Why toasters are so bad

And to help us figure out why toasters have such short lifespans, students in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Ohio State University disassembled two of our recommended toasters and several vintage toasters to run comparative analyses on them. We interviewed experts like Peter Reinhart , acclaimed baker and cookbook author, to narrow the selection of toasters to test. Additionally, we read editorial reviews from sites including Good Housekeeping.

Finally, we conducted a reader survey to help us figure out what most people look for in a toaster. Senior staff writer Michael Sullivan tested six four-slot toasters for our update and five two-slot toasters for our update. For our update, then junior staff writer Sabrina Imbler tested 14 two-slot and four-slot toasters and suffered a similar fate. Freelancer Brendan Nystedt spent 30 hours researching and testing toasters for our original guide.

Our advice is to spend only what you think is reasonable for something that may last for only about five years. If that versatility appeals to you, and you want to do more than just toast carbs, we recommend getting a toaster oven in lieu of a slot toaster.

Four-slot toasters offer double the capacity, so you can produce more toast quickly, which is nice for feeding a large family. A two-slot toaster takes up less space and is best for smaller kitchens or households with fewer mouths to feed. Even though they can now pop up your bread and offer bagel or frozen-bread settings, the way they toast your carbs is basically the same. And when it comes down to it, the ideal toaster should simply toast bread evenly and consistently without a whole lot of fuss.

Every slot should provide a similar performance. And you should be able to toast breads of different types and shapes; this means having a toaster with a big enough slot to handle thick bagels, plus a way to retrieve small English muffins without having to jam a utensil or your fingers into the slots.

After speaking with experts and researching the history of toasters, we scanned dozens of best-selling models on Amazon and kitchenware sites to decide which models to test. For the update we tested five new toasters against our previous picks.

Even the good toasters need help. To see how each toaster handled breads of different shapes and sizes, we toasted dozens of loaves of basic white bread, bagels, frozen waffles, and English muffins. For our white-bread test, we toasted three back-to-back rounds of Wonder bread slices to see how consistent the toast was from model to model and batch to batch.

These multiple batches showed us how well each toaster could regulate its temperature after heating up. In each round, we timed each toaster to see which could brown bread the fastest. We judged the toast itself on its top-to-bottom and side-to-side evenness, and we evaluated the accuracy of the shade settings—would most breakfast eaters consider these results to be medium, or too light, or too burned?

For our update, we revised our testing approach slightly—we toasted bread on the medium-shade setting in back-to-back timed sequences, following the same procedure used by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. We toasted six batches of bread, allowing the toasters to rest for a different amount of time between each batch. In order, the toasters rested 15 seconds, 60 seconds, 15 seconds, 6 minutes, and, finally, 11 minutes. This revealed how well the toasters regulated their temperature from batch to batch.

We also added sourdough bread to the mix of carbs we toasted to see if the tall slices fit into the slots. The waffles, we hoped, would come out crispy and brown but not scorched or soggy. We toasted English muffins to see which toasters made it easiest to retrieve them without having to stick our fingers in the heated slots. And we took a look at the size of each model relative to others in its class. These inexpensive toasters browned bread, bagels, and waffles better than all of the competition in their price range.

Unlike some other cheap toasters, the Cuisinarts have slots that are wide enough to fit thick, hand-cut bagels without requiring you to push them down yourself. The plastic controls offer a wide range of toasting settings and feel sturdier than the plastic dials and knobs on some other toasters we tested.

The two-slot Cuisinart is also one of the tiniest toasters we tested, making it ideal for kitchens with limited counter space. They beautifully browned the entire slice of Wonder bread, whereas other toasters, like the Osters or Hamilton Beaches we tested, left unappetizing raw halos on top. When we filled every slot, the four-slot model made slightly lighter toast than the two-slot, but you can easily fix this by turning up the toasting dial.

By comparison, all other similarly priced toasters—and even some pricier machines—left bread even whiter and patchier. The medium setting on both Cuisinarts also popped out a fully done piece of toast after 1 minute 20 seconds—almost half the time it took our previous top pick, the Oster Jelly Bean at 2 minutes 20 seconds.

And the defrost setting on both Cuisinarts produced Eggo waffles that were crispy on the outside but soft and moist on the inside. The slots on the Cuisinarts were wider and deeper than those on most other toasters we tested. The controls on both Cuisinarts are simple. They also have buttons to reheat and defrost your toast, as well as a bagel setting. All the parts you touch and twist stay cool, and they also feel sturdier than the moving parts of other toasters.

We used Wonder bread—which is practically engineered to toast evenly—for our back-to-back tests, following the same procedure used by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.

However, some of our long term testers were frustrated by uneven results. Upon retesting, we found the Cuisinart still performed as well as it did during our earlier tests, but it was important to adjust settings for different items this is true of any toaster. For instance, English muffins had the most decent color on settings 5. Finding the optimal settings for each carb will vary depending on your preferences, so it will take some trial and error to find out what you like best.

