Whether you brew delicious coffee in a drip coffee maker or a single cup coffee maker, knowing how to clean a coffee maker is critical. Properly taking care of a coffee maker can significantly improve quality of coffee and increase longevity of a coffee maker. When regularly cleaned and maintained, a coffee maker can serve a lot longer.
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How to clean a coffee maker? Can I clean a coffee maker with natural ingredients? Can I clean a coffee maker without vinegar?
Owly Choice reader Danielle
Thank you, Danielle, for your question. As a matter of fact, when I bought my first coffee maker, I had no idea the machine had to be descaled or decalcified regularly. (These words did not exist in my vocabulary at a time.)
Because water in my area was rather hard and rich in minerals, I should have thoroughly cleaned my coffee maker at least once a month. Since I did not know how to clean a coffee maker, the machine did not last for more than 12 months. It was not expensive, but it was a headache to look for a new machine. Lesson learned.
Comparison of ways to clean a coffee maker
Why should you clean your coffee maker regularly?
→ Cleaning a coffee maker to mitigate growth of bacteria and mold
Coffee makers can host more germs than toilet seats. Yes, you heard it right.
In a 2011, the NSF International, a public health and safety organization that tests, inspects and certifies, showed that coffee makers can harbor more germs than wallets or toilet seats. Here’s what the study found:
- 50% of tested coffee makers contained yeast and mold, and
- 9% of tested coffee makers contained coliform bacteria, which can cause intestinal problems, kidney failure, and other ailments.
The environment inside coffee makers is warm and moist. It is conducive for bacterial growth. Therefore, keeping the machine clean inside and outside is critical to avoid any possible health hazards.
Presence of coliform bacteria in our belongings, according to the 2011 NSF Int. study
→ Cleaning a coffee maker can extend its lifespan
In the article about the best water to use in brewing coffee, we discussed the impact of hard vs soft water on coffee makers and coffee flavors. We have determined that medium water hardness is desirable due to mineral contents. Those mineral contents interact with coffee particles to brew delicious and rich beverage.
Though beneficial to flavor, hard water is not so appealing for coffee makers. It leaves mineral deposits inside coffee machines. If not cleaned properly, those mineral deposits can and will, in time, break the machine.
Though it is possible to filter the water with Brita Intenza+, the filter is not going to replace regular cleaning.
How to clean a coffee maker? 🧽
The NSF International makes recommendations regarding best practices on cleaning coffee makers:
- wash removable components (filters and carafes) after each use,
- wipe the outer surface of a coffee maker daily,
- clean internal components of the machine at least once a month or after every 40-60 brews, and
- follow cleaning and maintenance recommendations from the user manual.
Cleaning a coffee maker can be super easy
It may sound like a lot, but don’t get scared! Cleaning your coffee machine is not as difficult and as time consuming as it may look at a first glance.
Basically, there are two types of cleaning procedures that you need to engage in if you want your coffee maker to stay in a perfect shape. Let’s dive into them:
- Routine cleaning after each use
- Descaling and de-calcifying (once a month or once every other month)
→ #1. Routine cleaning after each use
Steps to regularly clean a coffee maker
- Switch off the machine.
- Empty the filter of any used coffee grounds, k-cups or pods.
- Empty the carafe of any leftover coffee.
- Disassemble parts that come in contact with coffee and water, e.g. brew basket, pack holder, basket lid, brew basket, funnel, filter, carafe, drip tray, and removable reservoir. Wash them with warm water and dish soap to remove any residual coffee grounds and coffee oils.
- Let those elements air dry.
- With a wet cloth, wipe the hot plate (if any), and wipe the whole outside surface of the machine to get rid of dust and any dried drops of coffee.
- Leave the water tank lid open to allow the inside of the reservoir to dry completely.
A coffee maker needs to be cleaned after each use. This is to remove any leftover water, coffee or coffee grounds.
Level of difficulty: easy (but depends on a complexity of a coffee maker)
Frequency:Â after each use
What is needed:Â warm water, dish soap, wet cloth, drying rack
→ #2. Descaling and de-calcifying
Coffee machines should come with instructions. Those instructions specify not only how to clean, but also how often to clean coffee makers. Some coffee makers need descaling or de-calcifying more often than others.
There are three ways to descale a coffee maker:
- Descaling a coffee maker with vinegar
- Descaling a coffee maker with decalficier
- Descaling a coffee maker with citric acid
Descaling, also known as de-calcifying, aims to remove any hardened mineral residue from inside the coffee maker. This happens through running water mixed with some sort of acidic solution through the brewer. In this process, an acidic substance breaks the mineral deposits, and kills any mold, yeast or bacteria that might have grown inside the coffee machine.
