How to clean a coffee maker without vinegar?

Having a coffee maker at home helps you get a cup of coffee quickly, conveniently. However, for the coffee machine to run smoothly and produce consistent quality, you need to clean correctly and regularly. Vinegar is a good and cost-effective solution for cleaning the coffee maker, but it leaves a strong odor to your coffee. Therefore, in this post, you will find out how to clean the coffee maker without vinegar but still cheap and convenient.

Why do you need to clean the coffee maker regularly?

The oil in coffee helps create many great flavors, but it also causes the coffee ground to stagnate in the machine in different parts. As these coffee grounds are trapped inside the coffee maker, it creates the perfect place for the bacteria, mold, and fungi to grow.

A study by the National Sanitation Foundation shows that more than half of sampled coffee makers have mold or yeast in the reservoirs. These molds and fungus are hazardous to human health and even cause infections (Source: FDA).

Getting rid of germs is not the only reason for cleaning the coffee maker. When you run the coffee maker many times without removing these coffee grounds that remained inside, these grounds will be burnt. As a result, your coffee will taste bitter and awful.

Thus although your coffee maker is looked spotless outside, you still need to clean it regularly to ensure it is safe to use and remain consistent coffee quality for every cup.

Why cleaning coffee maker with vinegar is good but not the best?

The acetic acid in vinegar is known as a strong weapon to kill germs and remove the mineral deposit by using tap water. Besides, it is safe to use and cost-effective and easy to find in any grocery store. 

However, there are two main drawbacks of using vinegar to clean the coffee makers.

1. Vinegar has a strong odor; thus, it is tough to get rick of this smell. You might have to clean the coffee marker many times with clean water after cleaning with vinegar.
2. As the acid in the vinegar is relatively strong, thus it might damage the pipes and other parts inside the coffee maker, which can cause leaking in the long run.

How to clean a coffee maker without vinegar?

Lemon juices

Lemon juice can be a perfect replacement for vinegar since it contains citric acid, which is also able to kill bacteria and mold. Also, for lemon juice, you do not need to worry about leaving a strong odor to your cup of coffee after cleaning.

As you might need a lot of lemons, thus If you do not want to squeeze lemon one by one, you can buy concentrated lemon juice in Wal-Mart, Costco, or most of the grocery stores.

As the acid in the lemon juice is also quite strong, thus you should mix lemon juice with water in the ratio 50:50.

Fill the lemon juice mix to the reservoir and let it sit for at least 15 minutes, then let it run full brewing circle. Remove the mix with dirt and run the full circle two more times with clean water.

Baking soda

Baking soda is another safe cleaning agent for every household. As an alkali, baking soda will help you to clean through the inside of your coffee maker, remove all the odors. Using the mixture of the baking soda to clean the outside will make your coffee machine look shiny as it is new.

Same as with lemon juice, you need to mix the baking soda with clean water first, then pour it into the reservoir and keep it for 15 minutes before letting it runs through the machine. Clean again with water by running the machine 2 or 3 more times until you see no more dust come out.

Denture tablets

Cleaning the coffee maker with the denture tablet will give you a surprising result.

As having sodium bicarbonate and citric acid, dental tablets do not only kill germs but also remove stains in your coffee machine, which you might have to scrub hard to remove.

Furthermore, it is very cheap; you can easily buy it on Amazon for less than 20 bucks for the whole box of 120 tablets.

For dental tablets, at first, you need to dissolve it in water. Ideally, use two tablets for one cleaning. After it is entirely dissolved in the water, use this mix to clean the coffee maker as same as using lemon juice and baking soda mix.

How often do you need to clean the coffee maker?

Your cleaning schedule depends on how often you use your coffee maker. If you use it every day, then you should wash all the removable parts daily with dish-washing liquid and apply one of these deep cleanings above every three weeks. 

Any of the cleaning options above are equally good as long as you do it properly. It will help your coffee machine last for years and always give you a perfect cup of coffee every morning.