How to Fix Your KitchenAid Mixer with the Turn of One Screw

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Have you noticed your mixer just isn’t quite mixing like it used to? Whether you’re whipping up a batch of Grandma’s famous divinity, or serving a decadent layer cake—you need your stand mixer operating at peak performance.

But don’t spend the big bucks on a replacement just yet. Here’s a KitchenAid-approved mixer fix that’s super easy. In fact, all you need is a flat-head screwdriver.

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Does my mixer need to be adjusted?

First, determine if your mixer’s problem is the adjustment level. Look out for these telltale signs:

• After mixing, ingredients are left on the bottom of the bowl
• The tilt head is not locking in place
• The white flat beater is chipped on the bottom
• There are scrape marks in the bottom of the bowl

If you’ve noticed any of the issues listed above, your mixer needs to be adjusted higher or lower.

See the KitchenAid mistakes everyone is making.

Do the dime test

If your mixer bowl is metal, try this trick. (Note: Do not attempt with a glass or ceramic bowl.)

Place a dime in the bowl and attach a flat beater. Turn to “stir” or low speed, then observe how the dime moves around the bowl. If the dime does not move, your beater is too high. If the dime moves around continuously, that means your beater is too low. If the dime is traveling slowly around the bowl, moving about a half inch with each pass of the beater, the bowl height is correct.

Adjust the height of the beater with this quick fix

Now that you know that your beater height needs to be adjusted, all you need to do is turn one little silver screw. But first, unplug the stand mixer, just to be safe!

Where is the screw?

On a tilt head mixer you will find the screw where the head meets the stand when tilted back. If you have a bowl lift mixer, the screw is located on the inside of the stand.

How to adjust the screw

Using a flat-head screwdriver, turn the screw counterclockwise to raise the bowl and clockwise to lower the bowl. Just a slight turn is all you’ll need. Don’t turn the screw more than 90 degrees in either direction. After turning the screw, you may want to use the dime test again to text your clearance level, then repeat the screw adjustment as needed.

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