How to Restore a Coffee Maker
A coffee maker can become clogged and stained with use, but you can restore it to a clean condition so that it continues to brew tasty, fresh coffee. As water heats in a coffee maker it evaporates, leaving behind the minerals that were suspended in it. Lime scale can develop, lending a bad flavor to your coffee and causing poor circulation in the coffee maker. Removing the scale requires a mild acid solution to dissolve the buildup. If the buildup is heavy, you may need to repeat the cleaning process several times. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Wash your coffee pot and the insides of your coffee maker with warm water. Do not submerge the electrical components of your coffee maker. Mix white vinegar and water 50/50, add one tablespoon lemon juice, and pour it into the water reservoir. Let it sit for five minutes.
-
2
Place the pot under the drip basket, making sure no filter or old coffee is in the basket. Turn on the coffee maker. When the pot is half full, turn off the coffee maker, and let the pot stand until cool, about a half-hour. Turn the coffee maker back on again and let it finish the brew cycle. Dump the vinegar-water down the sink.
-
-
3
Refill the coffee maker with clean water, and run it through the brew cycle again. Dump the water down the sink. Smell the reservoir and the carafe for any vinegar scent. If you detect any, run more clean water through the coffee maker's brew cycle until no vinegar smell remains.
-
4
Clean the stains on the carafe by filling it with ice to the top then adding one cup of rock salt and water to the top. Mix the ice around for five minutes to scrub the sides of the glass. Continue until the carafe is clean. Dump the mixture down the sink and wash the coffee pot to remove the salt.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If the vinegar smell is persistent, run one pot of water through mixed with one tablespoon of baking soda.
Wait for the carafe to cool completely before putting ice in it, or you may crack it.
References
- Photo Credit Thomas Northcut/Photodisc/Getty Images
