Right out of the box, all shiny and new!
Here is one of the most important tools in my kitchen. It is funny. As a creature of habit, it took me months to remember to use my mixer instead of making cookies by hand. I would start creaming the butter and sugar together and then… doh! Now, I can not imagine a life without my mixer named Rebel.
Alas, I had some mega drama with Rebel this week and just had to share the story because it may help someone else one day.
You see that silver bolt just below the neck of the mixer? That is the culprit. I had no idea that bolt could fall out of the tilting-head version of a Kitchenaid mixer. The other day I noticed it sticking straight out and that the head of the mixer was tilting forward. I touched the bolt and it fell out of the mixer and into my hands.
At first, I did not panic. I figured I would just push it back in. Yeah right! It seemed to be absolutely impossible to get back into the machine. That is when I freaked.
As most of you know, in the last year I have lost my toaster, blender and, most recently, my breadmaker. I have also accidentally knocked the hood off my stove which my husband had to drill back on. There are days I truly feel cursed. I was determined to try and put Rebel back together myself. I called Kitchenaid, was on hold forever, told I had called the wrong number, given a Canadian number to call that was out of service. I tried again and begged the woman to not put me on hold or transfer me. She is the one who finally told me about the screws along the neck of the mixer:
She said they must have gotten loose which allowed for the bolt to fall out. I took both screws out and still could not get the bolt through. I thought I was going to lose my mind. My husband was away and I tried and tried… nothing worked. Then he came home very sick. I let it go until he was feeling better.
Here he is tapping the bolt back into the mixer. We had to lift the head just a little for everything to line up and then tap, tap, tap… Rebel is back in one piece again! The man is a magician!
She’s alive!!!!!!!!!
He tilted the head to make sure everything was nice and secure, rightened the screws and my life in the kitchen was bright once again.
My poor husband. How many times does he have to put stuff back together for me? At least when it comes to my mixer I know to keep an eye on that bolt and make sure that bolt stays in! I wrote about this situation on Facebook and found out that this was happening to others as well but they caught it in time.
I may be a bit of a whiz with food but I am also a bit of a tornado, quite the destructive force. I am so lucky to have one of the most patient husbands in the world! After he fixed the mixer I made him a big mug of tea and plate of his favourite cookies. My foodie hero!
May this never happen again and may it also bring my cycle of accidents to an end!
Hurray for Hubz! Glad to hear Rebel is back in action!
Thanks Debra! I can not believe how relieved I am. I can live without a lot of stuff but Rebel is like a family member now. I know that sounds weird but that is how it feels. I hope this little story helps others who find themselves in the same situation or helps prevent other mixers from having that bolt fall out!
I’m glad Rebel was repaired!
I am also a klutz in the kitchen.. I knocked a brand new griddle off of the counter and broke it, killed the blender, destroyed the toaster, and sent the electric teapot to the appliance graveyard. Side note: The appliance graveyard was an actual place in my old town!
I know how you feel about Rebel, I feel the same way about my Sally, the kitchen just wouldn’t be the same without her. Glad to hear Rebel is all better now.
So your husband is a magician too? My hubby is always ready with tools in hand, no matter what happens I know he can fix it.
I guess there is some solace in not owning one of these beasts. LOL Glad to hear your handsome handyman came to the rescue. We’re quite lucky to have “Mr.Fix It” husbands.
Uhh I had the same thing happen today! I was in the other rom while the bread was kneading and then I heard an awful banging noise and sure enough the pin had fallen out. Customer service is no help, they told me yeah its hard to put back in, get someone to help you or call a technician. I am waiting till hubby gets home to put his engineering skills to work š I saw mine coming out a couple of wks earlier, but tried to push it in and it wouldnt go back in-so I thought mb I just hadnt noticed it sticking out shlightly before. So a hammer is necessary?
Oh no! greercaroline, that is terrible! Yup, that is what happened to me too. Yes, you will need a hammer to tap it back in. The alignment might not be right when your hubby puts it back together. If it is tilting forward and won’t lock, it means, believe it or not, the neck bolt is too tight. Lift up the head and loosen it a bit. Totally counter-intuitive. Good luck!
Ok. So this just happened to me this morning. Worst part is it’s my mom’s kitchen aid mixer that I just borrowed to see if I liked it! Not impressed so far! And I have to fix it before my mom finds out! So did you have to first removed both of the screws on the neck, put the bolt back in, and then put the screws back in?
Oh Cassie, that sucks! So sorry to hear about it!
Yes, if I remember right, there is no other way to get that damn bolt back in. If there is a problem with the attachments being up too high or low, make sure to check out this link:
http://suziethefoodie.blogspot.com/2011/03/kudos-to-cohoons-appliance-service.html
It will help! We finally got the head back on my machine and it was off alignment. These people really helped us out.
I love the internet! I just finished a batch of my favorite banana bread and I noticed the pin sticking all the way out of my KA-I wondered why it would not seem to lock in place while mixing..well thanks to you and a few other heroes I was able to fix it on my own.. so proud. I thought I was gonna have to call my own Mr. Fixit..the hubs but with your help I found the screw and was able to replace the pin…and BONUS found your blog.. what a good day..The banana bread with choc. chips this time smells heavenly!!!
Leslie, I am so happy I could help you make even more banana bread with your fixer. Way to go fixing it on your own! Fantastic, this is why I blog. So happy to make a difference and enjoy that banana bread with chocolate chips for me. š
Many thanks for your story on the kitchenaid, boy what job.
My bolt fell right when I tilted it to clean it, well then it was an hour of disaster trying to get it back, I ha never sweated so much. My husband had to lay the whole machine on its side ans fortunately thus worked.
After reading your story we sat back and had a laugh, although no funny at the time.
Many thanks
Oh no!!! Oh Lyn, I can totally relate. It was such a stressful thing to have happened. I’m glad your husband figured it out and could laugh later but it’s true, at the time… So stressful!