While some machines have descaling cycles that follow certain steps set by the manufacturer, others need you to be the one fully in charge of the descaling process.
Level of difficulty: between easy to moderate (depends on a complexity of a coffee maker)
Steps to decalcify or descale a coffee maker
If your machine has no cleaning cycle, the steps for cleaning are as follows:
- Pour a mixture of acid and water (following the recommended quantities) into an empty water reservoir until the water tank has been filled.
- Start a brewing cycle.
- Stop the brewing cycle in the middle (when half of the mixture in the tank has been used) and allow the descaling solution to sit inside the machine for at least 30 minutes.
- Restart the brewing cycle using the remaining quantity of descaling solution inside the water tank.
- Empty the carafe and clean it, clean the water tank and refill it with fresh water.
- Run two whole brewing cycles again, using only water.
- Allow the coffee machine to rest for 15 minutes between cycles.
How often should I descale my coffee maker?
| Water hardness | Super automatic espresso maker | Drip coffee maker |
|---|---|---|
| Very soft (0-3° dH) | 6 months | 4 months |
| Soft (4-7° dH) | 3 months | 4 months |
| Soft (8-14° dH) | 2 months | 4 months |
| Medium (15-21° dH) | 6 weeks | 4 months |
| Low hard (22-25° dH) | 4 weeks | 2.5 months |
| High hard (25+° dH) | 3 weeks | 2.5 months |
The frequency of descaling and de-calcifying depends on the following factors:
- Water hardness in your area. Hard water leaves more residual minerals behind, so descaling will have to be done more often. Soft water contains very few minerals, so descaling once a month might be sufficient.
- Frequency with which you brew coffee in your coffee maker. A coffee maker that brews more than once a day will need to go through deep de-calcification more often.
Cleaning a coffee maker with white vinegar
Vinegar is a natural product used not only to bring extra flavor to salads, but also as a home cleaner. It cleans and sanitizes at the same time. What we love about vinegar is that it is
- free of chemicals, and
- safe for our health (used in proper quantities).
How to use it?
Ingredients: 1 cup of water, 1 cup of white vinegar
Instructions: mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of white vinegar. Run through the machine.
Warnings:
- Other types of vinegar (balsamic, apple) can leave residue inside the machine
- For the machines made mainly of plastic, we recommend using less vinegar (1/2 cup) and more water (1 cup). Vinegar might be too acidic for these machines, thus leading to malfunctions.
Cleaning a coffee maker with a decalcifier
According to a study done by Saeco, chemical de-calcifiers are almost 3 times faster than vinegar at descaling. Decalcifiers contain acidic components like lactic acid, sulfamic acid or critic acid in different percentages. Sometimes they can even contain a combination of two acids.
The decalcifier has to be mixed with water according to the instructions on the package in order to make the descaling solution.
It is advisable to use the type of decalcifier that a manufacturer recommends (typically found in the user manual). If the manufacturer does not make any recommendations, any decalcifier will should work, depending on your budget and personal preferences.
Cleaning a coffee maker with citric acid
Vinegar might put some people off because of its smell. So, if you prefer natural products but do not want your coffee maker to smell like vinegar, the odorless citric acid might be a good fit.
A solution made with 10 grams, or 0.35oz, of citric acid powder mixed in 32oz of water, could be the new best thing for your coffee machine. Citric acid powder can be found in the baking section of most supermarkets.
Owly’s conclusion
The final reminder is this: always make sure to read your coffee machine’s instruction manual first. Make sure you are being cautious while using the decalcifiers (they are acids, after all, and they can burn your skin). And always find the time to clean your coffee machine!
Thanks for the question, Danielle. If you’re an Owly Choice reader who’d like us to answer a question of your own, tweet us at @owlychoice, message us on Facebook or email us!
What do you think?
Do you have any other ways of cleaning a coffee maker? What method did you find most useful?
Let us know in the comments!
I have never descaled my coffee maker with vinegar, decalficier or citric acid. I use it everyday and after each usage I wash it with water without soap.
Hello, thank you for these recommendations above how to clean coffee maker. I use white vinegar and citric acid to clean my coffee maker. I can confirm that these cleaning methods are very effective.
Hi, Joanna,
So great to hear you have found citric acid and white vinegar to be effective methods on how to clean your coffee maker! 🙂