My stand mixer almost caught FIRE mid-batch of cookie dough

I was making a double batch of chocolate chip cookies last Sunday for a bake sale at my kid's school in Portland. About halfway through creaming the butter and sugar, I smelled this horrible burning plastic smell. I looked down and saw SMOKE coming out of the vents on my 10 year old KitchenAid! I panicked and yanked the plug out of the wall. Turns out the grease in the gears had basically turned to sludge and the motor was overheating BAD. I let it cool down for an hour, then took the back cover off and cleaned out all the old crud. I repacked it with fresh food grade grease I had to order online. It's running quieter now than it has in years but I'm scared to use it for heavy doughs anymore. Has anyone else had their mixer do this and is it safe to keep using for bread dough?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_linda1mo ago

Knew about the grease sludge issue but figured it was just a wear and tear thing, not a literal fire hazard. Read your story and immediately checked my own mixer's vents. Changed my whole view on maintenance, that's for sure.

the_miles1mo ago

Yeah my buddy had a similar wake up call after his oven nearly caught fire from built up gunk