Blenders can be dangerous if not used properly. Recently a MACo member county employee experienced a laceration of her left pointer finger after slicing it open on the blade of a blender when she accidentally turned it on while cleaning pulp from inside.
Blenders are a very useful kitchen appliance. However, as with any motorized kitchen appliance with blades, care and proper use are required to prevent harm to the user, such as blade cuts or heated food explosions. To avoid any possible problems when using a blender, there are some basic precautions and sensible use rules to follow to keep yourself safe and the blender doing what it is meant to be doing––blending and nothing more.
Do’s
- Cool hot liquids or semi-solids for 3 to 5 minutes before processing them in a blender. “When foods or liquids are hot and then whipped around in a blender, they will create steam that can burn your skin upon lifting the lid.
- Intense heat can also wear down the blades, which is another reason to cool foods slightly.
- Always open the lid away from your face after blending hot foods.
- Use care when washing your blender.
- Pour one drop of liquid dish detergent into the container base.
- Fill one third full of warm water and secure the lid.
- Blend on high for 35 to 45 seconds.
- Stop the machine and unplug it then rinse the container and lid well with hot water and wipe dry.
- Never place utensils in the blender when the motor is running.
- Turn off the blender and unplug the blender first before using a scraper or spatula.
- Never place your hand in a blender unless the blender is unplugged.
- Don’t use a blender with a frayed cord. Throw it out. A frayed cord could cause a fire or electrocution.
- Don’t blend extremely thick foods for more than three minutes, longer blending will increase the chances of your blender overheating.
Spotlight
2019 Dawson County Annual Safety Day
Pat Goldhahn shared his family’s journey through the loss of his 15-year-old daughter, Lauryn, who was thrown 150 feet from a pick-up, after it rolled 2.5 times and hit a power pole on August 25, 2016. On August 27th she was pronounced dead. Lauryn was not wearing her seatbelt.
Pat delivered several messages in his presentation; he offered a lot of take-home thoughts to everyone who was there.
Two troopers from the Montana Highway Patrol were present and spoke about distracted driving and provided detailed statistics.
As you can see from the pictures (below), the seat belt convincer was enjoyable for many (slide the arrows back and forth to view two different images).
We presented Cody Miller with a nice plaque for his excellence in safety–hoping we can award this annually to a county employee who deserves it.
The best part of the day was watching a road department employee get up in front of the entire room and share that prior to working for Dawson County he had NEVER worn a seat belt. He said he met (me) within the first week of his employment, and I had sincerely showed him the importance of seat belt use and reinforced to him that it was county policy. He now wears his seat belt every time he gets in a vehicle. It gives me hope we are making progress, even if it is one employee at a time.