With a great cup of coffee comes great hassle. Anyone who owns a coffee maker has to deal with the hassle of cleaning it. Especially the pain knows no bound when your coffee maker is an espresso maker. But worry not, with proper instructions, cleaning a coffee machine will be a breeze. Following is a complete guide on how to clean a coffee maker effortlessly at home.
The first step of cleaning your coffee machine, is knowing its type. You know there are different types of electric coffee makers.
To check out our detailed guide on different types of electric coffee makers. Anyways, different coffee machines have different cleaning methods.
Just follow the techniques of how to clean a coffee maker according to the type of your coffee machine. So let’s dig in—
Table of Contents
How Often To Clean Coffee Maker?
That’s an important question. Cleaning a coffee maker daily is literally impossible. Also, you do not need to clean the machine every day. But it needs to be cleaned sometimes.
Because your coffee maker will be sticky and smelly if you do not clean it for a long time. Besides, it will affect the taste of your coffee. Your coffee will taste unusual and obviously bad.
In our opinion, you should clean your coffee makers every two weeks. If you use it more often, then you may need to clean it once a week.
But you should rinse your coffee maker with only water every 2-3 days. Just pour the water and turn on the machine. This way you can skip cleaning your coffee maker more often.
On the other hand, the coffee maker pots get calcified for prolonged water use. Cleaning your coffee maker is also important for decalcifying purposes.
Use a good quality coffee maker cleaner. Or you can use a home made cleaning mixture at home. Below we have provided some details on coffee maker cleaners.
Coffee Maker Cleaner?
There are a lot of ingredients which work great for cleaning a coffee machine. You can use a combination of different elements for the best result. But the suitable cleaner would contain the elements which will clean it well without leaving any trace after cleaning or rinsing.
For example, despite being a strong and efficient cleaner, vinegar solution leaves a trace after cleaning, which affects the aftertaste of the coffee.
Some elements like lemon, baking soda, dishwashing liquid also work just fine for a coffee maker. They do not affect the aftertaste of your coffee.
Vinegar gives a strong aftertaste to your coffee if you clean your machine with only vinegar. But you can use other agents to tone down its strong taste.
For that, you can make a cleaning mixture for cleaning your coffee maker. This cleaning mixture works like a charm and doesn’t even affect the taste of your coffee.
Following is the recipe:
- Half a cup of white vinegar
- Baking soda 1 tbsp
- Dish soap 1 tbsp
- Clean Water 1 Cup
Mix the vinegar & dish soap in a bowl. And mix the baking soda and water in another bowl. Use the vinegar one first then use the baking soda mixture to neutralize any remaining vinegar in the coffee maker.
But making this mixture every day seems like an extra hassle. So we would suggest to use commercial coffee maker cleaners for the best result.
Best Coffee Maker Cleaner
Making the cleaning mixture every day is as troublesome as making the coffee. Who has the energy to even clean the coffee machine? Still, we have to clean it for the sake of a perfect cup of coffee every time. In our opinion, buying coffee maker cleaners is the best solution to avoid this hassle.
A good quality coffee maker cleaner will make the cleaning more effortless. There are many type of cleaners intended for different type of coffee machines, just choose one.
Our favorite coffee maker cleaner is the Essential Values Universal Descaling Solution which is quite a mesmerizer for cleaning any type of coffee maker.
This product is a liquid based cleaner, just pour it and turn on your coffee maker like you’re making coffee. It is as simple as that. Our coffee maker became totally odorless, non-sticky, and just as fresh as a daisy.
Despite being a little bit expensive, this is the only one which totally satisfied us. It didn’t affect the taste of our coffee even a bit. This cleaner delivered an overall satisfactory service. You can use any coffee maker available in the market for easy cleaning.
How To Clean A Coffee Maker?
Now come to the real part, how to clean a coffee maker. You know when to clean your coffee machine, you know about coffee machine cleaners. Now you are in the last step. The cleaning step!
With the same cleaner or cleaning mixture, you can clean all types of coffee makers. But the method is different. Cleaning an espresso machine or a French press has much difference.
Because they work differently. You know about their parts and how they work. If so, half of your work is already done. Follow the below instructions:
How To Clean A French Press
You should clean your French press after every time you use it. No, directly washing in the sink isn’t the correct way. Because that way your sink may clog. The first thing is disposing of the coffee residue. Since we do not use a filter in a French press, we should try to clean it thoroughly.
The first step is separating the parts of your French press. For those of you don’t know, a French press has five parts. Pitcher, cross plate, mesh filter, spiral plate and lastly, the plunger rod. Disassemble the parts for proper cleaning.
The good news is, some of the French press coffee makers are dish washer safe. You can throw in all the components in the dishwasher. Although cleaning the mesh filter is a little spiny.
You can clean it with your own hands. Use a brush, and clean it under running water. Using some vinegar can come handy to vanish the strong odor.
Another important step is to let it dry. Dry off the parts well, so that it does not form rust. After that, assemble the parts. Finally, you’re good to go. So that is how to clean a coffee maker if it’s a French press.
