Your Toaster Lever Won’t Stay Down? Fix It in 5 Simple Steps

A toaster is an appliance found in almost every household and having a problem with it can be somewhat frustrating, but you can fix it in no time!

In this blog, we will discuss some reasons why your toaster lever might not be staying down and ways to fix it.

Fixing Your Toaster Lever in Five Steps

To find out the actual reason behind your toaster lever not staying down, you need to observe your toaster lever.

The five-step method will help you discover what is causing your toaster’s lever to stay up and fix it!

Here is your 5-step guide for examining your toaster lever:

Step 1: Check whether the Toaster is Plugged in or not

A loose electrical connection is the most evident and apparent reason behind your toaster not working correctly.

Your toaster lever will stay up if the plug is not inserted correctly in the electrical socket.

Sometimes, you overlook this issue but even if you are sure that you plugged your toaster correctly, recheck it.

Instead of wasting hours trying to figure out what is wrong with your toaster, check whether you have inserted the plug properly or not.

Step 2: Look for the crumbs

There is a good chance that your toaster lever might not be staying down because of the crumb build-up inside your toaster.

If crumbs are in your toaster, the lever will not go down because of the blockage.

To deal with this issue, turn your toaster upside down, shake it to get rid of all the crumbs (if any), and turn it back up after no crumbs are falling off it.

Once you have removed all the crumbs, plug the toaster back correctly and see if the lever is staying down.

If the lever is still going up every time you push it down, you need to take a more technical approach.

However, if you are not on the technical side, you should not push yourself to do something you are uncomfortable doing.

Step 3: Inspect the Toaster’s cord for defects

The toaster is plugged in correctly, and you have checked the connection multiple times, and the lever still not staying down its time to check if the cord is damaged.

Since the lever only stays down when you plug the toaster, having a broken cable will break the electrical connection.

You will probably miss this, but the toaster’s external cord can also be a reason behind a faulty lever.

If the cord is damaged, the power from the socket will not reach the toaster resulting in the lever staying up.

To avoid this, keep the toaster’s cord away from anything that might damage it, especially water, as it can corrode the wire. In case of damage, you will have to opt for a new toaster because replacing the external wire is difficult.

Nevertheless, if the external wire is working and the connection is not loose, it is time to look at other causes.

Step 4: Check the Toaster’s solenoid

The solenoid is a significant element in your toaster that clamps the lever down, and any issue with your toaster’s solenoid could be the reason behind a defective lever.

In addition, the solenoid is probably worn out because of excessive use if you have been using your toaster for years.

Another reason could be a broken magnet/solenoid, which can cause your toaster’s lever to stay up.

Since the magnet is responsible for holding it down, the lever will not stay down if the magnet is broken.

Additionally, the only solution to this problem is a new solenoid because there is no way to fix the problematic one, worn out or broken.

If this is also not the reason behind your lever not staying down, you need to jump right onto the last step!

Step 5: Examine the Toaster’s Spring

If you have come this far down in this article, it means you still haven’t figured out why your toaster’s lever is not staying down.

It is time to resort to drastic measures, which include opening your toaster with a screwdriver to examine its insides.

After opening up your toaster with a screwdriver, you see the interior of your toaster and what you may call “a spring apparatus.”

Like the solenoid, your toaster’s spring is equally responsible for holding the lever and keeping it in place.

Moreover, similar to the solenoid, the spring is susceptible to corrosion, degradation, and discoloration.

If you notice any of these spring issues, you need to replace your toaster’s spring.

Unlike the external cord, replacing the spring is easy, and you can do it without assistance.

Before getting a replacement, check the type of spring your toaster has to avoid any mismatch.

Get a spring that fits your toaster, remove the defective one, place the new spring inside and see if it is functioning as it should.

In addition, this is your sign to deeply clean your toaster from the inside since it is already open.

Now that you have followed all the steps and still have a lever that won’t stay down no matter what, it is time to surrender.

Of course, the best option would be to get a new toaster, but if you still have some hope left for your old buddy, you can leave it in the hands of a professional.

Conclusion

Did you succeed in latching your toaster’s lever in place after reading our blog, or are you still struggling with it?

Sometimes a factor as simple as an electrical connection can be behind it; other times, the cause could be too technical for you to handle.

Usually, it is easy to fix your toaster lever without professional assistance or appliance replacement.

However, if you cannot fix it on your own, you can always get a new one or get help from a skilled resource who knows how to fix it.

In this article, we have listed all the common factors causing the problem with your toaster lever.

After going through this article, you will hopefully be able to fix the lever successfully; if not, you got to learn a little more about the toasters that make your mornings brighter and crispier!