The one thing you MUST do today? Clean your Coffee Maker!
I love coffee. Like can’t make it through my morning without a pipping cup of the good stuff, love coffee. So our coffee pot gets a lot of use, but very little love. What I mean is that I very rarely think to clean my coffee maker. Do you?
The dark, damp, warm, inner workings of the average coffee pot create the perfect habitat for bacteria and mold growth. In fact, a study conducted by the NSF in 2011 (you can read the report here) found that 50% of coffee reservoir’s contained mold growth. In addition nine percent of coffee reservoirs contained coliform bacteria.
Yuck!
The study went on the to show that in many cases the handle of your toilet may actually be cleaner than the inner workings of your coffee pot.
Again, yuck!
So how to clean your coffee maker?
It’s actually super simple and something that you should add to your regular cleaning regime. I am going to try to clean mine from now on every other week.
First take out the removable parts like the actual coffee pot and filter holder from the machine. These can be washed in the dish washer or by hand with regular dish soap.
Next clean the inside of the coffee make and reservoir using white vinegar and lemon juice. I used a combination of 3.5 cups of vinegar and 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Pour the solution into the water reservoir and let the maker run through a full cycle. You can put a clean coffee filter to collect any debris that may be removed.
After sanitizing the coffee pot with the vinegar solution you will want to run straight water through the machine several times to remove any residue. (Otherwise you will have a hot cup of joe laced with a lovely vinegar after taste).
I ran two cycles of water through my coffee maker until I no longer could smell vinegar. And that’s it! A super simple and quick solution to curb bacteria from taking over your coffee maker.
So what are your waiting for? Get in the kitchen and clean that coffee pot today!