Cleaning the Coffee Pot

Hi V.,

I clean my coffeemaker using vinegar also. I have found that I need to ventilate the kitchen when I do. The vinegar has a strong odor when heated and causes my asthma to act up.

hi V., if you have lemons, put a few in pot with a little warm water and shake really well, it seems to clean the pot nicely.

Depends completely on the minerals in your water and the amount of use the pot/maker gets.

We have a moderate-high mineral count, but only use the maker on the weekend mornings so it gets cleaned about every 3 months.

Daily use might mean once a month (make it a routine like when you change your air filters and give the dog the heartworm pill, clean the coffee maker).

When I use to use vinegar, I would go about 1/4 of the pot vinegar and the rest water. Run the maker with a filter. Rinse the pot, let the maker cool a little, and run fresh water - again with a filter - and then fresh water again with out filter.

My now roomie doesn't like the smell of vinegar (especially hot vinegar) so I bought some brew-right coffee pot cleaner, it appears to be mostly natural and doesn't have an odor. Follow the directions for amount, but I always waste one more pot of clean water (you can always toss it on the lawn to be more eco-friendly).

Put 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar in with the water and run it through. I put a filter in there to catch anything that may seep out. Then run a plain pot of water through before using for coffee. Hope this helps!

morning V.! my mother always runs the cleaning cycle then once it is complete she adds ice cubes and cuts up a lime into four pieces squeezes the juice into the pot and drops in the peels then she whirls it around for a little bit and allows it to sit maybe ten minutes then she pours it all out an rinses. she does it about twice a week and it os very good at keeping your coffee pot stain free! good luck and I hope this helps ;)

I run a pot full of vinegar through every couple of weeks. Then I run a few rinse pots of water through just to make sure I got all the vinegar out.

It would depend on how often you use the coffe pot. I clean mine once a month by putting in 1 cup of vinegar. filling it the rest of the way with water and letting it run through it's cycle. I also follow that with a couple of cycles with just plain water.

I learned this from the Baccarat Crystal company and the Krups coffee company when I was a buyer.

You can clean your coffee maker out with Denture cleanser. I am serious. It also works great in vases or crystal when they get water marks on them or become cloudy.

Just purchase a box of the house brand denture tablets at any grocery store or drug store. I would throw about 4 of the tablets into the water area of the coffee maker, then pour really warm water into that area. Let it sit till the water is clear then you can pour it all out.. Rinse it and let it dry.. You should not have to do this very often maybe once a month or every 2 months.. In an area with really hard water, I would suggest it at least every 2 weeks.

Hi V.,
During college, I worked as a waitress and we had to use salt/lemon and some water and swirl it around in the bottom of the coffee pot. I think we also cleaned them in the dishwasher, but the lemon/salt removed the stains.
Hope this helps!

Hey V.,

Seems like you're getting some really good advice so far. Since I was 18 years old, I've spent ALOT of years as a waitress. The trick I was taught years ago to clean the pot itself was while it was still hot, but empty, put some ice cubes in it, squeeze some lemon juice in there, add a little salt, and twill the ice around. All that stuff together does something to get all the coffee gunck off the inside. Dump all the stuff out and rinse with tap water. As for the machine itself, either purchase the cleaning tablets or use vinegar. I just fill the pot with vinegar and run it through. Once that's done, I run tap water through, dumping each pot, until I can't smell the vinegar any more.

Hope this helps,
J.

Hi V.,
I agree with N.R., lemons work perfectly! I use just half of a lemon, squeeze some of the juice in and then leave the slices in the pot, add water and some salt, shake it around and then let it sit for about 10mins. It will look like a brand new coffee pot!

I cleaned my coffee maker just this morning. What I do is run about 3/4's pot of water with about a 1/4 cup of vineger. I also put a filter in there. After the first pot, I then run plain, full pots of water....about 4 or so. I also take the hot water pots and pour down different drians, i.e, bathroom sinks, kitchen sink, etc. This also helps to keep those drains clean and clear.
I do this ritual about 3 or 4 times a year. I use my coffee pot everyday. As for the pot, I just wash as I would any glass. You really dont need to do much more than that unless it is very stained.
I use the wet filter to then scrub off the burner...then toss...no sense in ruining a good towel!!!
Margaret :)

Morning V.;

One quart of Vinegar once a month. Run it thru with the
filter, then wait let it all cool and then run it thru
again!
We have a very high content of calcium in our water so it
requires more cleaning!
If you filter the vinegar while running thru the coffee pot then you can pour that same vinegar into you dishwasher and
run a clean cycle for it!
Good Luck,
B. C.

I do not think there is an exact amount of white vinegar that you use to clean your coffee pot, but about 2 times a year, I rinse out my pot, add water and about a cup or so of white vinegar and run it through the coffee maker twice. Then, I run through 2 pots of plain water. Your house will smell for a while, but your coffee maker will be cleaner.