Get Yourself Some Apple Cider Vinegar
Vinegar is a versatile cleaning agent. Its non-toxic and will both clean and disinfect the coffee machine.
The acid kills bacteria and mold and prevent more from growing.
It also doesnt pose any risks if ingested an important thing to know when youre disinfecting anything that touches your food.
Its also inexpensive. Gallon jugs can be purchased for under $5. This makes it great to use for disinfecting coffee pots and cleaning your entire house.
Youll save tons of money by using one product instead of a variety of cleaners.
Molly Maid Can Keep Your Kitchen Clean
Descaling the coffee pot is only one of many tasks on your kitchen cleaning to-do list. If you need help getting it all done, call on Molly Maid! Our kitchen cleaning services are designed to take a load off your shoulders so you have more time for friends, family, and brewing great cups of coffee!
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Coffee Pot Maintenance: Vinegar Vs Descaler
When you have to wake up with the sun to get ready for work, your coffee maker instantly becomes your best friend. If the red indicator light just came on warning you that its time to descale the coffee pot, you may be unsure of what product or method to use. Luckily, with a few simple steps, your coffee machine will be back to its old self.
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Dont Forget The Carafe
While the machine has the vinegar mixture in it be sure to clean the carafe.
It should be rinsed after every use but this is the chance to really give it a good scrubbing.
Add some detergent and warm water and scrub away.
If it still looks pretty grimy then add a bit of rice along with warm soapy water.
After you swirl it youll notice that the rice was able to remove all the gritty pieces.
Rinse and admire your hard work.
Turn The Coffee Machine On
Now that the water reservoir has been filled with the vinegar and water mixture, add a filter and turn the coffee machine on.
There is no need to do anything special, just turn the coffee machine on the same way you would if you were making a pot of coffee and let it run though a brew cycle. Do not add coffee grinds unless you want to drink a pot of the most disgusting coffee you have ever had in your life!
Once the vinegar and water solution has worked its way through your coffee machine and is inside the coffee pot, let it sit for 30 minutes to one hour. The time should depend on how dirty your coffee pot was when you started. The dirtier the pot, the longer you should let the mixture sit.
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Clean The Hot Plate Or Drip Tray
Unless your drip coffee maker has a thermal carafe, it will have a hot plate that keeps the coffee warm. When the hot plate has cooled, wipe off any spilled coffee. To remove burnt-on coffee stains, scrub the plate with a damp sponge and a little baking soda.
Rather than a hot plate, pod coffee makers feature a drip tray that your mug sits atop. The drip tray can collect a lot of excess coffee and become a haven for germs. Clean the tray with soap and warm water, and make sure to empty it regularly.
How To Clean A Coffee Maker
To keep your auto-drip coffee maker clean, start by dumping the grounds after you use it. Wash the carafe and other removable parts, such as the lid and filter basket, in the sink with warm, soapy water or in the dishwasher if marked dishwasher safe. Rinse and towel dry, or set aside to air dry. Wipe down the machine with a damp towel.
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What Happens If You Dont Descale Your Coffee Machine
What happens if you dont descale your coffee maker? If the water cant reach its optimal brewing temperature, it is impossible to extract the full flavor from your coffee beans. Mineral scale buildup can clog water flow, and if not removed, can cause a machine to stop working. Your coffee wont be hot enough to enjoy.
Cleaning With Vinegar Or Commercial Descaler
You have two strategies for ridding your coffee pot of limescale: white vinegar and commercial descaler. If you opt for cleaning with vinegar, follow these steps:
- Empty and rinse the carafe.
- Dispose of any coffee grounds left in the machine. Dump the grounds in your compost heap or trashcan, not down the sink.
- Fill the water chamber halfway with white vinegar, and then top it off with water.
- Set the carafe in place and start a brew cycle. Halfway through, turn off the coffee maker and let it sit for one hour.
- Finish the brew cycle. Then, pour out the vinegar/water solution and rinse the carafe in the sink.
- Fill the water chamber with clean water and let a full cycle run from start to finish. Let the machine cool slightly, and then repeat this two more times to get rid of any residual vinegar taste.
Cleaning your coffee pot with commercial descaler is almost exactly the samesimply substitute the vinegar for the descaling solution, adding the amount instructed on the packaging.
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Cleaning Vs Descaling A Coffee Pot
Before you get started, its important to distinguish between how to clean a coffee pot and how to descale a coffee pot. Rinsing out the machine with water may remove loose debris, but its not enough to tackle limescale buildup caused by hard water.
Hard water has a higher mineral content than soft water. The dissolved calcium, magnesium, and limestone start to build up in your coffee machine over time. It wont hurt you, but it can affect the taste of your coffee.
Plus, the limescale can start to block the holes in your coffee potthats what triggers the indicator light to turn on, if your machine has one. For older coffee makers and those with fewer features, simply look for chalky white residue. This tells you its time to descale your coffee pot.
Other Places Germs Appear In And Around Your Coffee Maker
Chuck Gerba, professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, said coffee break rooms have more bacteria than restrooms in most office buildings.
If the office has a coffee pot, Gerba says the first thing that gets germiest is the coffee pot handle. However, on a single-use machine, he says the top of the machine where the people place the plastic pod has the most germs.
When you use the machine, it could get in your coffee, he said.
Gerba also said that another big source of germs are coffee cups, especially if theyre shared amongst co-workers. A 1997 study he co-authored examining office coffee cups found that E. coli and even fecal matter were found in some of the cups.
According to Gerba, the sponges that people were using to clean out their cups were actually contaminating them. If the office has a dishwasher, he recommends using it.
Dishwashers work great because you have a high temperature and it dries out, he said.
