How to Clean a Coffee Maker with Vinegar

Are you one among those who think deep cleaning the coffee maker is a big tough task? Worry Not. You have rightly stopped by here. This post is all about how to clean a coffee maker with vinegar. Here we are gonna give detailed step by step instructions to deep clean your machine easily without using the chemicals.

According to a 2011 NSF study, it is found that coffee pot is the germiest place in your kitchen. Remember, moist and warm places often tend to be breeding grounds for bacteria. Coffeemaker reservoir has higher germ count when compared to some parts in a bathroom. Yes. You heard it right. It is. Uh yuck!

Every morning you need the caffeine shot to make you up and out of bed. So, treat your best friend – the coffee maker with care and it will give you the much-needed caffeine kick every morning.

Now a day, some of the coffee makers do come with “Auto-clean” option. Some the coffee maker parts are dishwasher safe too. All these make the cleaning task easy. However, automatic coffee makers have many tiny internal parts and tubes. Cleaning them all regularly is a bit time-consuming. But for the coffee enthusiast, it is just a few steps to follow once in a month.

So the bottom line is if you want your machine to silently brew coffee that is not bitter in taste and that does not smell footy then you have to add “Coffeemaker cleaning” to your monthly household cleaning list. Now the question in your mind is how to clean a coffee maker? Well, we have an answer for this. Keep on reading.

According to  US Environmental Protection Agency, chemicals used in cleaning kitchen appliances affect human health upon repeated use. White vinegar, baking soda lemon juice are considered as some of the basic inexpensive cleaning supplies that are non-toxic.


Here are some easy steps to clean coffee maker with vinegar. You will be surprised to see the result and wonder why you had not tried this before.

But the question is how often you need to clean your machine? Here is the answer.

Things to do every time you use coffee makers

Some parts of automatic coffee makers are detachable. So remove them and wash thoroughly by running tap water after every use. Clean the filters after every brew, if you are using permanent filters. Just hand washing with hot and soapy water will do the trick.

If you are using a paper filter, just toss it off. I repeat, germs love moisture. So keep the reservoir lid open after brewing. This allows the water content to dry out quickly. It is good practice to wipe out the coffee spills on the warming plate. Spills can burn out otherwise leaving a scar that is difficult to remove later.

Deep clean your coffee maker once in a month

Now, the thing that makes it compulsory to deep clean the internal parts of a coffee maker is the mineral build up. Over the time, hard water minerals start building up in the internal parts and tubes of coffee machines. This may be one of the reasons for your coffee maker to take a long time to brew than usual.

Nothing to worry.., take some vinegar and follow these tips to get rid of those mineral build-ups and your machine will be back in action soon.

No chemicals, no abrasives, all you need is– Vinegar, Water, Sponge, Hot soapy water, some dish towels and the germy Coffeemaker of course….!!

Instructions on how to clean a coffee maker with vinegar

Here, we have taken the Cuisinart Coffee Maker to illustrate deep cleaning with vinegar.

• Turn off and unplug the Coffeemaker Planning to enjoy every sip of coffee after cleaning, giving your coffee maker a nice bath? Then your safety is first. Turn off and unplug the machine first.
• Empty the filter basket of leftover grounds HOW TO CLEAN A CRUISINART CPFFEE MAKER WITH VINEGAR Dump out any remaining coffee grounds in the filter basket. You can even use it for your terrace garden.
• Dump out any remaining coffee from the carafe

Finish all the remaining coffee in the carafe. Oh..Yeah.. I know, it is bitter and flavorless. That is what made you think of cleaning your machine right?!! OK, then drain it out.

• Prepare the cleaning mixture

Fill the water reservoir of the machine to its full capacity with an equal amount of vinegar and water.

• Brew half cycle with vinegar

Now turn on the machine and let it start brewing. This time, no coffee grounds, just running the brewing cycle with vinegar. In the midway of brewing, turn off the machine and allow the solution to sit. Go and relax on your couch; without a cup of coffee this time. You need to be back in action after an hour.

• Complete the brew cycle

After an hour complete the brew cycle that you had left incomplete in the previous step.

• Brew cycle with fresh water.

Discard the vinegar solution and run a fresh brew cycle. But this time, run the whole brew cycle using only water and no vinegar. This second rinse is just to make sure that there is no vinegar smell in the coffee pot and coffee maker. After all, nobody like vinegar-flavored coffee.

Done! Now you can brew coffee in this fully cleaned machine. I am sure your coffee taste better [not bitter this time] and yes it’s aroma is so refreshing. You definitely need a dose of caffeine after following this monthly coffee maker clean up routine. Go and enjoy.

Happy coffee time!

Some easy Tips:

• Fill the stainless steel thermal carafe with boiling water and add dishwasher pill. Leave it overnight. Rinse it thoroughly the next day. This removes coffee stains from the carafe.
• You can make use toothpicks to clean the clogged one-way valve of your coffee maker.
• Use bottle cleaning brush inside for stubborn stains.
• Never use the coffee pot to pour water into the reservoir. This will transfer oils and impurities from the pot, and eventually, give the coffee a nasty taste. Instead, use a pitcher that is reserved for water only.
• Put a glass marble in the water chamber to attract mineral deposits from hard water. Wash it once a week.