After almost once-a-week use since 2013--pureeing veggie soups in the pot--the high-speed setting no longer works, and the motor takes a while to start on low. The Chefman hand blender, which has a "pulse" option, was not used on veggies like kale or raw chunky food. It did the job for which it was purchased, allowing me to make soups as lumpy or as emulsified as I wanted. But I always worried about cleaning the blade unit (which snaps with a twist into the motor base). The blade "bowl" is easy to clean, but the inside edge sometimes needs an extra scrub with a toothpick or Q-tip even after pre-rinsing. The hollow end of this section is a problem: the shaft that connects the blade itself to the motor is set in a hole where water easily gets in during hand-washing (as it would, of course, if placed in a dishwasher, which I've never tried). Last night, as I was rinsing out this part of the blade unit as usual, the water remained discolored even after repeated rinsing. I let the unit air dry overnight, with the blade part up. Today, I was horrified to see what had drained out (see photo). I'm guessing that, over the years, soup had seeped into the shaft area from the ring around the top blade shaft; so, while the unit appeared clean on the outside, drops of soup must have collected inside and were finally draining out. Ewwww..... From at least one review of other similarly-designed immersion blenders, I think this may not be a problem unique to the Chefman. That said, three stars for functionality & longevity for the price. But I'm tossing this well-used hand blender and will try a KitchenAid next.The buttons ARE hard to push. I thought people complain because they keep holding it for more than the suggested 30 seconds - of course the fingers get tired. But no, I actually have to try 3-4 times until I push the button the right way so the blender eventually turns on, and my finger hurts after just a few seconds. Sometimes I find it just right, and then I'm able to finish the job with just a little discomfort. But that's not typical. Typical is the frustration and the pain. And I'm just an average strength woman, no hand problems or such.Cleaning is very easy. The key is: immediately. I don't even put down the machine, right after I'm finished I take off the head and shake it in a bowl of water. Then rinse and that's it. 5 seconds. Don't let stuff dry on.Bottom line: The idea of a hand blender is great, I'm glad I own one. In certain situations it saves the day. But I'm not glad I own THIS one. If you still have a chance, get a different one.Update:After six months of struggle I found the Cuisinart HB-155PC for only $10 more. Now I'm happy. Donated the Chefman and changed my rating from 3 to 2 stars. I do not recommend this product, and I highly recommend the Cuisinart HB-155PC instead.I used the Chefman 2 speed hand blender approximately 5 times a week until it spat out drops of black fluid into the cream I was whipping. The black liquid wouldn't have been noticeable if I'd been mixing something dark, so on the bright side, at least I didn't unknowingly feed my family industrial fluid. I used it four more times (always on light colored foods) without incident, then it leaked "oil" again so I'm tossing it.After the first month, it also emitted a burning smell after a few seconds on high speed.The blender worked better on larger quantities measuring at least a cup or more. On smaller quantities it didn't blend as well. It was bigger than I expected and not ergonomically friendly. I had to use both hands to grip the blender (I wear women's gloves size large) and never found a comfortable way to hold it. You don't press the speed buttons directly, rather the two buttons are covered by a rubbery shield that neither my husband nor I thought likely to last-- back when we expected to get at least a couple of years use out of the appliance.The blade section comes off easily and clicks back on securely. I chose this blender because it has two speeds, but didn't see any significant blending advantage when using the higher speed.Before the oil spill, I knew I wouldn't buy another Chefman Blender, so even without the oil spill, I would only have given the blender 2 stars.It is three weeks past the return deadline. If the company stands behind their product, I will update this review.I should have believed the negative reviews rather than the popularity rank for this blender. It is really weak and low quality. I would at least expect from a blender that it is able to properly blend cooked squash for a soup, but this cannot even do that properly. It takes forever and there are still a lot of chunks of squash left. And this is a soft, cooked vegetable!Three stars only because it is so cheap and easy to clean. In terms of functionality, I would give it one star.I use this to mix my protein shakes, I haven't had it for more than a few weeks and I'm already having problems! The high speed switch sometimes doesn't work. Also, as wonderful as it is to be able to take off the bottom part to clean, it also is poor quality, comes loose while running and makes an awful racket. This is definitely a deal of you get what you pay for. Hopefully it will work long enough for me to get a better one.