How to Clean Any Style Coffee Maker

Do you make coffee at home? Chances are high you do, and your coffee maker has brewed a few cups of coffee in it’s time. Even if you own a simple, drip coffee maker, you should clean it regularly. Anything that is constantly moist or wet can build up bacteria. Bacteria you probably don’t want in your morning cup of Joe! Read more on some common, and not so common ways of preparing your coffee.

1. A Drip Coffee Maker

If the coffee you brew starts to taste bitter and funky, it’s time to give your coffee machine a little extra love. A simple cleaning will help maintain freshness, remove hard water spots from the carafe, and prevent staining. It will also clean out the coffee oils that get left behind and turn rancid.

2. A Keurig

Single-serve machines getting a lot of daily use can develop clogs that can cause the system to quit completely. Here’s a quick cleaning routine to keep your machine running well.

3. A French Press

When cleaning a French press, the biggest thing you need to worry about is the grounds. Those things have to go in the trash can — not down your sink’s drain, as they can clog the pipes. Here’s how to clean them out, plus some things you can do on a daily basis — and once in a while — to keep the gadget in tip-top shape.

4. An Electric Kettle

Even though your kettle only ever has water in it, you’ll still have to clean it once in a while because mineral deposits (from the water) can build up. Do this once a month or so, depending on how often you use your kettle.

5. A Moka Pot

Cleaning a moka pot is both easier and harder than you’d think. Easier, because it requires very few tools; harder, because it’s all about diligently doing the maintenance. A few rules of thumb: Never use soap and definitely do not put it in the dishwasher.

6. A Chemex

Over time, oily coffee residue and mineral deposits from your water can start to build up and affect the flavor of the coffee, so you may want to give it a deep-clean once or twice a year, or whenever the inside starts to get cloudy. Here’s how to do it.

Bonus: Descaling a Coffee Maker

If you’ve heard of having to descale a coffee maker and always wondered what it was, we can explain. In a nutshell: Your water leaves mineral deposits behind and descaling the machine just flushes those minerals away.