By Mike Thayer
I’m an everyday coffee drinker, sometimes two cups in the morning, sometimes four – hello bathroom! I’m pretty much done drinking coffee by mid-morning, then it’s usually water for the rest of the day, once in a while I might treat myself to a soda.
So how often are you supposed to clean your coffee pot? You do clean it right? I mean, there’s more to keeping it clean than just rinsing the pot and the basket out….
I give my coffee pot an ‘internal cleanse’ about once a month using plain old vinegar. I brew a full 12 cup pot of a 50/50 water and white vinegar combination. I follow that up with another full pot, 11-1/2 cups of water and a 1/2 cup of vinegar. Then I run 3 pots of just plain water through to get rid of the vinegar smell, dumping the pots of hot vinegar water and then plain water down a drain each time*. Brewing vinegar water does a couple things. 1. Gets rid of scaling/hard water build up. 2. Gets rid of coffee residue and any possible bacteria/germ buildup. Over time, coffee oils leave a residue and if you didn’t know, the longer between ‘internal cleanses’ the more the residue build up and the more bitter your coffee becomes. And given the heat and moisture coffee makers produce, the reservoir can become a breeding ground for bacteria/germ buildup if not cleaned regularly. Always check the cleaning recommendations in the manufacturer’s manual for your machine.
*Tip, if you’ve got any slow drains in your house, that’s where you want to dump your vinegar water. Hot water + vinegar = a faster drain. Don’t confuse that with unclogging a drain. The hot water & vinegar is a preventive, not a cure, helping to remove sludge buildup in the pipes.
I don’t recommend washing your pot or basket in the dishwasher. While a dishwasher may clean a dishwasher safe pot just fine, dishwashers also prematurely age plastic. The lid for the pot (probably plastic), the handle for the pot (probably plastic) and the basket (most assuredly has some plastic) will suffer long term from repeated dishwasher washing. Not only that, but the key piece, the basket, may have some operational parts (like springs, and springs are metal) in it and those will suffer from the humidity a dishwasher creates.
I hand wash my coffee pot when required.
Giving your coffee pot a monthly ‘internal cleanse’ will give your coffee pot longer life and the most important thing – avoids bitter tasting coffee! Think about that the next time you have restaurant coffee……. If it tastes bitter……
$pend Wisely My Friends…
Help support the continued content for Shopping, Dining, Best Deals, Product & Service Reviews, Tips, Hacks, Recipes and other great information by buying me a coffee. Your support to keep Bachelor on the Cheap a free resource is much appreciated! ~ Mike
Cleaning the Coffee Pot – Bachelor on the Cheap
By Mike Thayer
I’m an everyday coffee drinker, sometimes two cups in the morning, sometimes four – hello bathroom! I’m pretty much done drinking coffee by mid-morning, then it’s usually water for the rest of the day, once in a while I might treat myself to a soda.
So how often are you supposed to clean your coffee pot? You do clean it right? I mean, there’s more to keeping it clean than just rinsing the pot and the basket out….
I give my coffee pot an ‘internal cleanse’ about once a month using plain old vinegar. I brew a full 12 cup pot of a 50/50 water and white vinegar combination. I follow that up with another full pot, 11-1/2 cups of water and a 1/2 cup of vinegar. Then I run 3 pots of just plain water through to get rid of the vinegar smell, dumping the pots of hot vinegar water and then plain water down a drain each time*. Brewing vinegar water does a couple things. 1. Gets rid of scaling/hard water build up. 2. Gets rid of coffee residue and any possible bacteria/germ buildup. Over time, coffee oils leave a residue and if you didn’t know, the longer between ‘internal cleanses’ the more the residue build up and the more bitter your coffee becomes. And given the heat and moisture coffee makers produce, the reservoir can become a breeding ground for bacteria/germ buildup if not cleaned regularly. Always check the cleaning recommendations in the manufacturer’s manual for your machine.
*Tip, if you’ve got any slow drains in your house, that’s where you want to dump your vinegar water. Hot water + vinegar = a faster drain. Don’t confuse that with unclogging a drain. The hot water & vinegar is a preventive, not a cure, helping to remove sludge buildup in the pipes.
I don’t recommend washing your pot or basket in the dishwasher. While a dishwasher may clean a dishwasher safe pot just fine, dishwashers also prematurely age plastic. The lid for the pot (probably plastic), the handle for the pot (probably plastic) and the basket (most assuredly has some plastic) will suffer long term from repeated dishwasher washing. Not only that, but the key piece, the basket, may have some operational parts (like springs, and springs are metal) in it and those will suffer from the humidity a dishwasher creates.
I hand wash my coffee pot when required.
Giving your coffee pot a monthly ‘internal cleanse’ will give your coffee pot longer life and the most important thing – avoids bitter tasting coffee! Think about that the next time you have restaurant coffee……. If it tastes bitter……
$pend Wisely My Friends…
Help support the continued content for Shopping, Dining, Best Deals, Product & Service Reviews, Tips, Hacks, Recipes and other great information by buying me a coffee. Your support to keep Bachelor on the Cheap a free resource is much appreciated! ~ Mike