How to clean a coffee carafe with baking soda

A clean machine and glass coffee pot is the secret to making the tastiest cup of joe.

You clean out your coffee pot every day, after you savor each drop of your cup of joe, and yet the bottom of your carafe still has some residual grime. What gives? Leslie Reichert, a green cleaning coach and author of The Joy of Green Cleaning ($14.95, amazon.com), says it's hard to prevent buildup on your coffee maker; the brown ring you see on the glass is essentially a combination of the minerals in the water and lime deposits. "You want to clean it to keep the buildup to a minimum and minerals out of your coffee, but mainly, to keep the taste of your coffee consistent," she adds.

The pot, however, isn't the only part of your coffee maker that you should clean consistently—you need to keep the inner workings of the machine debris- and germ-free, too. Below, discover expert-approved advice for cleaning a standard coffee maker and pot using chemical-free products—follow them to clean your machine and better your coffee experience. Before you get started, make sure you have lemon juice, baking soda, and vinegar on hand. "Never use a cleaning product to clean a coffee maker or the coffee pot," warns Reichert. "I would only use food-grade items—you don't want toxic chemicals in your coffee."

Clean the inner workings of the coffee machine

This process takes about the time it would take to make two pots of coffee. In your coffee pot, mix one cup of distilled white vinegar and one tablespoon of lemon juice, and then fill the rest of the pot with water. Place the mixture into the water reserve of your coffee maker, and turn the coffee maker on to run it through the machine. Once the brew cycle is complete, dump out the mixture before filling the pot with clean, cold water and running it again. "This is the rinse cycle to remove the residue and any leftover vinegar or lemon juice," says Reichert. (Watch our tutorial to see this process in real time.) Depending on your coffee maker's make, it might have a light that pops on when it is time for an internal wash, but Reichert recommends a cadence of once per month.

Wash the pot

Once the internal parts of her coffee maker is clean, Reichert always does a complete wash of her pot, too. Use baking soda and a little water to make a scrub and then scour the coffee buildup off the glass. Rinse with warm water and make sure all the baking soda is removed. You can also place it in the dishwasher after scrubbing to get it completely rinsed and clean. If the inside of the glass carafe still has dark stains you can't seem to remove, grab a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser ($3.69, target.com). "It's made of melamine foam, a micro-abrasive that scrapes away stains without the need for any chemicals, leaving zero residue behind," says Melissa Homer, chief cleaning officer at MaidPro. "And it won't scratch the glass!" Dampen one and rub the dark mark vigorously until it disappears. Then wash and rinse the coffee pot as you normally would, and get brewing.

To clean the carafe on your coffee machine, put some warm water inside it and add a small amount of baking soda. This should be left over night to allow the baking soda to dissolve the dirt and grease.

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Sick of the gunk in your coffee brewer? This article tells you how to clean a coffee maker with baking soda.

Most of us wake up and reach for our coffee pots before we start the day. This makes our humble coffee makers be the most frequently used appliance at home. 

It is also the most reliable item at home. After all, we all depend on multiple cups of coffee to get us through the day.

However, this means that it is also pretty neglected when it comes to maintenance. After all, when was the last time you gave your coffee machine a good cleaning? 

A coffee maker needs to be cleaned often, as remnants and dirt can result in coffee that tastes more like bog water.

To clean out coffee makers, you need a good cleaning agent. However, using strong chemicals and cleansers can often end up giving your coffee strange, soapy flavors. 

As an alternative, you can always use chemical-free home remedies using products already in your home. In this article, we will show you how to clean a coffee maker with baking soda.

Why Baking Soda?

If you’re skeptical about whether you can get a clean coffee pot with baking soda, we feel you. After all, baking soda is pretty nondescript and you will need a strong detergent to get a properly cleaned appliance.

But you can absolutely get a clean coffee maker with baking soda. Baking soda is in fact a natural yet effective way to clean your coffee machine. This is because baking soda can get rid of build-up and remove lingering odors from the appliance.

For the best results, add a quarter cup of the baking soda to the container, dissolved in water. Make sure to use warm water and stir the mixture together so that there are no lumps. Run the coffee maker on a regular cycle, flushing out the insides.

If any lumps are remaining, your coffee maker can get clogged. Although this product is abrasive, it is still gentler than store-bought cleaning agents. As a result, it will melt away residue and build-up, as well as strange smells that can stink up your brew.

For best results, you can mix the baking soda with acidic solutions. For example, cleaning coffee makers with white vinegar is a well-known home remedy and you can use both for a sparkling clean coffee machine.

How to Clean a Coffee Maker with Baking Soda

Using Just Baking Soda:

Follow these steps to thoroughly clean your coffee maker with baking soda, plain and simple.

