WARNING - K-tec (Blendtec) Blender gears grinding into the food

[Guest guest]

I'm having a problem with my 7- or 8- year old K-tec blender (name of later

models changed to Blendtec) that I wanted to warn folks about, and to see if

anyone else is having the same problem. When I would separate the blender

container from base for cleaning, I noticed there was a powdery residue on the

base. I didn't think anything of that, and continued to use it.

 

Then, when I started washing my rinsed blender container by filling with water,

adding dish soap, and blending, I noticed the water was a yellowy to rust color.

I did this several times, before I put two and two together that the blender was

grinding little bits of metal right into my food mixture. I never noticed

discoloration when blending food, only when cleaning, because my food mixtures

are almost always green or purple smoothies, and green soups.

 

I got very concerned that the blender was grinding metal into my food, and found

other cases on the Internet where the Blendtec blender was doing this. I have

discontinued using my K-tec and will be buying a Vitamix.

 

I wanted to warn people who have K-tec or Blendtec blenders to check for this

problem by washing them by blending water and dish soap, and checking for yellow

or rust- color discoloration. Also check for dark powder on the base.

 

Has anyone else had a problem with the gears grinding metal into their blender,

be it a K-tec, Blendtec or Vitamix? Did you bring the problem to the

manufacturer's attention? If so, how did they resolve it? And do you know of

any cases where the Vitamix has has this problem?

 

Also, I wonder if I could have harmed my health any by drinking these little

bits of metal powder before realizing I was doing that. My husband assures me

that the powder was probably just little bits of iron (rust) and steel and that

I didn't do any damage.

 

Thanks, ~Amy

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy,

Steel isn't just iron, it is an alloy of iron and other elements. Here are some

of the elements commonly used in making steel: aluminum, chromium, cobalt,

copper, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, titanium, tungsten, and vanadium. Much of

this, especially in amounts grater than the traces needed in food, is harmful to

health. However, just by breathing the road dust while traveling on the freeway

you are breathing in most of these elements, so for most people zero exposure

isn't feasible.

 

That said, reducing exposure is an important priority, and eating as clean and

healthy as possible to support the body's ability to cleanse itself of what you

can't avoid is essential for maintaining good health once you achieve it.

 

Since all materials like plastic or steel are a mixture of substances, and there

isn't any way to be sure exactly what is in the thing you have, I'd never use

any tool or appliance that eroded, corroded, or leached bits of itself into my

food.

 

On a related note, high quality stainless steel is very expensive, so most of

the " stainless " steel in most kitchenware is of a lower grade that will leach

out toxic elements into food, especially if the food is acidic. Even cheap soft

glazes on ceramics will do this, and it isn't easy to tell the quality of glaze

on a particular piece of pottery, which is why all those people got lead

poisoning from the glazes on their pottery kitchenware.

 

Glass is the stable nontoxic container to use with food, especially for storing

food in it. Corning has made huge progress in glass based materials that resist

chipping and breaking, and some of it is so tough that it can go from the

freezer into the oven, which of course isn't important to raw food menus, but is

a good indication of how tough the material is.

 

I use a lot of different corning products in my kitchen. I particularly like the

glass storage bowls with plastic lids, the food doesn't touch the lid, and so

stuff can't leach from the lid into the food, and the good lids are water tight

seals and don't break when you drop them.

 

All this in addition to the fact that the glass jugs for blenders are much less

noisy than the plastic or stainless steel ones, is why I use a blender with a

glass jug.

 

May your day be filled with clarity, grace, strength, progress, and warm

laughter,

Roger

 

 

-

" Amy " <bookarma

 

Sunday, June 21, 2009 7:25 AM

WARNING - K-tec (Blendtec) Blender gears grinding into

the food

 

 

> Also, I wonder if I could have harmed my health any by drinking these little

bits of metal powder before realizing I was doing that. My husband assures me

that the powder was probably just little bits of iron (rust) and steel and that

I didn't do any damage.

>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Wonder if VitaMix will ever come out with a glass container? At least as an

option.

 

Shari