How to Clean a Coffee Maker

Coffee makers that are used daily need more than just running the pot through the dishwasher to get them clean! There is more to a coffee maker than just the pot itself, and it is necessary to clean the internal components to ensure that the coffee maker continues to run efficiently.

To learn how to clean a coffee maker properly, you need to understand what you are trying to clean. In addition to daily coffee residue, your coffee maker accumulates water deposits, excess coffee oil that turns rancid when left to build up and basic debris and impurities.

A thorough monthly cleaning will expand the life of your coffee maker, allowing it to run more efficiently and produce better tasting coffee.  Don’t worry! We’ll teach you exactly how to clean your coffee maker with the easy step by step instructions below.

How to Clean a Coffee Maker

1.  First, you will need to flush the coffeemaker with a homemade cleaning solution:

Mix one part white vinegar with 2 parts water. Use enough mixture to completely fill the coffee pot.

(If this is the first time you are cleaning your coffeemaker, you may choose to use a less diluted mixture of 50% water mixed with 50% vinegar. Future cleanings will only require the original concentration mentioned above.)

If you run out of vinegar, you can make an alternate cleaning solution by mixing one part baking soda with four parts warm water. In addition to being less expensive than commercial cleaners, these homemade solutions are an all natural alternative that are free from chemicals.

2.  Next, pour the solution into the coffee well where you would normally add the water when making coffee.

3.  Add a coffee filter as usual.

4.  Switch the coffee maker on and let the solution brew just as you would do when making a pot of coffee.

5.  After the cycle is complete, allow the solution to sit in the pot for 15 minutes. This will help to remove coffee residue that build up inside the coffee pot.

6.  Dump the pot after 15 minutes and remove the coffee filter.

7.  Refill the reservoir with a full pot of cold water and turn the coffee maker back on.

8.  When the cycle completes, dump out the water (there is no need to let this pot sit for 15 minutes, it is not a cleansing pot but rather a rinsing pot) and your coffee pot will be ready to use.

Now that you have learned how to clean a coffee maker, remember to do so on a monthly basis to keep it running like new!

Photo by stock.xchng.

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