We wouldn’t suggest to spend money on coffee maker cleaners. Because just a little vinegar and dish washing soap do the work pretty much perfectly. But you can use some coffee maker cleaner if you do not want to compromise with the taste.
How To Clean Espresso Machine
Many of you wanted to know how to clean a Keurig coffee maker. To us, the espresso machine seems the most painful to clean. It can not be disassembled like a French press. On the other hand, the mechanism is so much complicated that it makes it even tough to clean.
But worry not, you do not have to clean it every day. Follow our instructions for how to make a coffee maker if its an espresso. Cleaning an espresso machine is where you should utilize the cleaning mixture or coffee maker cleaner.
Because only a few parts are removable. For cleaning the fixed parts, you’ll need a few tools. A small nylon brush or special cleaning brush comes quite handy for cleaning them. Start by preparing the cleaning mixture or cleaner. Prepare our home made cleaning mixture.
Or you can buy some coffee maker cleaner. At first, take the cleaner as per instruction. You can take as much or as small amount as you need. If the product needs to be diluted, do it with water.
Use the brush to scrub the fixed parts. Scrub the basket, porta filter and the group gasket with the cleaning brush. You should make sure the parts are properly cleaned. Then wash these parts with hot water.
Then wash the removable parts with either soapy water or coffee maker cleaner. Pat it dry with paper towel or tissue. And that’s how to clean a coffee maker or an espresso machine.
How To Clean A Drip Coffee Maker
Among all types of coffee makers, cleaning the drip coffee maker is the easiest. Compared to other types, cleaning it is literally a breeze. You do not need any accessory tool or brush, just the cleaner will do the job.
Like an espresso one, you’ll need a cleaning mixture here too. Take a store bought one and prepare it as per instruction. Although you can use a home made cleaner too.
Dilute the mixture with an equal amount of water and pour it in the pot. Then brew it. You do not need to follow any special method, brew it just like brewing coffee.
Now the second part, throw out the brewed mixture. Your primary cleaning is done. Now fill the water reservoir up the machine with water to its highest capacity. Again brew it. After one brewing cycle, throw it again. You can then use some room temp. water to rinse the carafe with cold water.
Remember, while cleaning coffee maker with vinegar, try to remove it as much as you can. Because vinegar leaves a sharp taste that affects the flavor of your coffee.
Rinse it properly. Or you can use some baking soda solution too. So that’s how to clean a coffee maker for a drip machine.
How To Remove Calcium Buildup In Coffee Maker
Calcium or mineral build up or calcification is quite a problem for coffee makers. For this reason, we can not use coffee makers for a long time. Heavy use of coffee makers results in calcium build up most of the time. But that doesn’t mean your coffee maker is now trash. You can prevent calcification on your coffee maker. Also, you can remove the calcium build up if already formed.
Removing calcification is an important part of how to clean a coffee maker. According to our experience, vinegar works best to remove calcium build up from coffee maker. You can use it to clean the calcified parts easily. If the part is fixed with the machine, use a brush to scrub the calcium layer.
Scrub and remove the layer as much as you can. Also, you can use some Descaling solution to get even better results. You can buy a Descaling solution (also known as coffee maker cleaner) from the link we already provided.
Removing the calcium layer is quite a breeze for coffee maker pots. Just pour in some Descaling solution or vinegar and brew it. That way you can get rid of all the calcium layers of your favorite coffee maker. So that’s how to clean a coffee maker with a calcium layer.
How To Clean A Coffee Maker Without Vinegar
Many people want to skip vinegar because it leaves a strong odor and taste of vinegar. This further affects the flavor of the coffee. The vinegar is quite an insistent product that does not go away even after rinsing it multiple times.
Many of you asked some efficient methods on how to clean a coffee maker without vinegar. So here it is- As an alternative to vinegar, you can use dish soap. Also, you can use a descaling agent that works as great as vinegar.
Both of them can provide an excellent result without leaving any taste or odor. Rinsing your coffee machine with warm water also works just fine. You can neutralize the taste of vinegar with baking soda. That way you can use the vinegar without affecting the flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Clean My Coffee Maker With Apple Cider Vinegar?
Apple cider vinegar has a strong odor. So we wouldn’t suggest using it.
How Long Do Coffee Makers Last?
If you can use it properly and take good care, it may last several years.
How To Unclog Coffee Maker?
Use a mixture of baking soda and vinegar to unclog your coffee maker.
How Long Can I Keep The Coffee Machine Cleaning Mixture?
You can keep it in an airtight container for several months.
Can You Leave A Coffee Maker All Day?
Cleaning the coffee maker right after making coffee is the best idea. But you can leave it to clean after you get back from work.
In Conclusion
So that’s how to clean a coffee maker at home. Now you won’t have to compromise the flavor of your favorite coffee. Also, your coffee maker will last longer. Try these methods at home and enjoy the perfect cup of coffee. Have a nice day!
