How to Clean Your Coffee Maker

If you rely on your coffee maker for a morning pick-me-up, it may behoove you to show it a little love every month. Everything from hard water deposits to plain ol’ bacteria can linger in your coffee maker’s water reservoir. Without proper maintenance, this can shorten the life of your coffee maker, making for some very grumpy mornings. Follow our quick tips for cleaning your coffee maker and enjoy many more mornings in caffeinated heaven.

• Empty the carafe of any leftover coffee. Wash the carafe in hot soapy water and then rinse and dry it.
• Remove the coffee grounds and filter from the basket. Wash the basket in hot soapy water, rinse, dry and replace in the coffee maker.
• Pour a solution of 1-part white vinegar to 3-parts water into the reservoir of the coffee maker. For instance, with a 12-cup coffee maker, you would use 3 cups of vinegar and 9 cups of water.
• Run the coffee maker through one cycle with the vinegar solution. When cycle is complete, pour out vinegar solution.
• Run two more cycles of clean water through the coffee maker. This will help remove any leftover vinegar from the maker.
• Now that the coffee maker is clean on the inside, give the outside a once over as well. Use a sponge or washcloth to wipe the surfaces of the coffee maker. You may want to pay special attention to the warming plate on the coffee maker, where spilled coffee can collect and become burned messes.

TIPS FOR DAILY MAINTENANCE:
• Leave the lid of the water reservoir open after the coffee has brewed. The warm and moist reservoir can become a breeding ground for bacteria. Leaving the lid open will allow the reservoir to dry between uses.
• Wash the carafe and removable filter after every use.
• Dried up coffee in the carafe? Use a little salt to clean it out. Pour salt and a little water into the carafe and then swirl it around to help loosen up the residue. Be sure to thoroughly wash the carafe to remove any leftover salt.

For more appliance maintenance tips, check out these Kenmore Community Posts:

• Oven Cleaning Tips & Tricks
• 5 Tips for Cleaning Stainless Steel
• Tips to Refresh, Restore, and Preserve Your Appliances
• How to Clean Rust Off Stainless Steel Appliances