Why Does My Food Processor Leak: Helpful Troubleshooting Guide
As an experienced chef myself, I have used many different kinds of food processors for many different brands, and at some point in the food processor’s lifespan, it starts to leak. At first, the leaking is so frustrating and annoying because you don’t know what to do and what is the cause of the leak. Luckily when you know where and how to look, the trouble presents itself faster than thought.
Food processors leak for various reasons such as the broken lid or bowl, dislocated or broken seal, overfilling, or incorrect blade. Examine the food processor by looking at the bowl and lid, double-checking the seal and blade, lastly, make sure that the liquid doesn’t exceed the maximum fill line.
With the steps above you should find the reason for the leak. There have been times that my food processor wouldn’t even turn on so I had to use a blender instead of a food processor. Now, let’s dive more in-depth and see how you should check each area properly so you don’t miss anything.
Contents
Broken lid
A food processor’s lid is usually made from plastic and plastic items tend to get broken sometimes. Examine the lid carefully and the cracks are relatively easy to spot. If you found a flaw then you probably found your reason, however, when the food processor is on and it is leaking from the lid, be sure that you haven’t overfilled it which may cause the leaking and it would seem that the lid is the problem.
Broken bowl
Food processors bowl is usually more sturdy construction than the lid, but nonetheless, they may get broken at some point. If you handle your bowl carefully it shouldn’t get broken just from usage. If you drop it is another case. Examine the bowl from bottom to top and if you find a crack, that’s your reason.
For both the lid and bowl cracks there are many things to fix it with, so before you rush and purchase a new one, try to repair your crack first so you will save a lot of money. I have listed some great ideas on how to fix plastic cracks below.
Examine the seal
If you can’t spot the problem from the outside, don’t panic, there’s still hope. Examine the seal or ”seal ring” by removing the food processor’s rotator part, the one where you place the blade. Remove the screws and examine if there are cracks, or if it is just loose and out of date. The reason why the seal might leak is that over time it will dry and brittle, therefore it is passing liquids through.
If the seal is broken simply replace it with a new one, remember to unplug your food processor before placing your hands down there.
Incorrect processor blade
You might also be using the wrong blade which could cause the leak. If that’s the case, unplug your food processor and examine your blade. If you can’t see anything weird simply try another one and see if your problem gets fixed.
Overfilling
Overfilling is surprisingly common and I have corrected a fellow co-worker multiple times because they didn’t know what was wrong and it was clear that it was simply overfilled.
Let’s take an example here: If you have a 13-cup capacity food processor, it is common to see recommendations to only fill it up to 8-cup as the maximum, because if you are processing something even remotely liquid, it will be blown out all over if you fill it to the absolute maximum. Never fill the bowl over to the max fill line because if you do, your processor is sure to leak in a matter of seconds.
With that being said you should have a good understanding of the different areas of your food processor that could cause the problem, however, there are also some other factors that need to be taken into consideration for example how you can prevent your food processor from leaking and other things. Let’s take a look.
How to keep food processor from leaking
Before noticing that your processor is leaking, it is smart to ask how can you prevent it before it comes to an issue. The first thing is that you should always use the processor as intended, and take good care of the parts. Don’t neglect them or leave the parts uncleaned because that will certainly fasten the breaking process.
Also, be sure that you don’t go over the fill line with liquids, if you are processing some solid ingredients I can’t see the harm in going a little over the line.
Keep an eye for the parts regularly and if you start to see cracking or some minor issues that haven’t yet resulted in leaking, fix them before they break and you will have more stress-free time.
Lastly, follow the processor’s instruction manual and work within the recommended practices and rules it says, and if you don’t have a commercial-grade processor, I would avoid using hard ingredients that are more difficult to process.
Using these steps you will greatly prevent the chances of your processor’s leaking problems and save time and money along the way. If you wish to process soups etc, you can use a blender as a food processor in certain tasks.
What should you not put in the food processor
A food processor is designed for solid ingredients. You should never put hot foods that are mostly liquids, like soup in the food processor. There are many different things that a food processor can do, however, I would advise you to leave some foods for blenders or other mixers/processors. I have listed food below that you shouldn’t place into a food processor.
- Soups
- Smoothies
- Hot foods
- Gelatin
- Tough meat bits
- Bones
Can you put liquid in the food processor
In general, you can put liquid in the food processor, however, it is not recommended. If you need to blend soup there is a couple of problems. First, you will need to do it in many batches because you can’t fill it usually even to the fill line because it will leak. Second, if the liquid is hot you should never put it in the food processor because there is a melting risk which would result in a deformed processor bowl. If the liquid is somewhat thick and at least room temperature, then you can put liquid in the food processor, using caution and an apron is highly recommended.
Can you put ice in the food processor
A great rule of thumb is that if you have a powerful food processor, you can totally crush ice with the benefit that food processors make quality ice. However, if you have a budget food processor that isn’t commercial grade, I wouldn’t recommend it because it can harm the blades greatly. A small amount won’t probably hurt so if you need some ice for a couple of drinks, it shouldn’t be a problem. For larger batches, use a durable food processor or even better, a blender.
Can you make frozen drinks in a food processor
Now, let’s mix the two previous subjects, liquid and ice. If you’re short of a blender, you can use a food processor for frozen drinks. The best way to approach this is to first blend the solid ingredients with a very small amount of liquid inside, then slowly adding the rest of the fluid in batches so the food processor won’t start to leak.
Conclusion
I certainly hope that this post helped you fixing or at least locating the leak in your food processor and with that you might have saved some money and time.
Food processor leaks are extremely frustrating, believe me I know. However, it’s good to remember that it is only an appliance and it can always be fixed or replaced. You should check out our recommended food processors for 3 different sizes and purposes. Treat your food processor with care and it will most certainly serve you for years to come, for that, I have no doubts.