Coffee. Something 64% of the American population drinks on a daily basis. It’s amazing and can start your day on the right foot, or make a bad day much better. The downside here is that lurking inside your coffee pot can be yeast, mold, and E.coli if you aren’t cleaning your coffee maker correctly. And most people aren’t. We know that you aren’t supposed to run it through the dishwasher, so what are you supposed to do?  

Because there are so many different types of coffee makers, we wanted to round up the most common ones and how to clean them properly. 

Drip Coffee Maker

You need three ingredients for cleaning your drip coffee maker. Water, white vinegar and baking soda. 

• Mix equal parts water to vinegar and run that through your machine, minus any grounds. When that’s done, dump the solution, and run clean water through.

•  Depending on how long it’s been since your coffee maker was last cleaned, you might need to repeat this step more than once, using fresh water and vinegar each time. 

• If your coffee pot is horribly stained, use mix 2 tbsp of baking soda and 10 drops of soap together, and clean out your coffee pot with a soft sponge. 

• If the stains remain, mix together four cups of hot water and two cups of baking soda and allow the pot to soak overnight. 
  
  
  

Once you’ve gone through all of this, make sure that you rinse your reusable filter, the brew basket and the coffee pot with warm soapy water after each use. Not only do you ensure that the machine keeps running well but you also make sure your coffee tastes great. 

Espresso machines

For some a drip coffee maker isn’t enough. They love coffee, and they expect perfection. For these people, an espresso machine is a must. However, with that comes levels of complexity that those of us with our drip coffee makers don’t have to worry about. That complexity also means the cleaning process is complex. 

While the entire process of cleaning an espresso machine is worth an entire post of its own, it can be simplified down to 8 steps. 

1. Disassemble your espresso machine. 

2. Create a cleaning solution with water and the directed amount of espresso machine cleaner. 

3. Using a small nylon brush, scrub the basket, group gasket and the portafilter with the cleaning solution. Rinse with warm water and set aside to dry. 

4. Separate the screen from the group, using a screwdriver if needed. Scrub both sides of the screen as well as the interior of the group. 

5. Check your manual to see if backwashing or backflushing is suggested. If so, put a blind basket into the filter and attach it to the group. Put the directed amount of cleaning solution into the reservoir and then run as directed.

6. Remove the blind basket and rinse thoroughly with warm water. 

7. Clean the steam arm with hot water and wiping it down thoroughly. 

8. Remove and clean the drip tray.

If you want to read the entire process, check out this post over at Home Depot.

Percolators

The humble percolator was the predecessor to the drip coffee maker for most households. In some ways, it gives a heartier flavor, and so some view it as better. In the case of cleaning, there are many more parts that you have to disassemble and clean regularly. So, we’d say it’s a draw. 

The percolator is very similar to a drip coffee maker, just reversed.

• Fill the percolator with water and add three tablespoons of baking soda. Turn it on and let it run for a cycle. 

• Allow the water to cool then scrub the inside with a brush.

•  Discard the water and rinse thoroughly with warm water. 

• Next fill it with half water and half white vinegar. Again, run it through a full cycle and then discard the solution. 

• Finally, run a cycle with fresh clean water.  

  
  

While you really should hand wash your perk after each use, you can do this set up once a month. 

French Press Coffee Makers

The French press (or plunger pot as it’s also known) allows for the full coffee oils to make its way into your cup because it doesn’t use a filter. It is surprisingly easy to use and clean in comparison to some of the other coffee makers on our list. 

• Remove the plunger from your French Press and fill the maker with warm water. 

• Swirl the water around to loosen the coffee grounds. 

• Holding a mesh strainer over your kitchen sink, pour the water and grounds into it. 

• Toss the grounds into the trash, or your compost heap and set the strainer aside. 

• Clean the maker, the press and the strainer with warm water, a brush and some soap. If you have persistent coffee residue, sprinkle some baking soda over your brush and scrub the maker again. 

• Rinse thoroughly first with warm water and then with cool, so you aren’t tasting soap next time. 

While you can get away with just dumping the grounds and wiping the maker down with a damp cloth when you’re pressed with time, we recommend washing it this way. And make sure that you always let it dry well if you’re done using it for the day.  

When looking up this post, we weren’t expecting there to be so many varieties of coffee makers. There are ones we didn’t even include on this list like the Vietnamese coffee maker, an Aeropress, a Vacupot and more. We hope that you did find this useful though for one of the most important small appliances in your home. 

In the event the large appliances in your home are acting up, please feel free to call us or click here to set up an appointment today. We want to help you keep your home running in tip top shape. 

If you’re interested in learning how to care for other appliances in your home, let us know over on our Facebook. We’d love to hear from you.