WHETHER you know it or not, your coffee maker is likely due to a good cleaning.
Most people don’t clean their coffee makers nearly enough, which is why NSF International found in a study that the machines bringing you your caffeine fix is the fifth nastiest place in most homes.
Your coffee may start to taste off if your coffee maker or pot isn’t clean[/caption]
How to clean a coffee maker
For this method, you’ll only need three ingredients:
- Water
- White vinegar
- Wet rag
- Dump out any old coffee from the pot and dump out any grounds from the filter
- Put the coffee maker back together with no filter in it
- Fill your water reservoir with equal parts white vinegar and water
- Put the coffee pot in and hit the “brew” button
- About halfway through the cycle, turn off the coffee maker and allow the solution to sit for about an hour
- Allow the rest of the solution to brew, and then let the hot liquid sit in the pot to help get rid of any lingering coffee stains
- Dump the vinegar solution, and then run another cycle with only water
- Dump out the hot water, then use a damp rag to wipe down any splash marks on the outside of the machine
- Continue running water-only cycles until you no longer smell vinegar in the brew
How do you clean a coffee pot?
While some coffee pots are dishwasher-friendly, most are not.
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For this reason, you’ll want to follow our advice on how to keep it squeaky clean.
Daily cleaning is a must, if you want to avoid having a stained pot to deal with later on.
The easiest way to do this is to simply dump out any old coffee and rinse it out with water.
Make sure you leave the lid open, and the pot upside down on a drying rack to avoid mold from growing inside.
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Weekly cleansing is a little bit more in depth.
You’ll want to wash it with warm water and dish soap, and spot clean any stains with a baking soda paste.
This should help keep your pot from turning brown over time.
Finally, once a month, throw a dishwashing pod into the pot, then fill it with boiling water.
Allow the pot to sit for at least 30 minutes, or until it cools.
How do I clean a Keurig machine?
A Keurig machine is its own separate beast.
A Keurig machine is cleaned in a similar way to a regular coffee maker, but with a few extra steps[/caption]
That’s why we wrote an entire guide titled about how to keep your Keurig clean.
It isn’t too much different from cleaning a regular coffee maker, it just has a few extra steps.