frozen slush. I had forgotten that until I found this beauty the other day.
Princess One said she was interested in it for her Christmas or Birthday present so I wanted to make it sparkling clean before giving it to her. 
There are no new Vitamix mixers for under $250 and even on Ebay, they tend to hold their value. Even this old of a model is $100 with shipping. 
I wanted to test it out before giving it to her so I started to clean it out. The nozzle has a plastic nut on the inside and you can easily hand turn the nozzle on the outside if you hold the nut on the inside. I twisted it off and the gross goo on the inside made me cringe. 
You can easily take all the pieces out but pay attention as to how the spring is loaded so you don't put it in upside down later. 
Also, VERY IMPORTANT, do NOT try and turn the nozzle by the top flipper valve. It is only held on by two little plastic pins and can get broken easily. Hold the entire nozzle as you turn it!
I spayed the entire base with Totally Awesome Orange cleaner to loosen any goo. I used a knife to clean out between the handle and the machine and also used the knife wrapped in paper towel to get into the cracks and corners. Be careful when using something sharp not to scratch the finish. 
You can remove the flip handle on the nozzle by sliding it off the white plastic fairly easily, don't force it at any point. It should easily come off. 
The plastic pad comes off the base top easily and you can clean under it using a damp paper towel as you don't want to get anything into the gears. 
The gasket in the lid is removable and they are about $10 to replace on ebay. You can also purchase a plunger on ebay for about the same price. Probably add a few dollars shipping to that. 
The gasket got stuck in the lid as I could tell it hadn't been used in years. I just sprayed cleaner in and let it soak for a few minutes to get it out. 
It is a great machine and I used it to make a hot pepper sauce which I will blog about another day but it worked well. Since it didn't come with a plunger, I had to use a wooden spoon and it really would have been better to have a plunger that goes with the machine. 
I actually don't have one for my machine as it got a crack in it and black mold grew inside the plunger. I ruined a huge batch of squash soup one year before I realize the plunger was broken and moldy. 
All in all, a good gift for the homesteader and a great price for a single, holding onto every penny, mom! I am SO grateful to my Father in Heaven who always helps me find what I need and what others may want or need at a price I can afford! I am truly blessed!
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