OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner Review: Is It Still the Gold Standard?

In the previous article, we tried to answer the question of whether pump or crank is better. In this article, we reviewed the features of the Oxo brand salad spinner. Please feel free to write your criticisms and comments about the article.

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$32.95

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Ask pretty much any chef, whether they cook for a living or just at home, what salad spinner they like best, and almost all of them will tell you: “Oh, just get the OXO.”

For more than ten years, the OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner (6.22-quart) has been the real winner in the market. Everyone seems to want it for their wedding registry, and it’s always on those “Best Of” lists.

Is it actually the best, though, or just the one everyone knows?

We really dug into how that “pump” was engineered, checked out what heavy users said about its long-term reliability, and put its drying ability to the test. We needed to know if it’s truly worth what they’re asking.

The Design: Why the “Pump” Matters

Many salad spinners usually come with either a crank handle or a pull-cord. The OXO is a different kind of thing. It’s got this plunger mechanism, and it’s actually patented. Just press the big black button on top, and it spins the basket.

The Engineering Pros:

• One-Handed Operation: You can use it with just one hand; there’s no need to hold onto the bowl to keep it from moving. One hand pushes the pump, and the non-slip ring on the bottom really holds it in place on the counter.
• The Brake: You just hit a little button, and the basket stops right away. It might seem like such a small thing, but honestly, waiting for that spinning basket to just stop on its own is surprisingly annoying.
• Storage: The pump locks down flat so you can stack them right up in your fridge or cabinet.

Performance: The “Potato” Stress Test

Does it really get the greens dry? Yes. That gearing setup means stuff spins really fast without you having to push hard at all.

But the real way to tell if a spinner is good isn’t by how it handles lettuce; it’s by its weight. User D. Vanco, a shopper who bought this, really put the OXO through something that would break other spinners:

“I’ve used it to remove moisture from shredded potatoes (latkes, hash-browns, etc) and it does good work on them as well. It can spin REALLY fast.”

If those gears can really handle tons of heavy, wet shredded potatoes without breaking down, then you can bet they’ll handle your kale and romaine for years and years without a problem.

The Flaw: The Cleaning History

Okay, let’s talk about the cleaning history. For ages, folks really grumbled about how hard it was to keep the OXO clean; that was always the top complaint. The lid mechanism was all closed up, right? And when moisture got in there, it just stayed, which then caused mold to grow.

The Update: OXO actually heard what users had to say. The current model (Version 4.0) lets you take the lid apart for cleaning. It’s a little trickier to put back together compared to the simpler crank versions, but it solves the hygiene issue.

Verdict: Is It Worth Getting?

Rating: 4.5/5

Buy It If:

• You are feeding a crowd: The 6.22-quart capacity is really big. It can handle two heads of lettuce, no problem.
• You have hand pain: If your hand hurts, especially with arthritis, pumping is a breeze compared to cranking.
• You want durability: It’s built like a tank. This can handle even heavy vegetables.

Skip It If:

• Your kitchen is small: This thing just takes up way too much space. It’s about the size of a big mixing bowl.