Always, always, always clean your juicer or blender immediately after you use it — as soon as the drink has been poured into glasses and before you sit down to enjoy it.
The natural sugars in fruits and vegetables can make cleaning the equipment a nightmare if you wait — they're sticky and cause the smaller particles of liquid and other ingredients to adhere (like glue) to the lid, the container, the blades, and any utensil or surface that the mixture has been spilled on or otherwise touched.
Cleaning a juicer
To clean a juicer, follow these steps:
Fill the sink with hot, soapy water.
You can do this before you even start juicing, after you've washed and scrubbed the produce.
After you've processed the food and poured the juice into a glass, unplug the juicer and disassemble the machine, immersing the parts into the hot, soapy water.
Using a brush, clean each part and rinse it under hot water.
Wipe down the motor base and the countertop where you've been working with a hot, soapy cloth.
Let the parts dry while you enjoy your juice.
After the parts are dry, reassemble the juicer so the machine is ready for your next healthy drink.
Cleaning a blender
To clean a blender, follow these steps:
After you've processed the food and poured the smoothie into a glass, rinse out the container.
Add a few drops of liquid soap to the container, and fill it one-quarter to one-half full of hot water.
Place the lid on the container and blend, starting at low and moving to high speed, and then back down to low.
Turn off the machine, unplug it, and pour the soapy water over the inside of the lid and into the sink.
Rinse the container and the lid with hot water.
Wipe down the motor base and the countertop where you've been working with a hot, soapy cloth.