Did you wash it in the dishwasher?

No, I don't use the dishwasher, mainly because on the occasions when I use the food processor I usually have other large containers and find it easier to wash them all by hand. Parts of the processor are large and cumbersome and might take up at least half the dishwasher space. I'm by nature 'cheap' and don't like to use the dishwasher much when it isn't full.

Would washing in the dishwasher clear up the cloudiness or is it too late to help my f/p? As I said it doesn't hurt the taste, it's just that I wondered how people keep them looking so good.

The "cloudiness" is actually scratches from the food. The only way to get them out is to use a plastic polish. But it won't prevent new ones from happening.

Some of the newer FPs may have a more durable plastic and don't scratch up as quickly.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it at all....and continue washing by hand!!!!

Dees, our water is so extremely hard several finishes cloud up in the dishwasher no matter what we do, usually over several washes. In particular, matte black aluminum, glassware, black and clear plastics get a cloudy coating. If the clear parts of a food processor are looking milky, try a long hot final rinse with a tiny amount of plain vinegar in it, perhaps one ounce or two. It's easy, abrasive free, can settle one's mind, and is worth a shot. Once.

You can pour in some vinegar, fill with water and let it sit for a bit. That may make it clear up some.

I agree that the cloudiness is really minute scratches. My older processor was cloudy from doing dried breadcrumbs, etc.

Food particles get thrown to the plastic at close to 100 miles per hour, that can create scratches.

Plastic can get cloudy if left under the sun for a long time, unless it contains UV blocking chemicals.

dcarch

Do all those TV cooks use new food processors for each taping?

I would have to think that they do. Certainly most of their skillets look brand new. They get free samples for using a product on the air, which is advertising. And if you see a product name in a movie, the company producing that product paid for that exposure, or else provided free product. Cuinsinart doesn't want TV cooks using used food processors on the air - it wouldn't look as good.

Lars

My 25 year old prossesor was completly clouded which did not bother me. When it got a crack which caused it to leak I started to look for a new one. Which I found on line for 35 dollars. It was so clear I was shocked as I did not remember how it looked when new. Al

I wonder the same thing when I see them putting something in the oven. The racks are gleaming!!! Yet they roast and bake.

Lars, I rather thought the same thing about the TV cooks. . . but that's a heck of a lot of new equipment they must go through. Wonder if there's place they get rid of it. Hmmmm. . . . No, I really don't care if my f/p looks cloudy. I always am more interested in why it occurs.

Along the same lines, my thoughts on when they put stuff in the over doesn't center on the gleaming racks. It's that the sound the racks make when the oven is hot is completely different than the sound they make when it's cold, so you know the oven is cold, even if they take it out later, steaming.

I think I've also mentioned before that when I watch Giada the minute she first says "There we go" I quite watching for content and count how many times she says it.

You would think I'd have something better to do with my mind, wouldn't you?

They do get cloudy over time. The interior surface gets minute scratches. After about 25 years, I popped for a new bowl. Then a stem broke. Then some other bits. So, I finally quit replacing parts and got an entirely new processor. You can sometimes find parts on eBay. I think I used Gourmet Depot (which was once named something else) mostly and the prices are quite high.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gourmet Depot

My KA processor bowl is still clear, but the handle is breaking away from the body - so mine failed for other reasons before getting cloudy.

Perhaps it also depends what you process in it. Some foods may be harder on the plastic. For example, there was a post about the plastic of a spice grinder getting cloudy after grinding cloves in it.

Aside from the bowl the other plastic parts of the Cuisinart machine get cloudy too, where there are little to no food products let alone grinding. Cloudiness is not scratches from grinding. But nothing I've tried works.

Yet another post from the internet 'cloud'. All sorts of things attack the plastic parts of vintage cooking implements. Plastic ages, from random cleaning or a few runs through the dishwasher (the old ones heated the heck out of everything!)...a sunny window...and certain grains and foods grinding add microscopic scratches not obvious right away. Age is age as we all know. Human or product.