Thermal data showed that the Cuisinarts heated up faster and reached higher temperatures, whereas the Breville took longer to toast but had better temperature stability overall. Based on our research, we believe the heating elements in both appliances are probably made well enough to last at least five years. The Cuisinarts have a simple, boxy design, so the two-slot version takes up less space than some of the flashier toasters we tested, like our previous runner-up, the space-inefficient Cuisinart CPT ViewPro Glass 2-Slice Toaster which is now discontinued.

If you have a small kitchen and your counter space is at a premium, the Cuisinart two-slice is the way to go. The four-slice Cuisinart is just 4 inches wider than the two-slice model. Cleaning and maintaining both Cuisinarts is as simple as sliding out the removable crumb tray and wiping it clean similar to other models we tested.

The Cuisinarts come with a limited three-year warranty; only the expensive Magimix matches it for having the longest warranty of any toaster we tested. Our two-slot upgrade pick from Breville comes with a one-year warranty.

All of the printing is still intact, and none of the labels show any signs of wearing off. The two Cuisinart toasters have virtually no flaws in toasting, aside from occasionally leaving slim pale lines around the edges. The labels printed next to the buttons may wear away, but, again, most toasters we looked at had a similar issue.

And these labels should last longer than the ones printed directly on the buttons of other toasters like the Oster Jelly Bean or the Hamilton Beach Keep Warm , where buttery fingers may constantly be pressing. Unlike the one on the Breville, the bagel setting on the Cuisinarts only adds time to the toasting cycle, without lowering the heat on the outside of the bagel.

When the second batch starts, turn the heat down half a level from your normal setting. You Neglect The Crumb Catcher. Pennington says that when Hamilton Beach did consumer research last year, the manufacturer found that the majority of people just turn their toasters upside down and shake them to get crumbs out.

While it's good to remove all the burnt bits that accumulate in the machine, since they're a fire hazard, this is definitely the wrong way to do it.

Shaking can land crumbs on the heater element, or the lifter functionality, which can hinder how the parts work. Instead, use the crumb tray, which is standard on most new toasters Pennington says most of the people they interviewed didn't even know their toasters had one. If you use your toaster daily, you should empty the tray weekly; just slide it out and discard the crumbs.

Smith also says that if any large crumbs remain, you can use a soft brush -- never a knife -- to clean inside just unplug first. You're Putting Bagels In Backward. Toasters with "bagel" functions are great, but only if you load that whole wheat everything into the machine the right way.

That's because machines with this feature either just toast one side the cut-side of the bagel, English muffin or bun; or, they toast the cut-side nicely, and simply warm the other side. Most manufacturers suggest you place the bagel with the cut-side facing in for a crisp top without a burnt bottom but check your machine's manual to make sure.

You're Using "Toasters" Interchangeably. What else should you be making inside a Toastabag? Try heating up a veggie burger for a quick lunch, and you'll be impressed at how mushy it's not.

If you love fried food and you do , you'll know how disappointing fried leftovers are. Don't microwave them — heat them up in your Toastabags instead. It's as close to magic as you'll get.

You can even toast up a few tortilla shells, and you'll have almost instant chips. Now, here's a tip we almost guarantee you've never thought of: sweet potato toast. Just slice the ends off a sweet potato, then cut it into slices that will fit inside your toaster. You'll have a hot sweet potato in minutes, perfect solo, with some sweet toppings, or in a sandwich. Think outside the box! When's the last time you changed the settings on your toaster?

If you can't honestly answer that you do it almost every time, you're doing it wrong. Smith, he said you shouldn't just find one setting and stick with that. Different breads toast at significantly different rates.

Sweet breads — like cinnamon raisin — and white breads toast the fastest, so they don't need as long. The heavier breads are going to take longer, and that's why your favorite setting sometimes seems to fail you. He also said there's something else you need to factor in: moisture. Bread toasts faster as it starts to dry out, and the process happens quickly. You might find the perfect setting for fresh bread, but it could burn that same bread three days later.

If you're still having toaster issues, you might want to look at the toaster itself. Gone are the days when all toasters were created equal, and getting the right one for your family is more complicated than you might think. Compact Appliance has a handy buyer's guide with great tips on what kind of toaster you should actually be getting. If you're mostly going to be using it for bread, a standard pop-up toaster will be fine.

But if you're going to be using this for things like bagels, waffles, hamburger buns, or Texas toast, you're going to want to invest in a pop-up toaster that has extra-wide slots.

It'll make life easier, trust us. If you want to use your toaster for more things, think about a toaster oven. With this, you'll have all the toast you want, plus that grilled cheese you tried to hack your toaster into making. It's also an ideal kitchen gadget for quick lunches and snacks, too, from hot sandwiches to pizza bagels. It might be worth the investment. You haven't cleaned it recently. You use the wrong size bread. You think the numbers refer to time Shutterstock.

You don't adjust the settings. You don't use the extra-lift lever Shutterstock. You end the cycle too soon. You put bagels in the wrong way. You aren't using toaster bags Amazon. You decided to try a dangerous 'life hack'. You're not thinking outside the box Shutterstock. Treating all breads the same Shutterstock.