Waffle makers

I just tried (and failed) to make some waffles using my waffle maker. How do I use this thing properly? I greased both surfaces with some butter, but I failed. How do I know when the waffles are ready?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Here's what went wrong, copy/pasted from the cooking failures thread.

Quote:

I just had a cooking failure. My mother just bought a waffle maker, so I decided to give it a whirl. I made my mix, buttered both surfaces and splashed some mix on when it was heated.

Mistake #1 - too much mix. As the stuff started to cook, mix started pouring out of the sides of the waffle maker, oozing onto the kitchen counter top. This was not a good sign.

Mistake #2 - opening the lid too quickly. Half of my waffle was stuck to the top and the other half on the bottom.

I wish that I had a digital camera to show you guys this. Cleaning it took a good 20 minutes.

There's nowhere I can't reach.