I love coffee! It is my companion in those lazy mornings, before workouts or during late afternoons when the sugar rush goes away and I start feeling sleepy.
When I’m at home, I use my BPA-free Cuisinart cofee maker machine, which is a coffee dripping brewer, that works with coffee filters and water. One of the things I love about these types of machines, in general, is the convenience they bring Vs an espresso maker. You just put the filter on, put few teaspoons of coffee in, add water and press the START button.
However, one of the biggest problems with these types of coffee makers is constant moisture and humidity. This makes them prone to mold and bacteria that can form inside and can reach your coffee. I am really conscious about this risk so I always make sure I clean my machine every month. Here’s how I typically do it…
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Option 1: remove mold the old school way
Fill half of your coffee carafe with water and the rest with regular white vinegar. Pour the content into the coffee maker and start brewing. If you have a “bold” option on the machine, or “clean” make sure you select that. Prepare to be amazed at how much dirt and deposit will come out of the machine.
Once the 1st cycle has finished, throw the dirt away and fill the carafe with water. Put the water back into the machine and start the brewing cycle again. Repet this cycle 2-3 times until the water comes out clean and the vinegar smell is gone. Give yourself a pat on the back, you’ve cleaned your coffee maker!
Option 2: clean AND descale as well
The only problem with the vinegar method is that it doesn’t take care of descaling the machine. I don’t know about y’alls coffee machines, but mine is subject to calcium deposits because of the hard water we’ve got down here in Texas. Hence, descaling is something that sits on top of my mind. This is something that extends the life of the coffee maker and speeds up the brewing speed as well.
My personal choice: Essential Values cleaner and descaler
This is Amazon’s Choice for coffee cleaning and descalingand I absolutely love it. Not only it works wonders MUCH better than vinegar, but it’s ridiculously cheap at just $6.99per bottle (they sell in packs of 2) [Amazon link here]. It basically requires you to brew an initial quantity of water combined with this solution and then plain water several cycles to make sure the machine gets rid of any trace of it.
That’s it! Enjoy a mold and bacteria-free life, coffee and congratulate yourself for extending the life of your beloved coffee maker!