What you will need:

• A cup of warm water
• 4-6 tablespoons of baking soda

1. Measure out a cup of warm water and add the necessary amount of baking soda.
2. Stir the baking soda into the water until it is fully dissolved, without any lumps.
3. Pour this mixture into the tank of your automatic coffee maker.
4. Turn on your coffee machine, and start a brewing cycle as you normally would.
5. Running the cycle will allow the solution to flow through all the parts of the coffee maker, cleaning residue, gunk, and lingering odors.
6. Allow the solution to drain into the carafe, coffee pot, or any other vessel.
7. Empty the vessel and rinse it clean.
8. Fill the tank with plain clean water and run another cycle to flush out the baking soda solution. This step may have to be repeated until the coffee maker dispenses plain water.

Using Vinegar and Baking Soda:

You might have heard about using a cleaning coffee pot with vinegar solutions. But you can also use vinegar to clean coffee maker parts in general. When mixed with baking soda, it makes for a very potent cleaning solution.

White vinegar has many uses with coffee machines. A plain mixture of vinegar diluted with water is great for cleaning Mr. Coffee coffeemaker. You can even try descaling the Ninja coffee bar with vinegar, as it dissolves buildup from hard water.

What you will need:

• A soft cloth
• Half a cup of baking soda
• 4 tablespoons of white or apple cider vinegar
• Water (optional)

1. Mix the baking soda with vinegar until it forms a smooth paste. You can add water to dilute the mixture.
2. Apply this paste to the area with buildup in your coffee pot, carafe, and heating plate.
3. Let the paste rest, dissolving the buildup over time.
4. Use a damp cloth to get rid of the paste and rinse the pot and carafe in clean running water.
5. Keep rinsing with water, or let the parts soak in lots of water overnight to get rid of the strong smell of vinegar.

Caution:

• Dissolving baking soda with vinegar and running a brew cycle with this mixture might damage the internal parts of your coffee maker. However, you can run vinegar through a coffee maker, diluted with water to clean the different components.
  
• To clean a glass coffee pot or carafes, be wary when using abrasive materials like baking soda as it can scratch the material and damage it.
  
• After using vinegar and/or lemon juice, you might have to run your brewer with normal water until it no longer smells like vinegar.

Pro-Tips:

• Adding salt to your baking soda can neutralize funky odors.
  
• You can also replace the vinegar with an equal amount of lemon juice.
  
• If your coffee maker has a stainless-steel exterior, use a baking soda-vinegar paste to buff off stains and caked-on residue.
  
• Including a little dishwashing fluid in the reservoir is a great idea for a deep clean.

Frequently Asked Questions

In this section, we answer questions you might have about cleaning your coffee maker with baking soda.

01. How Can I Clean My Cuisinart Coffee Maker?

To clean your Cuisinart coffee maker, clean, fill the water reservoir to capacity with a solution consisting of 1-part white vinegar to 2 parts water. Hold down the Clean button. Once the self-clean indicator lights up, turn the coffeemaker on by pressing the on/off switch.

When the cycle is completed and the five beeps sound, your coffeemaker will turn off. Turn the coffeemaker on again to check if the Clean indicator continues to flash. 

If it does, switch it off again. Then repeat the cleaning process with a new solution of vinegar and water.

If the Clean indicator doesn’t light up, turn the coffee maker off and then run one or two cycles of fresh cold water through the brewer before using the unit again to brew coffee. This will remove the smell of vinegar in the coffee maker.

02. What is the Black and Decker Coffee Maker Cleaning Procedure?

Clean the Black + Decker coffee maker with vinegar once a month to prevent scales from forming due to hard water.

Fill half of the tank with white vinegar and half with water. Put a clean filter in the filter basket and press the ON/OFF button to begin the brewing cycle. 

Allow the carafe to fill halfway and then turn off the coffee maker. Now let the coffee maker and carafe soak for 15 minutes and then turn the machine on again to finish the cycle.

Drain the vinegar and water solution from the reservoir and carafe. Add fresh water and run the machine for another cycle to clean out the vinegar solution from the coffeemaker. If you can still smell the vinegar, repeat the brewing cycles with clean water as needed.

03. Can I Use Baking Powder Instead of Baking Soda to Clean My Coffee Maker?

You can replace baking soda with baking powder but you will need to double or even triple the amount to get the same cleaning power. This is because baking powder is mixed with cream of tartar, making it less potent.

04. Does Baking Soda Get Rid of Stains in Coffee Pots?

The abrasive nature of baking soda means that it scrubs off build-up and residue that gets stuck to your coffee maker. It can also dissolve oils from your coffee beans that build up in your coffee machine. 

These oils can stain the coffee maker and carafe, and you can use a paste made from baking soda to clean these stains.

To Sum Up

You might put off cleaning your coffee maker, without thinking much will come of it. However, one day can stretch into a week and the next thing you know, your coffee machine has a whole ecosystem thriving in it.

Getting rid of the gunk in your coffee machine can seem exhausting, but it doesn’t have to be. Your coffee machine basically does the work for you. Once you know how to clean a coffee maker with baking soda, you can stay on top of a regular cleaning schedule.

More Related Articles:

• How to Clean a Coffee Maker (5 different ways But Not with Vinegar!)
• How To Clean Stainless Steel Coffee Pot: Very Little Elbow Grease Involved!

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