How To Clean Your Coffee Maker The Easy Way

Delicious coffee at home is a wonderful thing. But for your daily cups to taste great, you absolutely need a clean coffee maker—it makes a big difference, whether you’ve got a single-cup coffee maker or a larger one. For starters, after every use you should clean the coffee carafe, clean out your reusable coffee filter (if you’re using one), and clean any other removable parts, preferably with fragrance-free, degreasing dish soap. Then, once a month, you should deep clean the whole coffee maker; you can do this with vinegar or a with few other items, depending on what you have in your house.

Follow the basic steps below to keep your coffee maker running full steam ahead. And, if you really don’t want to deal with cleaning a coffee maker yourself, scroll down for the scoop on the Mr. Coffee 12-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker with Dishwashable Design!

THE ONCE-A-MONTH BASIC CLEANING METHOD (FOR DRIP COFFEE MAKERS):
1. Clean with White Vinegar
Your goal is to dissolve the calcium deposits that have built up in the coffee maker through continual use. Empty the coffee carafe and clean out the filter. Then add white vinegar and water to the coffee maker. You want to use around half as much vinegar as you have water.If your coffee maker has a clean function, use this function to run the most effective clean cycle. If your coffee maker does not have a clean function, simply press Brew Now as if you were brewing a regular pot of coffee. Then brew this mixture as if you were brewing a regular pot of coffee.

2. Wait 30 Minutes
When the cleaning or brewing is done, let the coffee maker sit 15-30 minutes for the mixture to really do its job. Then dump out the vinegar brew, toss the filter or rinse the permanent filter, and rinse the carafe thoroughly.

3. Repeat Twice, with Water Only
Repeat this process with pure water to remove any remaining vinegar, then completely empty the water and run the coffee maker one last time using only water. Again, that's two water-only brews, emptying the water between each one.

After that, your sparkling-clean coffee maker will be ready for coffee again! You should immediately notice a cleaner taste.

AN EVEN EASIER METHOD? TRY A DISHWASHER-FRIENDLY COFFEE MAKER:

You can enjoy delicious, clean-tasting coffee all the time with the Mr. Coffee 12-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker with Dishwashable Design. The easy-to-clean design makes the coffee maker simple to take apart and reassemble, and dishwashing removes bitter coffee residue by thoroughly cleaning the parts of the coffee maker exposed to coffee grounds and water.*

SOME OTHER OPTIONS & TIPS:
• You can also swap out white vinegar for apple cider vinegar, but keep in mind apple cider has a stronger taste, so it may linger a bit more. Or you can use lemon juice, using equal parts lemon juice and water. Then finish with two more brews of just water, as described above.

• You can also try running a brew with a mixture of one part baking soda to four parts warm water. Make sure to remove your filter first. Stir the water and baking soda together before you put it in the coffee maker so it doesn’t clump up and clog the coffee maker. Then, as above, finish with two more brews of just water.

• One more tip: For cleaning your carafe, try swirling a little rice in it with some warm sudsy water, for a nice clean sparkle!

*CAUTION: The electrical base, power cord, and plug of the Dishwashable Coffee Maker are not dishwasher-safe and should never be immersed in water or other liquids.

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