Cleaning Your Coffee Maker??

[Turk]

How often do you clean your coffee maker, or better yet, how often "should" we be cleaning our coffee makers?

Not just the pot, the entire water path. The filter housing, the lid (that condensed water drips from) and the water holding vessel?

What do you clean it with? Vinegar does not kill Bacteria and viruses...

 

[StevieC]

Hey,

We are on well-water and clean our Coffee Maker once per week. We put in 50% Vinegar and 50% water. The acidity of the vinegar combined with the temperature of the water to brew kills everything in the coffee-maker. Anything over 140oF which ours is with this kind of Acidity and you're pretty much guaranteed it's safe.

I work in the food industry btw.

 

[Pablo]

To really clean coffee scunge and start fresh you can use NaOH or KOH, if you know what you are doing. Vinegar won't touch it.

Rinse well!

 

[Gary Allan]

Acetic acid (vinegar) does the calcium/mag deposits good enough. Boiling water should handle the bacteria. Well water, as was mentioned, needs tending to more than river/reservoir water. The hardness tends to be higher.

 

[97tbird]

about once a week.

 

[Crashbox]

There's this stuff for cleaning coffee makers called "Dip-It" which has been around for a very long time though I've never used it myself. However, it is apparently quite strong as it contains sulfamic and citric acids (and likely other goodies too); IIRC there was talk about pulling it from the market some years back because of its ingredients which makes me think that it works *very* good.

As Pabs said, rinse well!

 

[Solo2driver]

ARX it....keep an eye out for leaks.

*ducks*

 

[sciphi]

I've used vinegar before with good results...

 

[MarkC]

KOH is nasty stuff. We used baths of it to etch accelerometer patterns onto silicon wafers at Honeywell.
I've only used vinegar in my coffeemaker and everything's fine.

 

[Pablo]

NaOH is a stronger base than K0H. Yes is will etch aluminum, among other things. Vinegar didn't touch the scunge on the work coffee maker at one place of employ, so the guy who actually invented WD-40 (yes him) suggested a strong base to get the organic crud. Worked like a champ. If vinegar does the job, well that's better, but it didn't in this case.

 

[Iain]

Originally Posted By: Crashbox
There's this stuff for cleaning coffee makers called "Dip-It" which has been around for a very long time though I've never used it myself. However, it is apparently quite strong as it contains sulfamic and citric acids (and likely other goodies too); IIRC there was talk about pulling it from the market some years back because of its ingredients which makes me think that it works *very* good.

As Pabs said, rinse well!

I've used Dip It; works well. However, it's probably off the market as it's impossible to find these days.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: Solo2driver
ARX it....keep an eye out for leaks.

*ducks*

 

[MarkC]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
NaOH is a stronger base than K0H. Yes is will etch aluminum, among other things. Vinegar didn't touch the scunge on the work coffee maker at one place of employ, so the guy who actually invented WD-40 (yes him) suggested a strong base to get the organic crud. Worked like a champ. If vinegar does the job, well that's better, but it didn't in this case.


Sounds like a couple of lyes....

 

[Crashbox]

Originally Posted By: Iain
Originally Posted By: Crashbox
There's this stuff for cleaning coffee makers called "Dip-It" which has been around for a very long time though I've never used it myself. However, it is apparently quite strong as it contains sulfamic and citric acids (and likely other goodies too); IIRC there was talk about pulling it from the market some years back because of its ingredients which makes me think that it works *very* good.

As Pabs said, rinse well!

I've used Dip It; works well. However, it's probably off the market as it's impossible to find these days.


I Googled the name earlier this morning and found it for sale at Amazon.com and others. Can't recall the last time I saw it on the shelf though...

 

[moribundman]

I remove scale build-up from my drip coffee maker, which I don't use all that much, every 3 months with citric acid.

 

[MarkC]

You mean you're not a lyer?

 

[Pablo]

Are you saying AutoRx contains lye??? I saw the pictures!!!

 

[Crashbox]

Hmmm... though I do not have sulfamic acid in stock, citric acid is something I do have- maybe I'll mix a few tablespoons in a carafeful and run 'er through, followed by thorough rinses...

I also have oxalic acid which would work well but it is a bit toxic...

This thread was an excellent reminder to clean the machine, much appreciated.

 

[Pablo]

Actually citric would be better than vinegar. Available at wine and brew shops as well as the narcotics dispensarium in your hood.

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: MarkC
You mean you're not a lyer?


No, I'm more the acerbic type.