How to Clean Your Coffee Maker
Such things as yeast, mold, and bacteria thrive in moist places with the coffee maker being one of them. A clean coffee maker also produces a better tasting brew, while a dirty one has collected debris making the coffee taste stale. We offer some tips below of how to clean your coffee maker and also how often you should clean it.
How To Clean Your Coffee Maker
A fantastic way to clean your coffee maker is just by using tried and true vinegar and water. Vinegar is something most households have on hand, so it is not only convenient but easy to use. You do not need expensive cleaners to keep your coffee maker clean and functioning properly. Vinegar is a very cost efficient way to clean your coffee maker along with being the top ingredient to use for such purpose.
To get started, you will need to mix equal parts of vinegar and water in a bowl. You will use a paper coffee filter like you would when making coffee, and place it into the basket. Next, you will place the pot below like you would for making coffee. You will then fill the reservoir with this combination of water and vinegar, and let it run through just halfway into the pot. You can let this set for 20-30 minutes or even longer if you wish. Finally, you will run the rest of the mixture through the pot. After this is completed, you will then run a full pot of water through after rinsing everything out and replacing the filter. This can be repeated one more time until all vinegar is flushed through.
For stubborn coffee stains, using warm soapy water along with a little rice can help remove these if you do not want to use a wool pad. Once this all is completed, you should be able to brew a nice pot of fantastic tasting coffee.
How Often To Clean Your Coffee Maker
The cleaning with vinegar and water described above should be done at least once a month. Everyday cleaning is also important to decrease the amounts of mineral build up along with preventing harmful things from growing. The day-to-day cleaning should just involve wiping everything down before and after use with a clean cloth and warm soapy water. Forming a habit of doing this on a daily basis can cut down on the many things listed above that can cause health problems. Antibacterial wipes can also be useful when cleaning your coffee maker and pot, but dish soaps work just as well.
The coffee maker is an appliance that is frequently used in most homes pretty much on a daily basis. This appliance can be overlooked when it comes to cleaning and maintaining. As noted above, proper cleaning of your coffee maker not only cuts down on bacteria and other things harmful to your health but also minimizes mineral build up and removes debris both of which can cause your coffee not to taste fresh. Fresh coffee is the goal of having a coffee maker, so doing whatever you can to continue having the best coffee you can have is very important.
Using the tips above will help assure you have a quality tasting brew you desire along with helping to keep you healthy in the process.