After one year of normal use, our milk frother stopped working. Specifically, the frother spring stopped rotating even though the heating element continued to work. My first impulse was to repair the unit. When the problem became apparent, it was clear that a fix would only be temporary. The root cause of the failure was a poorly designed seal that allowed heated milk to penetrate the front bushing of the motor, where it became encrusted around the shaft. I have ordered a replacement, which employs a different design with a totally separate stainless steel vessel for the milk. The frother is magnetically coupled to the motor in the base, making the current failure mode impossible. Only time will tell how robust the new unit is.