How To Clean Your Coffee Maker

This is your average cheap-o coffee maker. When you use these coffee makers all the time, they work up a lot of grime and old coffee ground dirt. That is definitely not what you want to be drinking with your caffeine in the mornings. Just a quick clean up every once in a while will ensure a healthier looking coffee pot, and a healthier you.

Let's identify the parts.

Water reservoir.

Hot water spout (over filter basket), discharges heated water over the coffee grounds in the filter.

Filter basket (holds the metal, paper or cloth filter). Do not put grounds directly into the basket.

Carafe. May be glass, or a thermal insulated carafe.

Warming plate.

On/Off Switch.

The first thing you want to do is take out the carafe and get it squeaky clean. This can be accomplished by using soapy water in the sink or by just using the dish washer if you own one.

Next, clean the water intake with a damp paper towel. This could possibly be the most challenging part to clean on coffee makers. Some of them are very slim and it can be very hard to get your hand into with a wet paper towel. If that's the case, you can use a spatula or something with a thin handle to move the paper town around, thus cleaning it.

Internal components can't be reached by hand of course. A suggested course of action is to run a 50/50 white vinegar & water mixture through your coffee maker. This will remove the scale and impurities left inside the machine over time. After running the vinegar through, run a couple batches with clean water to flush the taste of vinegar out.

Next, you will want to clean the coffee filter holder. A lot of dirt and grime will build up in these, and it goes directly into your coffee. You don't want that! Just scrub it out with a microfiber scrub rag (with nylon bristles) and warm soap water. Rinse with lots of warm water.

Don't forget the area above the filter holder. During brewing, steam from the grounds accumulates above the filter. Depending upon your particular maker, this area may be quite dirty. Use the same microfiber scrub rag to get this clean.

Finish it up by cleaning the rest of the body of the coffee maker with a damp rag (a very light soapy water mixture might be needed). The warming plate may have the residue of burnt coffee, so use a scrubby rag or Scotch-Brite blue scouring pad to get it clean. Make sure you do not leave any visible residue on your coffee maker.

You now have a clean and tidy coffee maker ready to make your coffee for the day! Be sure to clean your coffee makers on a regular basis. It makes you look good, and it makes the coffee taste better.

Thanks for reading my how-to manual on cleaning the average coffee pot!