Things You'll Need
Coffee pot
Vinegar
Water
For millions of users every day, coffee pots provide great tasting coffee at a low price. Yet without regular maintenance, coffee pots can malfunction or even stop working. By cleaning the coffee pot regularly and removing calcium deposits, your coffee pots will lasting longer and your coffee will taste better. Use these simple steps to clean your coffee pot once a month.
Step 1
Clean out any coffee from the coffee pot. Remove the filter and any grounds from the filter basket. Wash out the carafe with hot water. Replace all the parts of the coffee pot, but do not place a fresh filter in the basket.
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Step 2
Pour a solution of one part water to one part vinegar into the water compartment of the coffee pot. The amount will depend on the size of your pot.
Step 3
Turn on the coffee pot, and allow the cycle to run until about half of the water has processed through into the pot. Turn off or unplug the unit, and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Step 4
Run the coffee pot through the rest of the cycle. Turn the pot back on, and allow the cycle to finish. Once the vinegar solution has completely passed through the pot, wash out the carafe.
Step 5
Rinse the coffee pot. Pour fresh water into the coffee pot, and run a full cycle.
Step 6
Let the coffee pot rest for 10 minutes after that cycle, then run more fresh water through the coffee pot. Discard the water, wash the carafe and replace it for regular use.
Tip
Calcium deposits are a normal part of the coffee brewing process. Cleaning regularly, however, minimizes the damage done by those calcium deposits. Set-in calcium deposits might require several cycles of the vinegar and water solution. If you find calcium deposits present after the first cycle of vinegar solution, prepare another solution and repeat the process. Some suggest using fewer amounts of vinegar for calcium deposit removal. For a 12-cup coffee pot, 2 tbsp could provide some help in removing deposits; however, the higher the concentration of vinegar, the more powerful the force of the cleaning.
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