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Did You Clean That? · No. 07

Your Coffee Maker: the one-page checklist

Things everybody uses. Almost nobody cleans.

Check these parts

  • Water reservoir
  • Lid and spray head
  • Brew basket
  • Carafe and warming plate
  • Drip tray

What you need

  • White vinegar, or the descaler your manufacturer recommends
  • Dish soap and a soft brush
  • Microfiber cloths
  • Fresh water for the rinse cycles

Do it in this order

  1. 01. Check the manual for your descaler. Some machines, especially pod and espresso machines, void the warranty if you run vinegar through them. Two minutes of reading beats a new machine.
  2. 02. Wash the removable parts daily. Basket, carafe, lid. Warm soapy water, soft brush in the corners, then dry. Coffee oils are the taste problem, and soap is the whole fix.
  3. 03. Descale the machine. Fill the reservoir with equal parts white vinegar and water, or your descaler at the labeled dilution. Run half a brew cycle, stop it, let it sit thirty minutes, then finish the cycle.
  4. 04. Rinse twice, minimum. Two or three full cycles of plain water. If you can still smell vinegar, run another one. Nobody wants a pickled latte.
  5. 05. Wipe the spray head and the lid. The underside of the lid and the little shower head above the basket collect gunk you never see. Damp cloth, then dry.
  6. 06. Leave the reservoir open to dry. Lid up between uses. A reservoir that dries out does not grow anything.

Don't do this

  • · Don't run vinegar through a pod or espresso machine unless the manual says you can.
  • · Don't skip the rinse cycles. Vinegar taste lingers for days.
  • · Don't put the carafe lid or the machine base in the dishwasher unless it is marked dishwasher safe.
  • · Don't leave wet grounds in the basket overnight. That is where the sour smell starts.

Know when to stop

If the machine leaks from the base, trips a breaker, or still brews slow and cool after a proper descale, stop. That is a heating element or a pump, and it is usually cheaper to replace the machine than to repair it.

LaLa says

“If your coffee started tasting off and you blamed the beans, the beans would like a word.”