However, if the sponge cant be avoided, Gerba says its important to wipe the coffee cup dry with a paper towel instead of using a cloth or letting it dry out on a rack.
Yuck:Sponges left in sinks become fecal germ bombs
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A Clean Coffee Maker Is The Key To The Perfect Cup Of Joe
Lets be honest. A good cup of coffee in the morning is just what you need to start the morning off right. But you cannot just expect your everyday coffee maker to work seamlessly day in and day out, so its no surprise that your neglected coffee maker spits out poor tasting coffee.
The good news is that the loss of flavor from your coffee maker does not have to be permanent. In fact, a good cleaning may be all you need to restore the taste of your morning brew.
How Often Do I Really Need To Clean My Coffee Maker
If youve browsed any of our coffee coverage, you know that we take our brew pretty seriously. From pour-overs to espresso machines, and from bean roast to brew strength, we have strong opinions about it all. This week, its all things coffee at Wirecutter.
Cleaning coffee makers is like flossing. Most people do it a lot less than they care to admit, and they fool themselves into thinking everything is okay. Hot water will eviscerate microorganisms, right? And surely the caffeine, a natural antimicrobial, will knock out any remaining survivors.
Well, NSF International, a public health and safety organization, has news for those folks. In its 2011 swab-down of 22 homes, it found that yeast and mold had settled into half of all coffee machine water reservoirs tested, making them the fifth germiest item in kitchens and bathroomsless than the pet bowl but more than the bathroom faucet handle. In addition, water leaves mineral deposits inside the machine over time, said Jaime Levy, senior product manager on OXOs coffee and tea team. This buildup can slow brewing and heating. Worse, noted Paul Dawson, PhD, food scientist and co-author of Did You Just Eat That?, germs can grow there too.
What to do immediately after the coffee brews: Throw out the grounds and the dirty filter from the brew basket, and wipe down any coffee residue in and around the basket and elsewhere on the machine with a clean, damp towel. Wipe dry the water reservoir and let it air dry with the latch open.
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The Growth Of Bacteria And Germs
Not only the body of the machine, but the surrounding area also contains a wealth of germs if you do regular washing. Especially the coffee pot handle is the place where most bacteria gather.
According to Chuck Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, a great source of germs is coffee cups, notably if they are shared amongst colleagues. He is also supposed that microorganisms appear in coffee break rooms even more than those in restrooms in most office buildings.
Doing A Deep Cleaning
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Rinsing The Coffee Maker
Our Expert Agrees: After you clean your coffee pot with vinegar, run 3 cycles with water only, which will flush it out.
Why Do You Need To Clean Your Coffee Pot And Machine Often
The most important reason to clean your coffee machine is safety. As mentioned, coffee machines, particularly pots, are breeding grounds for mold and mildew. A clean coffee pot makes a huge difference.
Leftover coffee residue and an environment that is both moist and warm presents the perfect conditions for the spread of bacteria. By cleaning and sanitizing your coffee pot with vinegar, you can make sure that you and your family do not consume harmful bacteria in your morning coffee.
Then, of course, there is a simple fact that a clean coffee machine produces better-tasting coffee. If you find that your morning coffee is bitter and unappetizing, there is a chance your coffee machine could use a thorough cleaning.
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How To Remove Mineral Deposits That Build Up In A Mr Coffee Machine
A slow, sputtering Mr. Coffee coffee maker could be the sign of mineral deposits clogging the machine. The magnesium, calcium and other minerals in hard water can cling to the pipes inside the machine, slowing the flow of water. They can also make glass decanters look cloudy. The manufacturer of Mr. Coffee recommends cleaning the machine with white vinegar every 40 brews to eliminate mineral deposits. There are also several commercial cleaners available to rid coffee makers of mineral deposits.
Fill the decanter with white vinegar.
Pour the decanter full of vinegar into the coffee maker’s reservoir.
Return the decanter to the correct position under the brew basket.
Select the machine’s regular brewing cycle and switch it on.
Switch the machine off when brewing is complete, but leave the vinegar in the decanter for two hours.
Unplug the machine.
Rinse the decanter and fill it with cool water.
Pour the water from the decanter into the reservoir, swish and pour the water back out into the sink.
Refill reservoir with cool water.
Place the decanter into position under the brew basket.
Plug in the machine and switch to regular brew to allow the water to run through the machine.
Repeat steps 9 through 11 at least six times to rinse the vinegar from the machine.
References
How Much Baking Soda Do I Use To Clean A Coffee Maker
If you do Want to Try Cleaning Your Machine with Baking Soda
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How To Clean Your Coffee Pots And Pod Coffee Makers
by: Jamie | July 24, 2018
What gets used every day but rarely gets the cleaning attention it deserves? If you said coffee maker, you are correct. The coffee maker is most peoples source of energy and smiles in the morning but sadly they rarely get cleaned as often as they should. Its best to wash the removable parts daily and the remainder at least once a month. This removes and prevents hard water minerals and calcium deposits from building up and causing your machines to perform poorly.
If you have a traditional coffee maker , you probably wash the carafe after making the days pot of coffee but do you wash the reservoir too? Even though you probably use a coffee filter when making your morning brew, you still need to clean everything regularly. Fill the coffee makers water chamber with equal parts white vinegar and water. Using a paper filter, allow to brew until half the chamber is empty. Turn the coffee maker off and let it sit for 30 minutes, then finish brewing. Rinse the machine by using a new paper filter to brew a pot of clear water.
Keeping your coffee maker clean is the key to keeping the coffee flowing. Regular cleanings prevent buildup of minerals and calcium deposits and ensures delicious tasting coffee. A clean coffee maker looks great in a clean kitchen so call Dust and Mop to schedule your regular home cleaning.