That’s probably good advice but I generally clean the blades by turning the blender on under running water. Zip zip clean!
Not in my experience, but I also use the blender to ground liver to make Leberknödel and this easily gets some long fibers wrapped around the axis of the blades. Those can be hard to peel off. So it probably depends on what you use the blender for.
I am sure for potato soup your method is fine. YMMV
I myself consider the hand blender the second most dangerous instrument in my kitchen, right after the mandoline. But I never had an accident with either so far: whenever I did cut myself, it was with a knife.
I splurged and bought an All-Clad. Expensive, but I could probably puree a Volkswagen with it.
Am I the only one who calls it a boat motor?
My main use is when I make a big batch of pasta sauce. I don’t mind the tomatoes to be a bit chunky but my kids didn’t like it.
Mine is always referred to as The Evinrude.
When I looked into getting one I decided to try a cheap one in case I never use it. The brand is Brentwood (never heard of it before) and it turns out that I use it at least a couple of times a week. It is now five or six years old and going strong.
I made sure I got one with a plastic blade-end so I can use it in non-stick pots, and it hasn’t warped from the heat yet.
America’s Test Kitchen recommends the Braun immersion blender.
These are heaped high at better thriftstores in case you want to try something for tennish bucks. And I say do it, I’m converted myself: I didn’t understand their supreme utility at blending hot soups and sauces until relatively recently.