How To Clean a Drip Coffeemaker?

Answer 1

Almost everyone likes coffee, but surprisingly few know how to keep their drip coffeemaker churning out great-tasting cups of java. Fortunately, the solution is quite simple: Keep the coffeemaker clean. Coffee residue imparts a bitter taste to future brews, so its regular removal is essential for keeping the coffee smooth and delicious.

How to clean a drip coffeemaker:

1)Dump out the old grinds, and put an empty filter in place. Also make sure the carafe is empty.

2)Run 3 cups of white vinegar through the coffeemaker. When that’s done, let it sit in the carafe for ½ hour. By leaving it in the carafe, you’ll be dislodging old coffee residue and minerals from its sides, making it easy to wash up to like-new status.

3)After the previous vinegar has sat for the ½ hour, remove the empty filter from its basket. Run another cup of vinegar through without emptying the carafe of the first batch.

4)Once it’s all run, empty the carafe. You can save the vinegar for future cleanings, since it only picks up a bit of coffee each time. When it gets too dark looking, it’s time for a new bottle.

5)Run two full carafes of clean water through the drip coffeemaker.

6)Wash the filter basket and carafe with warm, soapy water. Rinse well, so your next batch of coffee doesn’t taste like soap.

That’s all there is to the actual steps of how to clean a drip coffeemaker, but there are a few other things you should know to ensure good coffee with every run.

The next main consideration is how often to vinegar-clean your coffeemaker. A major manufacturer recommends this type of cleaning every 40 cycles for hard water, and every 80 cycles for soft. The difference is because hard water carries more minerals, which can jam the tubing inside of the maker.

An easy way to keep track of when to clean a coffeemaker is to watch your filter usage. Basket filters usually come in nested stacks of 50 apiece. If you clean your coffeemaker between each stack, you’ll be doing it every 50 cycles. No calendar is required, and an every-50-pot cleaning cycle is close enough to manufacturer suggestions to be enough unless you have extremely hard water.

Of course, in between vinegar cleanings, it’s a good idea to wash the carafe and filter basket in the regular soap-and-water way. This not only keeps the coffee tasting good, it will keep your carafe looking nice and new.

With your clean drip coffeemaker, you can now enjoy coffee that lets the good taste of your beans come through.